Capture cards of software Archives

DALLAS—Osprey Video has released Ceylon, a free software encoding/streaming application designed specifically for Osprey video capture cards. This H.264 encoding application enables live Web broadcasting and archiving.

When used with a supported Osprey capture card, Ceylon allows user to live-stream events to computers, connected TVs, tablets and mobile devices. At the same time it archives HD streams to an MP4 container for later viewing. The application features a streaming engine that minimizes CPU usage and creates primary and backup streams from a single encode. It also has the ability to reconnect to the publishing port automatically in the event of loss connectivity.

The Ceylon is able to automatically embed closed captions in the H.264 data stream, which allows for caption display within supported players. Other new features for the Ceylon include TruVue Monitor, a preview window on the rendering of the encoded output; Source Preview, a real-time preview of the live video for cropping and image adjustment; and access to Osprey driver features.

Additional features include deinterlacing, cropping control, audio peak meters, and audio boost controls, vectorscope and luma scope functions when supported by an Osprey capture card.

The Ceylon application is currently available. Users of Osprey capture cards can download Ceylon from Osprey’s website.

The Powerful System: PCs, Capture Cards, and Software Mixers for HD Capture and Streaming

By Jim Bask 0 Comment October 10, 2016  AVCHD, live streaming, matrox, Telestream, Wirecast 7

By Jan Ozer fromStreaming Media

Benchmarking PCs, Capture Cards, and Software Mixers for HD Capture and Streaming

To determine how powerful a system it takes to produce and deliver live event streams, we tested a range of computers (old and new), capture devices, and multiple live streaming software programs, streaming to one or more streaming services, recording archive/ISO files in various formats, and measuring CPU utilization. Read on for the results.

When you’re producing a live event with a self-built, computer-based system, your focus narrows to a single relevant question: Is the system powerful enough to produce the streams required for the event?

To help find out, we assembled a range of computers (old and new), obtained several capture devices, and downloaded multiple live streaming software programs. Then we ran multiple tests, streaming to one or more streaming services, recording archive/ISO files in various formats, and measuring CPU utilization. On the Windows-based systems, we captured the results in Performance Manager and annotated the output to produce graphics such as those shown in Figure 1. On the Mac, we simply recorded CPU utilization numbers during the tests.

Before discussing the results, let’s touch on testing procedure. First, to normalize the results, I used the same high-motion, high-detail AVCHD clip for all tests. Each time, I started the streaming and/or recording activity, triggered the recorded video, let it play through, and then stopped recording/streaming. Then I changed the configuration and started again. To add a touch of complexity, I added a logo overlay to all videos.

I’ll detail each computer system and capture device used when reviewing the test results. For the mixing software, I used a prerelease version of Telestream Wirecast 7.1. I was glad I did, since CPU utilization was down significantly from version 7.0, which was way down from version 6.0. I tested vMix version 17.0.0.107 and version 0.15.4 of Open Broadcaster Software (OBS).

Let’s start with notebook testing.

Notebook Testing

I ran the first tests on an HP ZBook Studio G3 Mobile Workstation with a 2.8GHz Xeon quad-core (eight with Hyper-Threading Technology [HTT]) E3-1505M CPU with 32GB of RAM running Windows 10. The first capture device was a USB 3-based Epiphan AV.io 4K video grabber.

Figure 1 (below) details the results of tests run with Wirecast version 7.1, though tests varied slightly with the capabilities of the software mixer. I started with a 720p/2.25Mbps stream to Facebook Live, and then added a 1080p/8Mbps archive encoded with x264, which boosted CPU utilization to more than 55%. By way of comparison, with Wirecast version 7.0.1, CPU utilization for x264 was more than 70%. Test three was Facebook Live plus an archive encoded with the more efficient Intel Quick Sync Video codec.

Figure 1. CPU utilization for Telestream Wirecast on a 2.8GHz HP ZBook with an Epiphan AV.io 4K video grabber [Continue Reading…]

YUAN High-Tech have released a new range of capture cards that support HDMI 4K. They have been tested with vMix and have been added to the Supported Hardware list on our website. There are 2 new models that have been added. The first is the SC560 N1-LV.

YUAN SC560 N1-LV

This PCIe card is a single HDMI input capture card that will accept video inputs all the way up to 4K60! It’s a great option for people looking for an affordable 4K HDMI card. You will need to check the full product guide as it needs to use certain video formats such as YV12 for 4K 60.

YUAN SC560 N4

Using NV12 video, the YUAN SC560 N4 allows you to input 4 X 4K 30p video sources to your video production! That makes it one of the only multi-4K input cards currently on the market and possibly the only one for multiple HDMI 4K!

For more information about YUAN, you can check out their website.

vMix and 4K

vMix has supported a 4K video production workflow for many years now. With new cards like these YUAN ones, it has made working with 4K far more accessible than ever. Hopefully with advancements in computing hardware we’ll see 4K production start to take off! If you’d like to try out vMix we have a free trial on our website! Just download and enter your email address…it doesn’t even have watermarks!