Streaming Setup, Direct from TC or Use Encoding Box?

[streamingez]

Wondering what people are using for proven live streaming in terms of encoding setup and CDN?

Would you recommend using an external encoding box? I've been looking at the Kulabyte Nomad. Does anyone have experience with this system? Any other options that might be cheaper and/or better?

Basically, I'm not 100% convinced that I'm getting the best encode with FME on the Tricaster Pro (not sure why, please offer technical explanation). I'm using Highwinds or Akamai for my CDN. I've sent most of my initial Flash streams at 512kbps, 480 x 360, 30f, H264. My upload speed is 1476 kbps. End users have said that the image quality looks subpar (using Flow Player), including a well known webcasting company that I've linked up with.

I'm thinking I'd be better off using an external encoding box.... Please confirm. Thanks to all who respond.

[mad1town]

I replied to your PM...but in general, I also found the Tricaster Broadcast streaming to be only "ok" when I did some test streaming for my events. Therefore, I started to investigate dedicated encoding products to see if I could improve the quality.

I primarily looked at BitGravity and Kulabyte. I also tried to look at Viewcast since I live in Plano,TX and their corporate HQ is here...couldn't get a return phone call after 3 tries...so I dumped them, didn't need that kind of support.

Bottom line for me is that I found the Kulabyte technology to be superior including the processing power, AJA card injest, etc. I bought the Kulabyte and love it...quality is very good when used with the TC Broadcast...and REALLY amazing for a single camera shoot if you take a single camera and plug it directly into the Kulabyte and stream in HD at a high kbps. I imagine that will be the way to go in the future if you purchase the new HD Tricaster which is coming out in the not too distant future.

In summary, the Tricaster Broadcast is a fantastic box that performs many functions well...but I found that if I removed the encoding function from the TC, it performed better, especially when you stream for long periods of time.

I prefer to dedicate the TC horsepower to what it does well and use the Kulabyte's quad processors to handle the encoding - the quality difference is substantial in my opinion.

By the way, the Kulabyte team has delivered outstanding service for us...I couldn't ask for anything more.

One last note...in all fairness, I know that BitGravity has released some new technology since I looked at them...

[sbrandt]

What's the price for a Nomad ?

Kulabyte requires a call for prices. (Usually not a good sign...)

[streamingez]

A little bit over 10G