Seven years ago a Texas company called NewTek launched TriCaster, a product that essentially puts all the equipment from a TV news truck into one box. It's affordable as broadcasting equipment goes, with rigs as cheap as $5,000. When it unveiled TriCaster, NewTek thought its main customers would be amateur broadcasters looking to upgrade from shoestring operations.
Then MTV came calling.
In 2008 MTV was looking to ramp up its web operations. The first project: an online "after show" for its reality-show hit, The Hills, shot at a remote location. The problem, as with many web projects that are secondary to a main broadcast, was cash. MTV didn't want to invest a lot of money in something that hadn't been proven to work yet.
So MTV called up NewTek and set up a TriCaster to handle the broadcast. The Hills after show ended up being a huge hit, so the network turned again to TriCaster for its next move in original online video: live-streaming concerts from an intimate club, New York City's Webster Hall.
"We started producing a Hills aftershow live stream with the TriCaster four years ago," says Jeff Jacobs, MTV's senior vice president of operations. "Now we have a half-dozen series that have live streams associated with them. For us, [TriCaster] allows us to produce shows and content that we would not otherwise be able to produce."
Although streaming a concert over the web is easy at a major venue like a stadium, all MTV had to work with at Webster Hall was a closet. Fortunately, that's more than enough space for a TriCaster, and it enables the channel to live-stream bands on a regular basis — bands like The Kills and Mariana and the Diamonds, who normally wouldn't get any attention from a brand like MTV. Jacobs says it would be a natural move to expand the live music project beyond New York City, though there are no firm plans yet.
However, MTV's streaming operations continue to grow. In addition to the live music and "extra material" from various shows, the network streams live red-carpet coverage of many awards shows — including tonight's Oscars — via a TriCaster.
MTV is just one of many major brands that discovered how TriCaster is a cheap and easy way to set up a remote broadcast and still make it look like a pro operation. NewTek's senior vice president of strategic development, Philip Nelson, says in addition to MTV, Glenn Beck and several pro football and hockey teams have invested in a TriCaster as part of their web-video operations.
"When we first launched it, we thought our target was enterprise, churches and education. We didn't realize it would be implemented so widely from broadcasters."
While services like Ustream can turn anyone with a webcam into an Internet broadcaster, it's a far cry from the professionally cut, multiple-camera setups that usually take place in a studio. A TriCaster can support up to four — or even up to eight — cameras or sources depending on the model, and it's equipped to simultaneously feed the stream to three different places: a broadcast channel, a live stream on the web and digital signage (that's what the "Tri" is for).
On top of that, the most recent models have a few extra tricks. No money for a sleek studio? TriCaster can create a virtual one, complete with desks that are accurately lit. There's also Apple AirPlay support, so if you have an iPhone or iPad, you can easily turn its screen into one of your video sources. Nelson gives a run-down of the latest TriCaster in the video below:
As Nelson sees it, a TriCaster is a good investment for anyone looking to monetize an online-video operation.
"If you want sponsors, streaming video needs to look like TV. You get more credibility. My 13-year-old son knows what TV looks like and he knows what dorm-room video on YouTube looks like."
Citing TriCaster operators like the Streamin' Garage, Nelson says several web-video pioneers have used the equipment to upgrade their operations. On top of that, a host of colleges and universities have bought one to broadcast games locally and online.
"Not to sound cheesy, but it's really changed lives. In the Midwest there's an NCAA conference called the Horizon League. They were doing about 10 sporting events a year. They bought TriCasters for all their schools and with the same budget they went from 10 live events to 400. It opened up sports — gymnastics, swimming — that would never get coverage."
TriCaster has certainly been a success story for NewTek. Thanks to interest from pros and amateurs alike, the company has doubled from 60 to 120 employees since the first product was launched in 2005. Nelson says NewTek has sold "thousands and thousands" of TriCasters, and the company can't make them fast enough to satisfy worldwide demand.
What do you think of TriCaster? Is it something you think you'd use for your own live-streaming operation? Let us know in the comments.
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