LiveU’s cellular wireless technology was used by Germany’s Streaming Factory to transmit live footage of the Cologne Marathon to online viewers. The marathon is the largest sporting event in the region, with more than 25,000 people taking part – not just runners but also hand bikers and skaters of various kinds. Streaming Factory was hired to transmit the event on the web (www.koeln-marathon.de), and worked with LiveU, Livestream and GO:TV delivering live footage during the race to more than 25,000 online viewers. It used a LiveU LU70 unit to follow the race using a motorcycle and cameraman, for its main close up coverage, together with cameras around the finish line, all of which were vision mixed onsite and then streamed via Livestream’s CDN. The system and support was supplied by Netorium, LiveU’s German partner. “Having a constant stream from the motorbike really brought the event to life and at a price point that was cost-effective for the organisers,” said Zion Eilam, LiveU’s Key Account Executive. “High quality cellular uplinking is a real game-changer for the streaming market, allowing events beyond the traditional sports to gain great coverage.” LiveU’s flagship LU70 is a bonded 3G/4G LTE backpack that uses proprietary RF technology for added resiliency, allowing users to transmit up to 1080 HD video with sub-second latency. “The live coverage of the RheinEnergie Cologne Marathon course was a complete success. There were great images from the race of the battle for the lead and the winning break shortly before the finish line,” said Markus Frisch, CEO Köln Marathon. “Live coverage like this was really valuable; it was widely appreciated, especially by the friends and family of all the participants. Journalists could also follow the exciting race live including the setting of new course records. We will use the excellent LiveU technology again at future events.” David Fox www.liveu.tvwww.streamingfactory.de
