IPTV: How To WebCast Using Softron OnTheAir Video

As IPTV grows in popularity with audiences, tools like OnTheAir Video are finding broadcasters and content creators eager to use these new non-traditional forms of broadcast to expand new audiences. OnTheAir Video along with all of its options, were created for television broadcasting – either via cable, satellite or closed-circuit. But OnTheAir Video can also webcast. It can also webcast and broadcast simultaneously when used in conjunction with an application such as Wirecast from Vara Software.

This provides the capability to completely automate the entire broadcasting for television and Web. As IPTV becomes more ubiquitous, OnTheAir Video’s use with other applications such as Wirecast is destined to proliferate as well. OnTheAir Video’s playlist management and scheduling capabilities gives every organization the ability to broadcast to millions of potential viewers. And because OnTheAir is AppleScriptable it can control external devices as well to incorporate GPI controllable devices, RS422 devices and MIDI devices into live broadcasts on-air and over the Net.

In this article, I want to make explain the basics of how to make this work. I won’t go into the details of how to use Wirecast. You can download the Wirecast application yourself from http://www.varasoftware.com. It has a very good tutorial that will provide a good explanation of how to use the software and how to stream to various destinations including the QuickTime Streaming Server (QTSS or DSS), its own built-in Streaming server, or to disk.

First of all, Wirecast will require an input and OnTheAir Video will require output -- and since a single video card cannot be used by two different applications on the Mac, two video cards will need to be used. At this time, only Blackmagic Design supports having two cards in a MacPro at the same time. (In the future, AJA will also have this capability.) Any two Decklink cards can be used but if you want to broadcast SDI and have the cleanest signal (SDI) as input into the second video card, I recommend the Decklink HD Extreme.

Make sure that the Decklink’s input and the output is set to SDI as per the Decklink preference settings found in System Preferences.

Then, launch OnTheAir Video and select the second Decklink labeled “Blackmagic Video Output 2” which will be used as the output for OnTheAir Video.

Then, launch Wirecast and open the Media pulldown menu to select the Blackmagic card.
(Note that if you are working in SD NTSC, you should select that in both applications.)

When you select the Blackmagic card, you will see that only one Decklink card appears.This is because OnTheAir Video is already open and “Blackmagic Video Output 2” is already in use.

Now you can operate Wirecast, using the output from OnTheAir Video as the input for Wirecast.

To webcast from Wirecast, you will need to determine the Encoder that you will use.

And the type of Server you will use.

Keep in mind that when you output using the OnTheAir Video playout server using the second video out on the Decklink card to go to air and the first output as input to Wirecast, you are broadcasting to two universes – traditional television and Web television. All made possible by Softron Media Services.

You can find additional information about OnTheAir Video and other Softron Media Services Products on the Web at http://www.softronmedia.com and http://softron.desktopvideo.info.