Fun things happening in the streaming world over the last couple weeks. Here are a few items that stood out on my timelines.

StreamYard Adds Long Form Video Play

The streaming company officially opened the feature earlier this week allowing users to share long form videos during their streams. Previously, the limit was five minutes on preloaded videos. Now the limit is…limitless! The company support site says “There is NO limit on file size or length when using the “Share Video” feature!”

One thing to note is that long form videos are not saved in your studio. You have to upload every time you leave or create a new broadcast.

Wirecast Adds Rendezvous Back-Channel Chat and Shot ISO

Wirecast released a couple new features on January 25. One of which being users can now chat behind the scenes with their guests. Always nice if you need to communicate with each other without the audience hearing.

Even better, in my opinion, is that Pro users can now independently record any shot in the stream, including remote guests. This is great for post-production, being able to adjust audio/video on separate tracks.

Switcher Studio Raises More Money

The iOS-based streaming company raised $2.4 million in new investments led by Thornton Capital. A clear sign that investors are aware of the need for remote streaming production in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

Remote production is something Switcher is putting more of a focus on in 2021 as the company CEO, Nick Mattingly mentioned in his end-of-year address. They’ll provide remote production services with dedicated staff that will help brands run their virtual events, as opposed to them downloading the software and running it themselves.

Take a Break with Breakthru

This one isn’t news so to speak, however Microsoft tweeted from their Teams account early this week highlighting their Breakthru app for use within the Teams system.

Breakthru is designed to help you take short, 2-minute breaks throughout the day when needed. The app provides guided meditation exercises to help you re-energize. With mental health and self-care being so important, especially in the midst of COVID, this is something worth checking out.

Super Bowl LV Going Hybrid

Van Wagner Sports & Entertainment will be producing this year’s Super Bowl show at Raymond James Stadium, this time bringing in remote staffers as well as on-site staff to help out.

Many resources for the broadcast will be in remote locations due to COVID safety protocols. Onsite staff will work in different control rooms to space out as well.

The remote staff includes editors and producers located all across the country, operating in different time zones.

In addition to what viewers will be seeing at home, VWSE is also creating a unique experience for fans in attendance, incorporating 26 LED screens into the lower bowl of the stadium, taking up the first 10 rows. This will mainly be used for sponsorships, but after big plays and during stoppages, the whole system will work together for bigger more “dramatic” presentations, as the article linked above states.

While the limited fans in attendance has been a sad sight all year for NFL games, I’m excited to see the new technology and how it’s incorporated into the biggest game of the year.

That’s all for updates this week! I hope to do this on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. Stay tuned for more.