NAB Show: Cablecast to Preview New Social Streaming and Control Room Features
New features on display include direct distribution to YouTube, improved live production workflows and broadcast to social media platforms from playout server
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.—Cablecast Community Media has announced that it will be previewing its new Social Streaming and Control Rooms features, which simplify direct streaming and simulcasting to social media platforms from Cablecast Automation software, at NAB Show 2024 in Las Vegas (April 14-17).
Cablecast exhibits at the Renaissance Las Vegas Hotel, Suite 839, next to the South Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center.
Building on the ability to playout and record unlimited network stream sources, the new Social Streaming feature for Cablecast VIO video servers provides municipalities, educational institutions, PEG stations, and businesses with a reliable, straightforward way to stream live events directly from their Cablecast video and automation server to social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, and Twitch, the company reported.
Designed specifically for events televised from the TV studio or city council chamber, social streams can be scheduled directly into the playout schedule the same way all live events are scheduled in Cablecast, or as a user-initiated switch in the virtual switcher.
“Social Streaming is a vital tool that empowers our clients to schedule live events to be streamed directly to their audience's favorite social media platforms. With Cablecast, simulcasting to social media is now a simple and seamless part of your public communication strategy,” said Steve Israelsky, president, Cablecast Community Media.
The new Control Rooms feature will simplify broadcast and streaming event workflows for Cablecast operators by giving them customizable views for live switching. As organizations add more network sources and digital distribution platforms to their channel operations, a single Cablecast system may include several live sources, network encoders, multiple channels, and live streams, the company explained.
“We see so many PEG operations supporting multiple channels, it can become difficult to navigate the manual controls, even in our streamlined interface,” added Israelsky. “Control Rooms lets you configure a separate, simplified set of devices and outputs – just the ones you need for that particular production – to streamline the live event process.”
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With Control Rooms, a station covering council meetings for several cities can create a control room for each municipality that displays only the specific channel, source locations, and outputs needed for each city, the company reported.
Combined with the Social Streaming feature, the Control Rooms user interface also gives users a shortcut to start an RTMP stream and begin streaming directly to social media platforms like YouTube. Additional tools in the event bar include a countdown, controls for starting and stopping the live event, and testing the live streams.
Cablecast is scheduling meetings for the 2024 NAB Show to demo its new accessibility upgrades and other PEG channel solutions here.
George Winslow is the senior content producer for TV Tech. He has written about the television, media and technology industries for nearly 30 years for such publications as Broadcasting & Cable, Multichannel News and TV Tech. Over the years, he has edited a number of magazines, including Multichannel News International and World Screen, and moderated panels at such major industry events as NAB and MIP TV. He has published two books and dozens of encyclopedia articles on such subjects as the media, New York City history and economics.