(Download MP4, or watch on YouTube.) In today's episode of Boing Boing Video, we review the Tricaster, a compact device that facilitates high-quality live internet video broadcast production for a lot less dough than the equivalent amount of traditional TV production gear.
A number of web video productions are now using the Tricaster, including Leo Laporte's TWIT.tv, and Mahalo's newly launched Kevin Pollak chat show. I visited the Kevin Pollak set this week to view the device in action with BBV editor Wes Varghese and Richard Metzger. Metzger has also been experimenting with live-to-hard-drive production (= tape his interview show using the Tricaster, then it's ready to go as a produced piece without a lot of editing.).
What interested me most about the device was the possibility of changing the economics of live video online. The Tricaster costs about $10K, and just renting a satellite truck full of switching gear and engineers for conventional live production costs a hell of a lot more - like, start adding zeroes.
So, the possibilities I see are much like the possibilities we began to see for web video 10 years ago, when digital video cameras suddenly became a lot more affordable, and video editing software became cheaper, more widely distributed, and a lot easier to use. Bottom line: more live video, in more of it the hands of people who wouldn't be producing live video otherwise.
Newtek, the company that makes the Tricaster, loaned Boing Boing Video a review unit and we're going to be doing some experiments soon.
Below, and after the jump, some screengrabs from backstage video I shot on the Kodak zi6. The featured guest on this installment of the Kevin Pollak show was Jon Hamm of Mad Men. Diggnation/Totally Rad Show/Project Lore star Alex Albrecht was also in the house, as was George Ruiz of ICM, who shot some nicer photos here. Kevin Pollak show crew notes: Alex Miller was running the TriCaster. Kenny Chen was the floor director, Josh Negrin is sitting next to Alex at the Mac Pro and Jason McIntyre is sitting at the 2 iMacs.
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(Special thanks to Philip Nelson of NewTek, to Jason Calacanis, and to Boing Boing's video hosting partner Episodic.)
Sponsor shout-out: This Boing Boing Video episode is sponsored by WEPC.com, in partnership with Intel and Asus. WePC.com is a site where users come together to "share ideas, images and inspiration about the ideal PC." Participants' designs, feature ideas and community feedback will be evaluated by ASUS and "could influence the blueprint for an actual notebook PC built by ASUS with Intel inside."
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These things are cool. I saw one for the first time last week.
This is the company that made the Video Toaster in the 90s, a $1500 board for an Amiga that turned it into a rudimentary switcher with crazy effects that you couldn't do in anything under $100k at the time (think Home Improvement's transitions between scenes).
It's the next logical step for NewTek, certainly, and puts a bunch of normally-really-expensive video production tech in the hands of 'normal people' (ok, normal people with at least a bit of a budget).
My favorite bits about it:
* 4 camera views (close-up, farther, farther out, and really far out) from one video feed, and
* virtual sets with front and back pieces and reflections and such; and anyone who can use LightWave 3D can design new sets for the product.
Working at a cable station's site a few years ago we got a demo unit. Older hardware but the software looks about the same. Seemed like a nifty tool for live video broadcasting, but it didn't fit our needs as it couldn't encode and record to a hard drive at the same time. Furthermore, we stopped doing our live content, which had been streaming live court room coverage.
Anyway the way I saw it at the time(and maybe still see it), was that LIVE INTERNET VIDEO wasn't worth the hassle unless the type of content you have demands it. It's no mistake that tricasters are finding homes for sermon and religious event broadcasting, but beyond that, unless you're streaming sports, the demand isn't really there. Give yourself some production time to edit and encode quickly and suddenly your asking yourself what you can spend that extra 10k on.
The original TC 100 could not record to Drive and stream at same time. All the subsequent models could. There are tons of applications for live streaming and there is no better product to produce network quality streaming than Tricaster.
Either way seems to be cool tool man!
Isn't it amazing and wonderful that we're debating 'fringe' usage of online video because the solid base of prerecorded, high-quality video is established?
Even live video isn't an issue for webcam-quality. For someone who grew up wondering if a huge investment might ever result in a video-camera, adequate cellcam footage is still miraculous!
So of course, this stuff elicits a divide-by-zero error.... Bbbbbbbb....
thanks for the response, anonymous NewTek Rep!
Wow. That's pretty cool. I wonder how could it could be used just for live switching in the field while doing packages for broadcast TV? Then you could take the footage from the drive, pop it into FCP - do some quick fixes and not have to edit in multicam - you would have a line cut already.
