LiveU Breaks its Global Transmission Record with 500 Simultaneous Live Streams
Coordination between LiveU and local partner, Magnum powered historical coverage of Mexico Presidential Election 2018
The highly-publicized Mexico Presidential Elections reached global audiences and broke records for voter turnout and media coverage. To keep a country informed and provide up-to-the-minute updates and results, the media relied on LiveU and its Mexican partner, Magnum Soluciones Digitales, to deliver a reliable live solution for the high-profile news event. The result was an unprecedented 500 simultaneous live streams using the LU600 HEVC and other LiveU solutions for 48 hours, the first test of LiveU’s flagship HEVC technology on a large scale in Mexico.
The electoral process involved major logistical challenges for the media – bandwidth, and reliability being key. Technical and operational preparation was organized weeks in advance between LiveU and Magnum with the needs of each client reviewed and service parameters established. The LU600 HEVC unit was selected to power the live transmissions as it provided the highest video quality at bandwidths as low as 1Mbps and the lowest delay. The unit has also proved its value in cell congested and rural environments.
“The partnership between LiveU and Magnum brought an end-to-end live production solution to media covering the election,” said Jose Luis Reyes, LiveU VP of Sales, Latin America. “In addition to supplying the gear, Magnum supplied camera operators, on-camera talent, and support. It was truly a coordinated effort to produce, manage, and distribute the high-quality live coverage.”
Andrés Peluffo (LiveU Latin America) and his team moved to Mexico City to work with Magnum CEO, Jorge Camacho and 53 people from his direct team. The technology was tested for 500 equipment teams and the speed of transmission was verified, with the highest quality of the video. The testing and demos showed no buffering, stuttering, or delays in closed sites or areas prone to saturation on the network.
“In terms of satellite and microwave trucks, the technology infrastructure didn’t exist to make either an option,” noted Jorge Camacho, Magnum Soluciones Digitales CEO. “The sheer magnitude of this deployment was incredible. The collaboration between Magnum and LiveU made it possible for the first time to supply an infrastructure to accommodate 500 live signals. The live coverage reached more geographical locations and digital destinations with fewer production resources required.”
LiveU technology was deployed by crews in various areas in the states of Chiapas, Guanajuato, Jalisco, Morelos, Puebla, Tabasco, Veracruz and Yucatan, as well as Mexico City. They were headed by Televisa and regional Televisa, Multimedia, Image group, Mexiquense, Channel Eleven, and many other national and international channels. Radio stations and online media publications also used LiveU to cover the Election. All LiveU’s field-proven backpack platforms participated in this extensive project.
In August 2015, Sky News set a Guinness World Record for the most concurrent live web streams for an event using LiveU technology during its UK General Election coverage, with streams fed from 138 locations to cover 150 constituency results.