Mountain View, CA -TVU Networks, the global technology leader in live IP video solutions, today announced the availability of the new cloud-based TVU Alert and TVU Command Center workflow solutions for professional broadcast. TVU Alert is a cloud-hosted service that makes it quick and simple to send mission-critical alerts, such as breaking news, anywhere throughout a news organization. TVU Command Center is also a cloud-based solution that allows central management and control of all the TVU transmitters, receivers, and services within a group from virtually anywhere. Together, they help broadcasters get to air first with live video from the most important breaking stories.
TVU Alert
“Reporting on breaking news as it happens can make or break a station’s reputation,” said TVU Networks’ VP of Product Management Matt McEwen, “so we designed TVU Alert to allow any user on the system to create a short alert and send it to other TVU users — reporters, directors, management and technical staff — with the push of a button.”
Alerts can be sent to and from any TVU edge device such as: a TVU One live mobile IP newsgathering transmitter; TVU Grid IP video distribution, routing and switching system; MLink live video uplink transmitter; theTVU Anywhere app that turns an iPhone or Android device into a live video transmitter; and the TVUPack mobile uplink solution. Alerts can be customized and sent to individuals, devices or to entire groups in the network.
With TVU Alert, a dialog window allows the user to create the alert message and set up the recipient list, then send with a simple button push. TVU devices can participate in peer-to-peer chats with another device. For example, a technical director can send specific instructions to camera operators via their TVU Anywhere-enabled mobile devices. They can engage in a two-way chat. For group alerts, any number of users can be included in a group, and alert messages are only viewable by group members.
McEwen added, “Getting to air first also depends on communication from the broadcast studio to the field. To that end, our service also includes a cloud-based TVU Alert Dashboard and TVU Alert API.”
The TVU Alert dashboard provides an interface that assignment desk managers, news directors or anyone can see when an alert comes in from the central interface. The Alert message is shown there as well as an indication of when the Alert was sent. Users can also send an Alert from the dashboard.
The TVU Alert API allows alerts to be imported and exported from external sources, including news production systems, wire feeds, script writing, archive access and equipment automation.
TVU Command Center
A new cloud-based solution, TVU Command Center provides a centralized management control of all TVU devices and systems within a group remotely from anywhere. It features a robust set of tools including the following:
- Full control of TVU transmitter functions, including latency and bit-rate
- Full control of TVU receivers, including Geo-locate, a GPS-based map view of all powered TVU transmitters
- Full control over adding or removing individual supported devices
- Full control over all TVU Grid video content switching, routing and distribution
- Integration of the TVU Multiview feature for previewing six live video streams on a single monitor
- Supports TVU Analytics for full monitoring of data usage, including pre-set alerts for data usage thresholds
- Supports TVU Booking service for the scheduling of automated live video transmission
TVU Command Center also allows IP video sources to be added or deleted, transmit and output to a third party website or content delivery network (CDN) such as Akamai, YouTube Live, and Ustream. Video clips from TVU transmitters can be easily downloaded and managed from a central point, and edited clips output to FTP or multiple video sources such as CDNs.
TVU will showcase all of its solutions, designed to help organizations fully leverage the extraordinary power of IP for video broadcast, in Booth #SU4405 during NAB, to be held from April 16-21 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
- TVU One is the company’s fifth-generation live mobile IP newsgathering transmitter. It delivers the same transmission resiliency, performance, picture quality and sub-second latency of a full-size backpack transmitter in a substantially smaller and lighter form factor. TVU One features TVU Networks’ patented Inverse Statmux Plus (IS+) transmission algorithm, Smart VBR technology, and the TVU.264 video codec. It’s available with embedded modems and can transmit simultaneously over multiple mediums, including cellular, microwave, MIMO microwave mesh, Ka-band and Ku-band satellite, BGAN, WiFi, and Ethernet.
- TVU RPS is a cost-effective alternative solution for live on-location news and sports coverage. With TVU RPS, a broadcaster can leverage their existing studio control room and a normal Internet connection from the field for live, multi-camera production. There is no need for the broadcaster to deploy its own production crew in the field. The TVU RPS transmitter encodes up to four synchronized SDI sources and transmits high quality and low latency IP video from the remote location to a studio based receiver, which in turn outputs four synchronized SDI outputs. In addition, TVU RPS provides a low-latency, return video feed from the studio to the field as well as IFB. It is also possible to send control and metadata data to and from the remote site including teleprompter, tally light, GPS and location specific metadata (e.g. scoring information, etc.).
- TVU Grid, an IP video distribution, routing and switching system gives broadcasters the ability to seamlessly switch live IP video content and share live streams between remote locations. TVU Grid removes the walls from broadcast stations, empowering users to distribute or collect content with just the click of a button.
- The company’s TVU Anywhere app turns an iPhone or Android device into a live video transmitter. Designed to turn your portable smart device or laptop instantly into a transmitter, TVU Anywhere enables reporters to instantly capture and transmit footage from anywhere at any time. TVU Anywhere is easy to use – just download the app to a smartphone, tablet or laptop, open the application and start transmitting video. TVU Anywhere uses a 3G/4G/LTE wireless connection and WiFi when available to transmit live video to a TVU Receiver.
- TVU MLink live video uplink transmitter brings cellular 3G/4G LTE transmission capabilities to satellite and microwave vehicles, vans and trucks. Designed for fixed deployment, TVU MLink is a one RU rack unit that is capable of aggregating the transmission signals from multiple transmission mediums simultaneously, including cellular, satellite, microwave, WiFi and Ethernet.
- TVUMe is an online video marketplace where broadcasters can sell and trade recorded video content and sell live video streams from a simple interface. Users can buy video content from other broadcasters, freelancers and independent production crews from around the world. Additionally, production crews can use the TVUMe online service to list production services and equipment for future booking, providing broadcasters with access to professional video crews around the globe.
Already in use by hundreds of leading broadcast organizations around the world, the TVU Networks family of IP transmission solutions gives broadcasters and organizations a powerful and reliable tool to distribute live video content to broadcast, online and mobile platforms. The TVU Networks suite of solutions has been used to deliver professional-quality live HD footage of a number of important events around the world including the World Cup, both Summer and Winter Olympic Games, U.S. presidential elections, natural disasters, the 2013 Papal conclave, the Super Bowl, the 2015 Papal visit to the United States and several international sporting events.
Social Media Links:
TVU Networks on Twitter
TVU Networks on Instagram
TVU Networks on Facebook
TVU Networks on LinkedIn
TVU Networks on YouTube
About TVU Networks®
TVU Networks® is a technology and market leader in IP-based live video solutions. TVU’s solutions help transform broadcasters’ SDI-based operations – which include acquisition, transmission, routing, distribution and management – to an IP-based infrastructure. TVU® serves customers of all sizes in more than 80 countries from industries that include news broadcast, web streaming, law enforcement, sports, corporate and government. In broadcast markets around the world including the USA, China and other major economic powers, TVU® is the dominant market leader with a large majority of all news broadcast stations using its IP video solutions. Using its proprietary IS+ technology, TVU’s uplink solutions use any combination of cellular, satellite, microwave, WiFi and Ethernet IP connections to deliver live HD video from practically any location.
