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Great webcasts need great cameras…

Online video is becoming more and more popular every day with users now watching more than 1 billion hours of video on YouTube every day. 

Many of our engineers and camera people will often hark back to the days of  the BBC engineer, quality, quality, quality.  BBC used to train their engineers over a period of decades and to very high standards.

But this isn’t about the BBC, it’s about a wider change in expectation across the board.  Over the years, young people in particular have become less focused on quality and instead want to consume content now, as soon as possible.  We see it on the news all the time; we don’t mind that the quality is poor or even that the link to a warzone drops, we’d rather see something than nothing at all.

But now we see the pendulum swinging back the other way.  It’s become much easier and more commonplace to stream on facebook or youtube from mobile devices so the differentiator now is quality.  Brands and Corporates want their online content, live or not, to represent their values of quality and care.

Despite the fact that video is often consumed on mobile devices, tablets etc,  the quality of the video going in to ‘the system’ directly correlates to the quality of the video out.  A great piece of cinema still looks great, even on a mobile and that’s why we have partnered with Starlight Productions to make sure our customers get the very best quality in live video production.


5 tips – Social Media for your Live Event

Live events have an inherent value that the online world can’t replicate.  Your guests want to interact with other, have face to face conversations, that’s how relationships are built. 

Even for us, as a tech supplier for events, even we believe this to be true.  And putting your event online will never decrease ‘bums on seats’.  To ignore the online world though is a mistake.  Social media etc provides a platform that potentially has the reach that the real world can’t replicate and the beauty is – you can have both!

Use Video and Live Streaming

This doesn’t mean that you have to necessarily stream your whole event, although of course that’s an option (and a great one).  You can however stream small sections, vox pops (small 10 second interviews and delegate feedback).  Catch delegates during the break and ask them what they think of the event.  Ask the sponsors and put that online.  They might even be grateful!

Extend Longevity

Live events provide great value but the timescale is finite.  Social media gives you the opportunity to engage people before and after the event.  Try leveraging relationships made in the real world online, keep the conversation going and generate more and more value.  You’ll end up getting ‘more’ bums on seats in the future.

Know your audiences

Multiple channels for multiple audiences, managed by multiple people.  Each platform will have it’s own typical audience.  Facebook is older than Snapchat, Twitter is more ‘newsworthy’ than Instagram etc.  The other day, my daughter told me that she doesn’t use Facebook because she’s not old enough but that Instagram is fine.  And who’s even heard of Vero?

Set the ground rules

Get your team involved so everything is covered, make sure your audience is engaged and intrigued from multiple angles but all the while, keep the message consistent and constant.  Your entire team should be engaged in the social media program so long as they’re saying the same thing, albeit in different ways.  Their messages should be tweaked but not changed, to specific audiences.

Engage your audience

Make sure your output isn’t just that, make sure it’s two way.  After all, isn’t that the whole point of social media, it’s a conversation.  Listen to what people say, respond, converse, interact, engage (there is that word again).  They are getting in touch because they want to hear from you, they want to have a conversation.  Get them interested and next year that might translate again to more bums on seats.  At the very least, you’re having a conversation with someone new about ‘your’ subject matter.


Webcasting from the Museum of London

The Museum of London asked for our help to live stream educational content to over 600 students in 25 schools.  We used YouTube as a platform, given that this was a public event and we needed it to be openly accessible to as many people as possible.

We provided cameras, audio, encoders and crew and the whole thing went off without a hitch.

YouTube is a great platform for this kind of educational event.  It allows a mass audience to watch high quality video in real time.  It lacks some functionality that other corporate platforms might be able to offer but of course, it is free.

We look forward to working again with the Museum of London in the future and in particular we look forward to rolling out more events like this one.


Allen & Heath Qu-16 – fully featured mixing console

We’ve recently invested in a number of 16 channel digital consoles which provide ultimate flexibility at the right price point.  These have been added to our rental stock, based in London and are proving very popular.  They are great little desks, easy to use and work well with our smaller sound systems.

