Live video streaming on the web is becoming more and more popular, and for news organizations and brands who don’t want to shell out thousands of dollars a day for a satellite truck there is another option. At SXSW, Kyte is going to release a new product called Kyte LivePro Unwired with Spin magazine.
LivePro is a computer in a backpack connected to six data cards all uploading live video at the same time, balancing the load across three different carriers (Sprint, AT&T, and Verizon). It is made by LiveU and Kyte will be reselling it to its larger customers. (LiveStream uses the same technology in its Livepack).
Kyte CEO Daniel Graf came by my office the other day to show me the technology (see video below). It is incredible that a backpack can now replace a satellite truck. You won’t get HD quality, but you can get broadcast-TV quality, and it is certainly better than uploading video from your mobile phone, which Kyte also allows. He says that typical livestreaming rates with the backpack are 700 kilobits to 1 megabit per second.
Some customers using Kyte’s online video platform include Fox News, MTV, and Calvin Klein. Graf says Kyte is now streaming 100 million videos a month across its network, up from 50 million last summer.
This is awesome – except for one thing.
You become an official radiation beacon – yeah the amount of radiation flying out of that backpack and you’ll be glowing at night-time.
So really – they should promote 2 uses:
1. Live Video
2. Bonus electro-magnetic radiation poisoning
Safe for humans ? Um … love to see this report.
haha
Tom,
you are seriously paranoid ….
A fun product with a short lifespan. 4G network throughput will make a 700K uplink look dated, and not require 6 cards operating in tandem.
Think of something about a tenth of the size, and a fifth of the cost, and that’s what these guys face.
Agreed.
I disagree that this product has a short lifespan. I imagine they have an architecture that will allow them to swap out the 3G cards for 4G cards. When 4G comes out, you’ll still want redundancies across multiple carriers(at least 3 cards). With 4G you’ll be able to stream HD instead of SD. You can never have enough bandwidth for the uplink.
Love this technology.
1500-2500 a month to rent? i like kytes products. Kyte needs a domain makeover like how Mogulus went to LiveStream.com. Without a makeover they are like a nice row boat without a paddle or rudder. Shame when your business name is your own worst enemy.
Gee it’d be nice if there was something about the cost in this article…
Broadcasting over a shared medium (cell phone networks) will provide an unreliable experience. Best used in scenarios where unreliability in the broadcast is expected (breaking news).
Bringing this to SXSW where the mobile phone networks are flooded should be fun.
Joe, excellent point. I see this as a test of the technology. If it works at SXSW, it should be able to work almost anywhere.
I’ll put this on my list of things to do at SXSW and let you know what I find out. :)
I just came back from a satellite show in Dubai and visited those guys : http://www.aviwest.com
Same technology as above but far superior (it’s way way smaller than this bag and take advantage of 3G+/wifi too)
Cost will be a major factor. At the same time 4G and the failing economics of traditional media will stratify the iPhoneDroidrazzi. Those used to submitting stuff to local stations by way of camera phones and lesser quality cams will have a new option if they are serious. That grainy stuff that we sometimes see on CNN becomes high quality allowing some one who did this as a hobby to really get serious. CNN, Fox and co. gain more feet on the ground, who potentially can beat Anderson Cooper to the scene. How does he do that that Anderson Cooper! Three last names helps I suppose. The middle one is Hays.
TWIT did this at CES a month ago using a home-built setup with the same basic configuration (multiple synchronous 3G cards)
Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t justin.tv do this exact same thing _years ago_? Talk to Kyle about their “blue box”…
I saw the Aviwest’s solution called IBIS DMNG. Agree with you Frank, that’s a great solution and many television are using it instead the heavy LiveU’s PC in its backpack.
Duncan,
Can you name a few such stations that are using this AVIWest?
How do you judge it to be “great”? Is “great”vs “heavy” as you say or is there more behind it?