By Aaron Shamshoyan
Salem Community Television (SCTV 17) of Salem, N.H., provides coverage of local events to an audience in Salem and the surrounding area. We were recently looking to add the ability to deliver live video of local events to social media outlets like Facebook Live. It can sometimes take us as long as a week to turn around a produced broadcast of a local event, so we were eager to find a way to supplement our regularly produced broadcasts with live coverage delivered to viewers.
LiveShot Portable in action
We use Comrex LiveShot to deliver our standard broadcast programming. For smaller or spontaneous events—events that in the past we weren’t able to cover at all—we’ve begun using LiveShot with Facebook Live. By delivering directly to viewers over social media, we reach our audience on a platform they’re already using and encourage interest in the station, as well as broaden the scope of our newsgathering.
To connect LiveShot with Facebook Live, we use the LiveStream Studio HD550, which works like a mini switcher. We stream from the LiveShot Portable in the field to our LiveShot Rackmount in the studio, and then set the program feed to stream to the HD550. From there, it streams to Facebook Live.
Using Facebook Live has given us the power to interact directly with our audience. People can comment on videos and ask questions. We can get a sense of what our community cares about as an event is happening, which is something we couldn’t do otherwise.
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This user report was originally published in Creative Planet. To read the original story, click here.
Aaron Shamshoyan is an engineer at Salem Community Television.