How to Connect a Tricaster to Ustream.tv in Five Easy Steps
Written by Scott Whitney
NEW NEW NEW: We’ve just be selected as a NewTek reseller for the Tricaster product line! Press release to follow soon. . .
One of the first things we wanted to do with our new Tricaster was to be able to live stream from the PodWorx studio to Ustream.tv, the free online video streaming service, using the Adobe Flash Media Encoder that is integrated within the Tricaster system. After hours (okay, actually a couple days) of “try this, test that”, we finally discovered and documented a easy-to-follow and repeatable method to initiating a live streaming video event using our Tricaster and Ustream.tv. Here’s the scoop:
1: Test the Windows Media Streaming Capabilities
Before testing the Ustream.tv connectivity, I wanted to make sure that our Tricaster, which is behind a router/firewall, was able to stream to folks outside of our network.
The Tricaster manual does a nice job of walking you through the Port Forward/find your external IP address process. You’ll have to decide what port you want your video to stream from–I used 8181 because it was a port number not being used by any other computer on our network. Once you learn your true outside IP address, write it down.
Once that’s done, from within the Tricaster Live Production console, select the Record/Stream tab and select a “pull:” Stream Type. In the Port field, I used 8181. Click the Stream Live Output button. It will turn red when streaming has begun. The Location field fills in automatically once you started streaming (which you should be doing now). More importantly, the IP address that is auto-entered IS NOT the IP address to the outside word (if you’re behind a router).
On a different computer, fire up Windows Media Player. To load your stream, you’ll want to go to File, Open URL (CTRL-U) and enter your stream’s IP address with port. (On some versions of WMP, right-click on the top bar brings up the menuing system.) Your URL will look something like this: http://25.345.343.33:8181
In our experience, it takes about 10 seconds to buffer the video and then viola, you’ve got a streaming video!!
Now that you’ve proven that you can stream outside your network, you’re ready begin your Ustream.tv stream.
MORE TRICASTER / USTREAM.TV INFORMATION
Since originally writing this post, both Ustream.tv and NewTek (the Tricaster manufacturer) have changed their configuration. As a result, most of what was originally written became obsolete. Subsequently, we’ve received several requests to provide phone-based assistance in this matter. To that end, we offer the following one-on-one Tricaster/Ustream.tv connectivity session by clicking the PayPal button below:
For
$495$225, we will:
- Analyze your Ustream.tv configuration for mistakes/omissions
- Test your existing Ustream.tv configuration with our Tricaster to ensure connectivity is possible with your existing Ustream.tv configuration
- Provide you step-by-step direction to configure your Tricaster for Ustream.tv connectivity
- Provide Tricaster and Ustream.tv step-by-step direction for launching your live streaming video
- Provide answer to any questions you may have about Tricaster and/or Ustream.tv configuration
Furthermore, if we are unable to deliver each of these items, we will refund your money. No questions asked. Guaranteed.
All of this will be accomplished in one hour or less. In other words, in one hour or less, you will no longer be dealing with connectivity problems. Instead, you will be streaming your content to Ustream.tv, with no more worries on how to do so.
Have a question about how this works? Please give us a call. Our number is 702.395.5268.
Finally, congrats on your Tricaster investment. I can tell you, it’s a great tool! We’ve been making money from our Tricaster investment since late January of 2009 and, with the exception of a few “features” we’ve had to work around, are pleased with our Tricaster.
Posted on Friday, January 16, 2009 · 19 Comments
Hi, I’m impressed with the Tricaster. I was also able to use these instructions as a guide to get FME working on a PC with ustream.tv. I’m just wondering if you’ve been able to get the recording working on ustream.tv with the stream you are sending from the Tricaster. If you have a moment to respond here and/or to my email address, I would be much obliged. Thanks!
Hi, Joshua.
We’ve been using the on-board recording on the Tricaster and haven’t tested the ustream.tv recording capabilities at this point.
Thanks again for your help on getting our Tricaster connected, Scott. The investment was well worth it.
Does it matter what Tricaster we have?
Hi, Brian.
Nope, all the Tricasters support live streaming video to Ustream.EDIT: Looks like the entry-level Tricaster does not support Flash-based streaming (which is what Ustream uses). However, any Tricaster can still be used to send live streaming video to an HTML page using the Windows Media Player. I’ve done it and the results are great.
Are you only supporting Ustream? How different is the setup process for other video streaming sites?
Hi, Davide.
We work with other Content Delivery Networks (CDN) as well. Each setup is a little (or a lot) different.
Thanks for this post. The TC-100 does not have the configuration for Ustream.tv that the Pro, Studio and Broadcast models have. This church that I am working with is attempting to get their stream online. Will this method help them get their stream online or do they have to something else. I see that you are saying that it does not matter which Tricaster you use but the TC-100 seems to have a different configuration.
Peter, the entry-level Tricaster streams Windows Media only, not Flash. That means that they can stream online (via an embedded Windows Media player), but not using a Flash-based platform FROM THE TRICASTER itself. You could place another encoder between the Tricaster and Internet which would allow a Ustream.tv connection.
Thanks. Do you mean placing Windows Media Encoder and streaming the church from there?
Stream from the Tricaster using WME and embed the WM player on a webpage.
The manual does not make it clear on what are the steps involved to accomplish this. I am all set up to broadcast at http://shoressda.org/media/live-media via Ustream.tv. What information do I need to give the TC-100 in order to stream since this model does not have the preset for Ustream. Thanks for your help.
Give us a call, Peter. 702.395.5268
I’ve tested streaming from the Tricaster using its PULL Stream Type and viewing the stream by embedding the Windows Media Player in an HTML page. Works great!
The Tricaster is streaming now I have to get the stream embedded in the site. The church is using a shared IP address and I built the site in Joomla. So I will have to find an extension that will embed the WMP and then set the URL in the extension to the right location then it should work. I’ll keep you informed. Thanks.
Do you know anything about Joomla. The site, http://shoressda.org, is built with Joomla and I am attempting to embed the WMP in the site and set the URL to the Location given by the Tricaster. Are you familar with Joomla?
Yep. We’ve embedded in Joomla. It’s not super-intuitive at first but once you’ve done it, it’s pretty straightforward. (Oh, and we did it without using any plugins!)
I got it. Thanks.
Great. Be sure to test view the streaming video OUTSIDE of your firewall/IP address. In other words, be sure to have somebody on a completely different network/pc check the live stream to ensure your configuration is good for all viewers.