Posts tagged Live streaming

More and more mobile phones offers HD recording and playback. Sony Ericsson Vivaz is one of the latest. The Vivaz offers video recording in 1280 * 720 – 24 fps. And yes,  it’s really 24fps – not a dynamic recording rate. From what I have seen – it’s a step up from Samsung Omnia HD.

When I visited San Francisco last year, major players like Qik and Seesmic told me to watch out for new phones from Motorola,  Nokia and Sony Ericsson. And it seems like they where right.

Another major shift is that the stream cast companies are offering better and better quality on HD streaming. With a phone supporting 3.5G network – the quality is starting to get acceptable. Qik has even launched a premium feature, making it easier to download HD clips and burning them to DVDs. From Bambuser I’ve seen really impressive HD quality streams.

The shift towards higher quality streams has a least two major impacts on news outlets and journalist. The first one is that they will find more and more shareable quality video made by audience on the web. The second one is that stream casts will be a more viable way of sending high quality recordings home to office. If you have a large social media network – it will even be a great platform for stand alone publishing.

But in order to make the most out of this shift in technology, a shift in mindset among journalist have to happen. Most of the journalist I know are uncomfortable with showing people their stuff if it isn’t finished. They don’t like stream casting if the stream could be considered raw material. Well her is a newsflash. If you look at pages from Qik, Bambuser, Ustream, Flixwagon and others – you will quickly realize that most people don’t give a damn. They are used to stream cast to preserve and share a moment, even if it might be a little rough in the edges. If you put it in the right context, the audience will understand.  What they won’t understand in the future is why you don’t offer stream casts if you are present at an happening.

To the skeptics – yes you are right – your streams can’t all be low quality and shitty. In the right settings, you’ve got to be able to make a good storyline, frame a good picture – and produce good sound. But you have to start somewhere. In the age of social media –  I believe most people will forgive you for not being a pro in the beginning, but they will appreciate that you are trying.  So pick up your phone, hit the button and STREAM! If you aren’t happy with the result, try again. Don’t give up. It will only get better.