Blue Tuna rolls out live broadband streaming solution

London-based digital media agency Blue Tuna has launched a new end-to-end live webcasting solution, XStream Live, which allows events to be streamed live from any location via satellite.
The service is aimed at production companies, event rights holders and corporate communication managers who need a flexible and cost effective webcasting service. Blue Tuna’s Chief Executive Officer, Steve Katz, commented: “As with television outside broadcasts, one of the challenges faced by webcasting an event live is delivering the signal back to a network. In the past we have often relied on ISDN and other fixed line connections. These are expensive to install for one-off projects and often struggle to support the data rates needed for broadband streaming.”
He added that another more favoured option has been to use a satellite uplink (SNG), “but until now these have not been cost-effective for broadband streaming.”
The XStream Live solution utilises IP Over Satellite technology, allowing the webcast to be uplinked at a constant data rate of approximately 400kbps. One of the key advantages of using this technology is the reduced cost, with significant savings on buying satellite bandwidth.
The IP Over Satellite technology has been combined with Blue Tuna’s expertise in outside broadcast production to create a complete service for content providers. The Xtream Live package includes all of the technical facilities and support required to broadcast an event live over the Internet.
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