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How do TV news livestreams work?


aleckrohto

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This question has been with me for a while. I was wondering how do TV stations operate their live streams. What software do they use and how do they get the signal from the TV feed to the internet. Also what software do they use to cut to break instead of showing the OTA ads.

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It varies by station group but most now use LiveStream's platform with their own software. They then tie in to the production room's on-air tally to the box to cut out commericals.

 

Previous to LiveStream was Worldnow, which has their own software as well.

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Also what software do they use to cut to break instead of showing the OTA ads.

 

I've seen stations run it a couple of ways but both of them are upstream of the Livestream software.

 

The way that makes the most sense to me is to send Livestream the output of a separate log and to program the button that triggers the breaks during newscasts to also trigger the breaks on the separate log, which sends Livestream the filler material.

 

The other approach I've seen is to attach GPI triggers that changes the feed to the filler material.

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They then tie in to the production room's on-air tally to the box to cut out commericals.

 

Engineering wanted us, the TDs, to go to an "In Commercial Break" slide every time we hit a break. I declared this rather impractical and asked, "Can't you tie a GPI to run off the tally system?" Lo-and-behold, that's how they built it.

 

Worked out even better for them, since that place doesn't have TDs anymore to put anything up during breaks!

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I think Livestream actually has special software just for broadcasters that includes a GPI control extension. That's also why some stations have such a hard time doing breaking news outside of normal newscast hours on their primary stream...

 

Other than that, I know the Livestream encoders are just small square "media center"-style desktops with an off-the-shelf HD-SDI card in them. Nothing too special. A far cry from the days of stations owning very expensive "streaming servers" that would get bogged down if too many people tried to watch at once...

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Some of stations, whether or not they use Livestream as their streaming client, forego just showing a slide identifying that the newscast is in a commercial break and actually run commercials from local or national advertisers during breaks. Locally based ads vary between being inserted separately in place of the slide or inserted within the stream with the slide only bookending the start and end of each break.

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