VITEC Introduces Video-Streaming Solution for Houses of Worship

VITEC has released an integrated streaming solution designed to help houses of worship extend their reach across multiple campuses and foster a sense of community among church members who attend services at different sites. The solution, which bundles VITEC portable encoders and decoders with the Zixi error-free streaming protocol, is just as effective as, and far more affordable than, satellite or fiber-based streaming services, making it accessible for houses of worship of almost any size.

VITEC’s encoder/decoder combinations with integrated Zixi Stream Protection take advantage of an increase in bandwidth and a decrease in the cost of the public Internet to enable real-time streaming of church services and events over the same Internet services people use at home. VITEC’s portable appliances encode and stream up to 1080p60 video for the highest level of HD video quality at the lowest possible latency. Combined with VITEC’s advanced video compression, the hardware ensures that the most demanding video will look great even on the largest IMAG screens.

At the same time, integration with Zixi’s proven, unique transport software eliminates the video-transport problems that are inherent in unmanaged IP networks. This integration ensures that houses of worship can deliver video of unprecedented quality with no stutter, packet loss, or frame-freeze, regardless of network conditions.

VITEC/Zixi live-streaming solutions are available in three different bundles to enable point-to-point, bidirectional, and multisite streaming. The point-to-point streaming bundle includes a VITEC encoder and decoder with integrated Zixi Stream Protection for zero-error delivery over unmanaged networks. This bundle includes a lifetime Zixi license. The bidirectional streaming solution includes two sets of VITEC encoders and decoders — one set for each location — and a lifetime license for Zixi Stream Protection. This solution ensures low-latency streaming for natural two-way communication and live interaction between the main and satellite campuses.

The multisite distribution bundle consists of a VITEC encoder at the main campus, a VITEC decoder at each of the satellite campuses, and a Zixi Broadcaster platform in the middle. Zixi Broadcaster acts as a central hub that manages, processes, and distributes content in various formats. The combination of VITEC and Zixi components provides content-aware error correction, bandwidth shaping, and real-time feedback of streaming status for multisite streaming over any network. Zixi Broadcaster also makes it possible for a house of worship to record streams and play them out later to other campuses.

“Many houses of worship around the world have the common goal of using live video streaming to unite worshippers at multiple locations. The challenge is how to deliver a reliable, low-latency, HD-quality video signal economically,” said Philippe Wetzel, CEO of VITEC. “It used to be that the only way to stream video was through a costly one-way fiber or satellite transmission service. Now, with the VITEC and Zixi integrated streaming bundle, churches have an affordable, reliable alternative that delivers pristine HD video that can truly engage remote audiences as if they were all together at the main campus.”

Tucson’s The Bridge Christian Church Installs VITEC Streaming Solution
The Bridge Christian Church has installed a VITEC video-streaming solution designed for houses of worship at its two campuses in Tucson, Arizona. The Bridge is using a VITEC MGW Nano HD encoder and MGW Premium HD decoder at each location for affordable, error-free, low-latency streaming between the campuses.

“The Bridge is committed to live streaming so that both the main and satellite campuses can experience the weekend services and other church events together. What was most impressive to us about the VITEC solution was that we could get reliable, high-quality, low-latency streams over the public Internet, which can be notoriously unstable,” said Jay Patton, technology operations minister for The Bridge Christian Church. “With VITEC we can bring both locations closer together using high-end technology over the same Internet we all use at home, which is a huge cost savings versus satellite or fiber.”

With VITEC’s house of worship streaming solution, The Bridge experiences delays of less than two seconds during real-time streaming. This ultra-low latency is a critical factor in seamless bidirectional streaming between the campuses. Furthermore, the VITEC hardware, combined with VITEC’s advanced video compression technology, can encode and stream pristine video up to 1080p60 that looks great even on The Bridge’s IMAG screens. Finally, thanks to VITEC’s partnership with Zixi™, The Bridge gets the benefit of Zixi Stream Protection for zero-error delivery over unmanaged networks.

The Bridge uses the VITEC solution most often for point-to-point streaming, whereby the output of the TriCaster system at the main campus is fed into the MGW Nano HD encoder for streaming to the MGW Premium decoder at the satellite campus. About twice per month, The Bridge uses both sets of VITEC encoders and decoders for two-way communication between the two campuses.

“Like many houses of worship, The Bridge needed a stable, reliable way to deliver high-quality, real-time video between its main church and its satellite campus without using a costly satellite transmission service,” said Mark D’Addio, VP of business development and emerging markets, VITEC. “The Bridge’s installation is a great example of how the VITEC/Zixi streaming solution helps houses of worship foster a sense of community between multisite congregations in a dependable way that’s far more affordable than satellite or fiber — and with HD video that is just as pristine.”