Hello aussie geeks...
An English friend of mine is getting married in Sydney in a few months and is thinking about webcasting the wedding ceremony so that friends and family in the UK can watch if they aren't able to make the 10,000km trip...
Has anyone got any recommendations for hardware, software and webservices? They have a Telstra NextG so can get online in the church.
My instinct is to say that it's a bit hard, and suggest recording something and sticking it up on YouTube within a few hours (after all it'll be in the middle of the night in the UK).
What do you all think?
Tom.
PS - I offered to live tweet their wedding and they declined. Apparently I spend too much time on my iPhone as it is! :P
Isn't live streaming a wedding sort of like live streaming a firing squad? 
Yup. Better than live streaming a birth though I'd imagine. :P
Vimeo is probably a better option than YouTube, thanks Wade.
Anyone got any suggestions for the live streaming part, or do I just stick up a recorded video later on?
QIK and youtube
flixwagon and kyte.tv are worth a look as backups
oh, stream from a computer? howwant about ustream?
ok... youtube, QIK and Ustream!
my only thoughts are thorough testing before hand. ie stream and or record video of same length before and test for lag/drop-outs/quality etc.
i wouldnt risk the live stream seeing as it's a once in a lifetime ceremony. i would go the record (far less to go wrong) then upload straight away, one of the geeks in the audience would be happy to do so while the couple drive of into the sunset yeah?
What about Skype? It means only one stream but they could get together at the other end and make a party of it around a huge telly and they would get the audio as well. The advantage of doing it this way is a few:
- Skype have really beefed up their codec and it handles flaky connections better now than ever
- Next G can be a bit hit and miss
- Set up a web cam to get the whole thing in and forget OR move it when you need whatever
- The bride and groom could say a quick cherio to folks OS and that would be just plain cool
- It is private and that might be good for those identity nervous types similar to Herne
- Zero work as far as encoding and uploading
Anyway that is my opinion and I recon I would love to be on the other end watching! Let us know the solution that you settle on and then how it comes out!
Skype is a good idea. I tried a test thing over ustream and 3G and it sort of worked. Not sure if I want to be responsible for it though, so I'm trying to back away quietly and suggesting they upload something to vimeo later on!
Ustream is your friend. But make sure you've got a good pipe. Perhaps steal some wifi in the area.
Never stream anything that you want to keep a copy of. Go the record. Any data stream can be interrupted, solar flare, flock of penguins, etc. Regardless of any wireless connectivity available, there's always potential interference. Churches aren't designed for connectivity and many have mobile repeaters in their spires.
A general wedding tip, get someone else to do all the geekery, so you can enjoy the party. It sucks "working" instead of doing what everyone else is doing.
Why not hire a video person to record in HD, mix it and provide a few different versions, HD, small enough for YouTube, etc. and upload the small stuff ASAP (via NextG if they want). Mail out HD DVDs later.
Keep in mind a live 'cast will either be mobile with shaky footage, or stable with a limited view.
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