NAB 2016: Telestream Wirecast Brings Pro Quality Live Video to Facebook; Vantage Adds VP9 Encoding, Packaging

Telestream (SL4525) has unveiled that the latest version of its popular live streaming software Wirecast now features Facebook Live as a streaming destination, allowing users to create and stream high-quality broadcasts from their computers to their Facebook timelines.

Facebook recently announced the ability for all users to stream live video to their feeds through the Facebook app for iOS and Android devices. With Wirecast, users can now elevate the production value of their live videos by using multiple cameras, graphics, effects, transitions and other professional capabilities. With direct integration between Wirecast and Facebook Live, Wirecast users can publish live streams directly to the Facebook Live platform from within the Wirecast interface.

With so many businesses maintaining a Facebook presence, streaming live content presents a perfect opportunity to attract additional followers while increasing overall traffic. Creating dynamic, eye-catching content with titles, graphics, and transitions keeps otherwise fickle viewers engaged and tuned in.

“Facebook Live allows people and businesses to connect with friends, fans and followers in exciting and much more interactive ways,” comments Barb DeHart, Vice President of Desktop Business & Corporate Marketing at Telestream. “With Wirecast live streaming production software, Facebook users can create unique and professional live streams with professional production capabilities, such as multi-camera live switching, lower thirds and titles, green screen, instant replay, scoreboards, and much more,” added DeHart.

Wirecast is ideal for broadcasting professional live web shows, news, online gaming, sporting events, concerts, church services, corporate meetings, lectures and much more. With Wirecast, users can switch between multiple live cameras while dynamically mixing in other media such as movies, images and sounds, and adding production features such as transitions, built-in titles, chroma key support, virtual sets and live scoreboards.

Because Facebook Live is now an integrated broadcast destination for Wirecast, once they have started streaming, users will be able to see the number of live viewers, the names of followers who are watching, and a real-time stream of comments, throughout the live broadcast. Once the broadcast is complete, the video will stay on their timeline like any other post.

Wirecast 6.0.7 featuring Facebook Live as a destination is available now as a free update from Wirecast 6 or for purchase from www.telestream.net. Prices start at $495.

Telestream Announces Vantage Multiscreen VP9 Encoding and Packaging
Telestream has also announced upcoming support for the VP9 video coding format in the next release of its Vantage Transcode Multiscreen video transcoding, packaging and workflow automation product. VP9 encoding is scheduled as part of Vantage version 7, available mid-2016, and will allow content creators and distributors to support delivery to over 2 billion VP9-enabled end points using Vantage enterprise workflow automation.

The WebM VP9 video codec is designed for web and mobile video. Major content providers like YouTube have seen up to 50% bandwidth savings when using VP9 as compared with H.264, improving video quality and the overall user experience. While part of the appeal for VP9 is due to the open source, royalty-free nature of the format, the efficiency and quality improvements compared to H.264 make it increasingly attractive to content distributors and consumers alike.

“VP9 was built for the web. As web video moves to HTML5, VP9 allows publishers to deliver improved quality to over two billion end points.” said Matt Frost, Head of Partnerships and Strategy at Google Chrome Media. “Professional workflow automation tools such as Telestream Vantage make it easier to prepare and deploy VP9 at scale, and we are pleased with the addition of VP9 within the Vantage product family.”

As publishers transition from Flash to HTML5 video, adding support for VP9 distribution can increase viewer quality and increase watch times. VP9 is supported in a number of major browsers, and is widely supported in mobile SoC (system on a chip) and smart TV platforms.

“Telestream Vantage is used around the world to create multi-screen content in every format required by a myriad of device platforms throughout the world,” said Paul Turner, VP of Enterprise Products at Telestream. “By adding support for VP9 in Vantage, Telestream is further extending its coverage by enabling this highly efficient format to be generated automatically and rapidly without human intervention.”

VP9 support will be available to all customers of Vantage Multiscreen.