Upper Merion Area School District
District adds live stream capabilities to stream sports and other events.
With restrictions in place during the Covid-19 Pandemic, Upper Merion Area School District (UMASD) knew they needed a way to have fans watch their sporting events both live and on demand. The District has a long video production history and the Viking Channel Studio already had a complete mobile Vidcaster rack from AVT but the rack did not have live streaming capabilities built into it. While the Viking channel was able to show video on demand programming, they wanted the additional capability to go live with their sports and event programming and eventually add the ability to broadcast away events. The District currently sends content out through their community access channel but also knew that most content is being consumed over the internet and they needed to have their own custom, professional website where their content could be shared.
Brian Reagan, UMASD Coordinator of Communications Media, contacted AVT to help develop a live stream solution that could be used in conjunction with the NewTek TriCaster and the District’s current production equipment. AVT connected a Teradek Video Encoder to the mobile rack that allowed for live streaming as well as recording for future VOD playback. As a second phase to the project, The Viking Channel deployed a LiveU bonded cellular system for broadcast from remote locations for off campus remote production events like baseball and softball games. Future plans include using this LiveU system to cover away and playoff games. In addition to the hardware updates, AVT worked with UMASD to create a custom hosted landing page for the Viking channel player and incorporated it into the school district website to help create a standardized look and allows them to own their own content and does not have any advertisements.
“We came to AVT because of our long history with them and their ability to provide the best solution possible at a price point that allows a school district to get into the world of live streaming. With the flexibility of the TriCaster and other equipment in place, we now have the ability to create a highly professional looking broadcast with just 5 people onsite. The ability to take our equipment on the road or to off site locations gives teams like our softball and baseball teams the same opportunity to have their games covered that we had previously only been able to give to teams that play within our building like basketball and swimming. We love that AVT was also able to help us with creating such a professional looking website to host our videos, which we think gives our fans a unique viewing experience.”
Brian Reagan, UMASD Coordinator of Communications Media
• Teradek VidiU Go SDI+HDMI Encoder
• LiveU Solo Premium Video Encoder
• LiveU Solo Connect/2 Modem Starter Kit
• PMG Hosted Services Annual Contract