There's no denying the power of live streaming to exponentially increase the impact of a ministry, allowing churches to impact groups of people that might not otherwise be reached. It helps congregation members stay connected when they're out of town or simply can't make it to the live worship experience. Live streaming also expands the potential reach of special conferences and classes taking place beyond the normal confines of the main auditorium.
In the past, streaming had been largely reserved for medium and larger churches with bigger budgets and dedicated staff. This was mostly due to the difficulty and expense of creating the infrastructure necessary to live stream. Beyond the cost of the equipment and servers, it often took significant investments of time and energy to effectively integrate the required technical components. Fortunately, streaming hardware and software companies today are recognizing the unique challenges that churches face and are beginning to introduce exciting solutions to address these needs. Enter the Telestream Wirecast Gear.
Get It In Gear
Anyone acquainted with the world of streaming will likely already be familiar with Telestream's award winning Wirecast software. After years of working with houses of worship, the team at Telestream identified the need for an all-in-one solution that could help churches get up and going without the high costs and hassles normally associated with live streaming. “There are two customers we are interested in with the Wirecast Gear - the worship market and the education market,” states Ken Bell, project manager at Telestream. “Those are the two primary targets.”
Announced at this year's IBC tradeshow in Amsterdam, the Wirecast Gear is an all-in-one workstation designed for both installation and mobile live streaming. It's a plug-and-play platform designed for mixing live video from up to four HD cameras connected directly to the workstation. The only additional hardware needed for streaming is a couple of video monitors, a keyboard and a mouse.
The Wirecast Gear runs Wirecast Pro 7 software running on Windows 10 and features solid-state drive recording internally. Capacity ranges from 250GB to 2TB, depending on which version of the workstation you purchase. The base model features four HDMI inputs, while SDI inputs can be utilized on the higher-end models.
Built-In Flexibility
One of the most refreshing aspects of the platform is that Telestream actually encourages Wirecast Gear owners to take advantage of the workstation for multiple uses. “We've built the unit to maximize value for the end user,” emphasizes Bell. “Why put the unit on a shelf when the event's over? You can drop Adobe Cloud right on this box and edit from the system.”
The Wirecast 7 Pro software itself features a number of advanced capabilities for producers, including NewBlueFX's Titler Live Express software as well as real-time graphics and video playback support. The software also includes dynamic audio mixing with support for VST plugins within its virtual audio mixer.
Another new feature introduced in version 7 of the Wirecast Pro software is the ability to create individual ISO recordings of individual camera feeds. These video files allows for easy editing and corrections in post-production, which is ideal for churches needing the ability to make changes for on-demand delivery.
Most importantly, Telestream has established a number of important partnership with streaming services such as Wowza, uStream, YouTube Live and Facebook Live. This means it will be easier than ever for churches to get up and running quickly on platforms that will produce the best results for the effort.
Field Work
It's not difficult to imagine the Wirecast Gear solving a number of different technical challenges facing churches interested in live streaming. For ministries that haven't yet created a system for professional quality streaming the Wirecast Gear could certainly help tech directors easily clear a number of initial hurdles. It appears to be very simple to deploy and should produce quality results.
For churches looking for secondary venue or mobile live-streaming solutions the Wirecast Gear can be set up and torn down in a matter of minutes, with a relatively small footprint. The Wirecast Gear unit itself can be set up on a small desktop or rackmounted for easy and safe transport. The fact that users can select either HDMI or SDI input solutions means users can utilize the camera systems already in place.
Concluding Thoughts
While the news of the Wirecast Gear platform definitely got our attention here at CPM, we've yet to actually test it out for ourselves. Given that caveat, it certainly seems like a perfect solution for a wide range of churches. Telestream has a solid reputation for quality software and hardware, so there's a lot to be optimistic about.
The Wirecast Gear is built for HD resolution rather than 4K, which doesn't necessarily make it completely future-proof. This shouldn't be a major concern, however, considering that current internet bandwidth limitations commonly restrict streaming quality to a maximum resolution of 720p. It will likely be at least a few years before streaming beyond HD is a real possibility in most cases.
We'll be able to speak more confidently once we spend time with the Wirecast Gear. In the meantime, churches beginning to plan and budget for new or increasing live streaming capabilities will want to keep an eye on this product moving into the future.
Telestream expects to begin shipping units by the end of September 2016. To find out more about Wirecast Gear visit Telestream.net.
