LiveU, an early adopter of portable video-over-cellular solutions for newsgathering, unveiled its new professional-grade LU70 uplink solution with second-generation internal and new external antenna arrays at NAB.
The LU70 includes a one-touch-live mode with automatic adjustment of video resolutions for fast and easy live video transmission at the touch of a button and point to multi-point distribution. A single device can broadcast live to multiple, varied destinations concurrently.
LiveU’s proprietary RF technology supports the growing range of 3G/4G LTE cellular network bands worldwide, providing resiliency in areas with poor cellular coverage. The internal antennas support a larger number of frequencies, ensuring enhanced signal performance with long-range reception and increased uplink capability.
The new external antenna array provides additional resiliency for extreme scenarios, such as heavily crowded locations. Boosted by its remotely located antennas, the LU70 supports up to 14 cellular links simultaneously. The unit can automatically swap between internal and external antennas as needed, according to the network conditions.
At NAB, LiveU showcased the first ever mobile newsgathering (MNG) vehicle with external antenna mounted on its roof, in conjunction with WUSA-TV, the CBS affiliate (owned buy Gannet) in Washington D.C..
“With the new antennas, we can depend on cellular-based transmission for primary news and events, such as major sports competitions, with much faster set-up time and lower overheads than traditional SNG trucks,” said Victor Murphy, director of technology at WUSA 9.
Other new features include increased throughput, with over 10 Mbps for better video quality and an instant Wi-Fi access point, providing wireless connectivity over Wi-Fi for areas with limited network connections. The LU70 hardware will also be able to fully power LiveU’s forthcoming H.265 codec implementation.