I do a lot of field work for event shows and sometimes we have a day turnaround - this could save time for the editor to have a line cut he/she could work from.
For me the difference between live and post produced content is what level of emotional attachment and interaction your audience has with the content.
With live content your audience feels more attached/engaged to the speaker/event. The audience is participating in a live event versus watching the results.
Warning: I'm a tricaster owner and a happy one at that.
@ #7 - It works quite well as a small production switcher. I've punched multi-camera productions with fullscreen graphics and lower third font - recording to either tape or internal drive.
If you're iso-recording in the individual cameras as well (useful) you have all the material needed to cover any mis-switches.
And no, I don't sell them, I've only used them.
Leo Laporte taught Sarah Lane how to use one of these live, there's a recording with a lot of instructions and playing around over here: http://odtv.me/2008/12/05/sarah-lane-learns-tricaster-20081205/
Teh Amiga's legacy. Let me show you it.
This thing is really cool; but looking at the pricetag (in europe around €20k) it is not really a thing for teenagers, as stated in the video ...
Meh. If your serious about this stuff for a few bucks more you get a Sony Anycast w/ 3-4 low cost ptz cams. Now your talking!
I am not sure if anyone has realized this, but after watching the Tricaster Pro videos on newtek.com, i realized the hardware box is based on a shuttle SFF (small form factor) barebones computer with a customized front panel.
The tricaster pro is basically a dedicated PC with some custom hardware and software.
It is a matter of time before other companies backward engineer what newtek has done and start offering the same thing for half price or less.
You can see the shuttle's computers model the tricaster is using here:
http://us.shuttle.com/barebone/Models/SN68SG2.html
This is cool little box, but at least those three I've used were hugely unstable. Imagine your production box grinding to halt while on air... System runs on Windows XP with some specialized hardware, like it's big brother Video Toaster.
Sony's Anycast is far more better value for money, as #13 pointed out.
The crew for Cranky Geeks hated the overall jankiness of the Tricaster. Videos boards that couldn't match colors on cameras? Even on the replacement model that Newtek delivered.
One of the TDs came over and tried our Anycast... And was very impressed. Totally changed his view on All In One boxes.
Makes event video for governent and corporate gigs amazingly easy. Two cameras plus a powerpoint feed equals tv show. For live shows, take your video out and feed it into a laptop with Windows Media Encoder.
The hard drive recording of isolated feeds is pretty great as well. You can import the files and the edit decision list from your live switch and clean it up.
Just an amazing box.
Rich
SFGTV
I do a similar show with about half the price invested, or less, on my MacBook Pro. I wrote up all the instructions.
techvi.com/manifesto
Tricaster is too pricey for what you get. If I were going that route, I'd prefer broadcastpix. Better upgrade path, and the sort.
My $.02
Couple o' replies..
To #2.. Live video on the web is HOT!! Radio Stations, Newspapers, Sports, etc.. are all looking for content that viewers make an "appointment" to see. That is what advertisers seem to want.
To #6.. The unit that Ziff-Davis had for Cranky Geeks and DL.Tv was a pre-release unit. We were still ironing out some issues. Just found out that Jim Louderback (He purchased the original TriCaster for Cranky Geeks) just bought another one for Revision 3.
Also Leo Laporte purchased his TriCaster based on the recommendation from Patrick Norton. :)
To #12.. Teenagers are getting access to TriCaster through schools. It's amazing how many schools are rolling TriCaster into their television/mass communications classes.
Go TriCaster Go!
See Ya,
Philip Nelson
NewTek
SVP - Strategic Development..
I have a 20 hour event to video. How can I use Tricast to edit and record this event and then copy it to DVDs for distribution. I know the Tricast hardrive cannot store this amount of video. How do I get this content into a computer hardrive so that I can created DVDs of the event?
We have a tricaster. It crashes at the worst possible minute and is consistently crashing. I called NewTek and they told me what to do about it (delete the temp files, and reconfigure the system to defaults before the show) so far 3 live show crashes! I can't afford another one!
We've been using the Tricaster Pro to broadcast our football and volleyball games to ustream. Tricaster rocks. Check it out at www.usd237.com, www.weareredmen.com www.joedrape.com or http://www.ustream.tv/channel/scch17 at 7:00 CDT on Friday.