How to Plan a Live Virtual Event or Webcast

We travel to your location, wherever it is, and test the provided internet connection for speed and stability BEFORE the event. If this will be a purely virtual event using web calls such as Zoom, Skype or Teams, we test all of the remote locations to be sure all the presenters are comfortable with the process and are setup properly. We make certain that every variable has been addressed.

If this is an on-site event we verify the venue is prepared with connectivity, lighting, staging and the proper in-room audio and video. If you need us to provide the A/V or even backup cellular connectivity, we do this before the event.

Using our Rubicon Media Portal platform, we setup all the technology needed for the webcast. If you are hands-on or a producer using our virtual event platform for your clients, we'll show you how to Do-it-Yourself. You'll quickly be creating a portal for your webcast events.

After we've secured the domain name for your Portal or you've provided one, our step-by-step process takes us through creating the layout of the event website using logos, images and content. We create the events. If it is a one-time, single day event, we create what we call a Webinar. Or we can setup a multi-room, multi-day conference. 

You assign the dates and times, choose the access/login method, choose the registration page layout and form fields needed and setup your reminder and confirmation emails.

Then we create the agenda with session details. If the events are conferences - multi-day events - you'll likely add speakers, photos and bios and assign them to their sessions, We'll include any PPT's that will accompany the video.

Hit "Publish" and the portal is live on the web. Until the day of the event we push a Test Video to the portal for users to verify their firewall and network accessibility.

On the day of the event we connect our encoding computer and hardware to the video sources. If we are on site,  this would typically one of our HD Panasonic HC 3800 or HPX 3100 cameras. We can stream outputs from a computer, a projector, the display output of a medical or technical diagnostic device, or even an audio only source. Very flexible. We'll use our HS-50 video switchers to switch multiple remote locations with the local video sources into the live webcast.

Remote sources can be web calls such as Teams, Zoom or Skype calls. If a purely VIRTUAL event , we connect from our studio to the calls and remote sources and mix the content here using our ATEM video controllers and Panasonic switchers. 

To send the live webcast stream to your audience we employ encoding software to take the data from the inputs and convert it to a streaming format. The encoding process compresses the signal making it possible to send very high quality audio and video over a reasonably fast broadband internet connection.

• We compress the audio using the AAC audio codec for the highest quality.
• We encode the video and compress it using H.264 for the best quality at the proper bitrates.
• We weigh the options of bitrate vs. bandwidth and audience. Encoding at a HIGH bitrate requires a faster connection at the webcast and for the viewer. A lower bitrate can sacrifice quality for ease of delivery. We're expert at fine-tuning the delivery at the event.

The encoded signal is sent out to the Content Delivery Network (CDN) and out to our Streaming Servers. To assure delivery to all devices, the webcast signals, or “streams”,  are assembled into an Mpeg4 container as HLS streams. This allows maximum compatibility with mobile and desktop devices. The stream is delivered from our streaming server to the video player on the viewer's device using a transport protocol such as HLS or RTMP - depending on the device that's detected at the viewers end. You also have the ability to embed the streaming virtual event into a website.