Jeremy Brown from Seven West Media discusses the challenges and solutions of live streaming remote events, particularly the Sydney to Hobart yacht race. He emphasizes the importance of managing expectations, having redundancies, and utilizing bonded cellular devices to ensure reliable connectivity under difficult conditions. Key takeaways include the need for thorough testing and the use of input slates to mitigate playback issues.

1. Live streaming
from remote events

2. I’m Jeremy Brown
Head of Video Architecture
Seven West Media Australia
Hello!

3. Organiser syd<video>
2,100 members
In 2018, with speakers from
Also

4. We do a lot of live
53 channels 24x7 365
The biggest TV events in sport, shows & news

5. ““Five nines” monitored,
redundant live architecture

6. “
20 additional channels for Olympics & Tennis
Lucky enough to stream
2018’s largest sport events

7. “
We saw users love to engage with
any sport played at it’s elite level

8. “
We saw users love to engage with
any sport played at it’s elite level
lawn bowls has an audience

9. “
Globally no other annual yacht
race attracts audiences like
Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race
Sydney
Hobart

10. Yachts I’ve been on are
floating caravans

11. Racing yachts go really
fast with nowhere to sit

12. Also, race yachts are owned
by the incredibly wealthy

13. ...who asked their cameras
stream on 7plus during the
Sydney to Hobart race

14. Scheduling &
delivery
Camera &
connectivity
Typical live event concerns
Playback &
Support

15. 7plus already manages “popup”
playout, scheduling and transcode

16. Cameras
Security cams
Action cam
Connectivity
4G phone
4G hotspot
Delivery
Multicam
SD/HD/4K
Audio?
Risk: Each yacht, different solution

17. Risk: Different camera quality
covering single event live

18. Risk: Single cellular connection,
tested on quiet day use on busiest

19. Risk: Limited testing, remote
debugging, crew only access

20. Risk: HD demands, buffering
seen as platform failure

21. “Risk: Expectations this has
broadcast reliability

22. What happened on race day
was as expected...

23. Crowds flooded 4G within
minutes, causing input drift

24. Yachts differing video architecture
performed differently but not well

25. Live streaming
remote events

26. When given limited budget,
time and resources how to get
a stream from a remote
location fed over a congested
network to not suck too much

27. Set realistic expectations
Steady low quality trumps HD
Reliability
Quality

28. Plan multiple
connections
4G black spots, congestion,
hardware failure or provider issue

29. Bonded cellular devices are great
when 4G is your only option
Telco 1 SIM
Telco 2 SIM
Telco 3 SIM
Local ADSL
Free Cafe Wifi
Shared throughput

30. Buy a bonded cellular device
(A waterproof one)
=

31. Bonded devices adapt encoding
profile via feedback loop

32. Gear didn’t support modern RTMP
alternatives - RTP FEC, STP, Zixi etc

33. 4G worked better at sea,
extending our coverage

34. Satellite: lower bandwidth but
increased reliability and range

35. Test your
worst cases
Unplug everything, one at a time
then test recovery

36. Testing found action cam required a
restart when connectivity dropped

37. Testing found poor input
affected complex graphics

38. Load a slate/clipWhen drift occurs
Implement an input slate, to
mitigate failing connectivity

39. Frequent loss Input loss slate
Input loss slate, not pretty but
reduced playback stalling

40. Without input slate streams
crashed web, app, ctv players

41. Implementing input slate reduced
player buffering & crashes

42. 1. Have redundancies
2. Test worst cases
3. Don’t sweat HD
4. Manage expectations
5. Enjoy the challenge
Summary

43. Jeremy Brown
Head of Video Architecture
Seven West Media, Australia
Thanks