NAB 2023: LiveU's New On-Site Production Solution Adds Remote Production Efficiencies to Outside Broadcasts

LiveU unveils its On-site Production Solution tailored specifically for live sports and other event driven verticals.

Traditional multi-camera on-site productions are expensive and complex to set up, requiring radio frequency (RF) equipment, antennas, cables and pre-sourced internet capabilities to be deployed. In contrast, LiveU’s new on-site solution offers efficiency at a cost-effective price point. The new solution enables bonded wireless transmission from the field straight into the production truck in a single click, with no need for a fixed internet connection.

Leveraging the experience gained from pioneering the use of IP-video-over-bonded-cellular, LiveU’s solution includes its multi-cam/compact 5G 4K field units, and Mobile Receiver in the OB truck. Live video is transmitted directly from the units to the OB truck in a highly resilient manner without the need for cables, fixed internet or complex networking configurations. The responsiveness of a local control room creating a program feed is maintained, while avoiding much of the cost associated with setting up complex, traditionally connected workflows. The live feeds are transferred via the public internet and the LU-Link cloud service as part of a seamless workflow.

Built from the ground up to optimize the performance benefits of LRT (LiveU Reliable Transport) such as low latency, high-quality, resilience and 5G, LiveU’s solution means on-site production is no longer only viable for the big leagues.

An early customer of the new solution, Sam Schrade, President, DNA Studios LLC, says, “The solution works fantastically and opens up a lot of creative use cases. We used it at Astros Baseball Park as a wireless camera, and even brought it into the depths of the stadium – places RF systems often struggle with. The simple set-up, and not needing a port forwarding requirement in a stadium, is a huge bonus, especially as opening up ports at major league stadiums is next to impossible.”

Schrade continues, “It is a much-needed tool, as RF channels are really not available anyway; they are pretty much all used up and it’s difficult to source them these days.”

Gideon Gilboa, Chief Product Officer, LiveU, says “Remote production is an ideal solution in many cases but for some productions, on-site is still preferred. We wanted to add efficiency to OB productions, in the same way we have with REMI, and give our customers more creative choices. With LiveU’s On-Site Production Solution, the customer doesn’t need to undergo lengthy and costly set-ups, they don’t need network engineers on-site or to spend weeks trying to navigate venue IT protocols. They are free to plan their shots based on the story they want to share with the fans, rather than being constrained by line-of-site or cables. Ultimately the solution makes the benefits of ‘on-site’ available to productions where it would have been cost prohibitive before.”

LiveU’s On-site Production Solution is available with a special launch offer of 15 months’ usage for the price of 12, allowing customers to experience more sustainable productions firsthand. They can explore operational optimizations that come from being able to reduce the resources, time and budget required to go live.

Part of the LiveU EcoSystem, the solution will be showcased at the 2023 NAB Show in Las Vegas (Booth #N3058).