BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA—News waits for nobody. The biggest challenge as a freelance cameraman is getting the footage back to the station in time to be edited and put on air.
With the networks under pressure to cut budgets and reduce costly infrastructure, I decided to become more self-reliant and take control of the whole video delivery chain. That included the use of a Dejero Live+ 20/20, GoBox and two EnGo mobile transmitters to offer a one-stop shop service to my clients. Being able to send highquality footage from the field, or from a moving car changed my world.
Sproxton on the USS George Washington aircraft carrier, using the Dejero mobile transmitter to go live from the flight deck.
BEATING THE COMPETITION
I first encountered Dejero because three out of the five networks I was working with were using Dejero servers, so initially my interest was compatibility. But having seen the sometimes poor on-air output from competitive products other networks were using, it became obvious that Dejero provided superior picture quality, and could keep up with low data rates when those beside me had issues.
My first real test with the Live+ was at G20 in 2014, when world leaders gathered in Brisbane. For security reasons, production trucks weren’t allowed onto the tarmac. But I used my Dejero 20/20 to feed HD pics from the scene to the director; he was so happy with the quality that he put them live on air. Since 2014 the transmitter unit has evolved and I’ve upgraded the trusty 20/20 for the GoBox. Dejero offers an easy upgrade path and the improvements more than justify the investment.
ADAPTABILITY
The Dejero equipment helps me manage a timetable that varies dramatically from day to day. Some days I work 18 hours straight, some I work with a journalist on multiple live shoots. In either situation I can feed footage to news stations servers while moving from job to job, with the networks managing the editing. That’s what I love about Dejero: you can get all the footage to the networks without too much stress and the quality is fantastic.
I also use my Live+ to cover A League football for SBS, feeding coach and player interviews into the live show. For this and for breaking news, my content is either fed live or using the EnGo’s Store ‘n Forward, allowing me to be on the move between data or phone towers all the while knowing the clip will arrive without drama.
Being menu-driven with all information available on an on-screen display, the Dejero equipment is really easy-going. It’s 30 seconds from power-up to on-air and you don’t have to worry about dongles falling out or a fragile design that’s going to get damaged. One of my favorite features is being able to control the unit remotely via smartphone, so I can grab lunch while monitoring the transfer of non-urgent footage to the server as it’s occurring in the vehicle.
Too often products over promise and under deliver, but from the start the Dejero units and the people behind them have been doing exactly what they set out to do—making my job easier.
Rick Sproxton has been a cameraman for 27 years, providing live and recorded footage for a variety of networks across Australia. He can be contacted atricksproxton@gmail.com.
For more information, please visitwww.dejero.comor call 519-772-4824.