FEATURE SUMMARY

  • 19” Rack Mountable
  • 16 Mono Mic/Line Inputs (TRS + XLR)
  • Recallable AnaLOGIQTM Preamps
  • 3 Stereo Inputs (TRS)
  • 12 Mix Outputs (XLR)
  • 7 Monitor Mixes (4 mono + 3 stereo)
  • 4 FX Engines
  • 2 dedicated FX Sends / Returns
  • 4 Mute Groups
  • 4 DCA Groups
  • AES Digital Out
  • 24×22 USB Audio Interface
  • dSNAKETM Remote Audio Port
  • 17 Motor Faders
  • 800×480 Touchscreen
  • 4 Soft Keys

QU-16 FEATURES

  • Trim, polarity, HPF, gate, insert, 4-band PEQ, compressor, delay on all Inputs
  • Insert, 4-band PEQ, 1/3 octave GEQ, compressor, delay on all Outputs
  • Automatic Mic Mixer
  • Channel Ducker on all Inputs
  • ProFactory Mic Presets
  • iLive FX Library
  • Built-in Signal Generator
  • RTA with Peak Band indication
  • Spectrogram to aid feedback elimination and room acoustics
  • Qu-Drive Direct Multitrack Recording / Playback on USB drives
  • DAW MIDI Control
  • Qu-Pad iPad App
  • Qu-You iPhone / Android personal monitoring app
  • Qu-Control customisable iOS app for simple wireless control
  • Compatible with ME Personal Mixing System
  • High contrast metallic finish controls, matching premium GLD Chrome series

The best internet experience is not just about speed…

Don’t get me wrong, internet speed is important, it’s very important.  Some users of hotels and conference centres genuinely require very fast internet and there are a few venues in London and around the country who can provide this (call us to find out which ones).

But much of the time, we actually don’t require super speeds.  We need internet that’s going to work, that’s low latency and well structured.  Once again, when it comes to internet, quality wins over quantity.

As I write this, I’m actually sitting in a conference room in Nigeria. We’ve paid for really fast internet and, as promised, that is what we have.  The streaming video has actually been remarkably stable despite the regular power cuts.  But we’re struggling to manage and preview the streams because the ‘quality’ of the network isn’t up to it.

The problem is, it’s very difficult to measure quality of internet and network.  You’re going to find out how good it is when your guests all try to log on at the same time.  Or you can just call us and we’ll tell you where has the best networks.


The power of touch…

For those of you who read our posts (and tweets etc), you’ll know that we’re all about engagement and interactivity.  That’s why we provide video links, internet connectivity and it’s why we stream events around the globe.  But our background is in the conference room providing support for meetings and seminars and that’s why we’ve now introduced into our rental stock a couple of Phillips 10 point multi touch surfaces, the Phillips 43″ 43BDL4051T.

Go to the Phillips website here…

A brand new level of interactivity is now available thanks to integrated touch technology. More flexibility and optimum simultaneous touch performance coupled with excellent operability opportunities give you the ultimate in user interaction. Multi-Touch displays are equipped with automatic touch recognition. The USB connector is HID-compliant, providing true plug-and-play operation.


Making Your Webcast Accessible

Webcasts make your events available to a wider audience. People from anywhere in the world, on any device, can watch your event live. Your webcast, by its very nature is accessible. But our job isn’t done there.

Driven by our work with the public and third sectors, particularly the NHS, we have developed a unique method to integrate live captioning (subtitles) into your stream so those with hearing difficulties can benefit from your event.

As a standard, we can integrate Q&A features into webcasting platforms so those watching your live stream can actually communicate with those in the room in real time. In addition, we are now able to ‘invite’ other users to the webcast by sending a link. The guest, from their home or office, can use their webcam to take part live in the event.  For us, accessibility really is, and always has been key.

A combination of these technologies, from live captioning to 2 way video make your live stream as accessible as possible.


WiFi at your outdoor event

We all love being outdoors. Sometimes we want to get away from the hustle and bustle, leave technology behind.

Unfortunately as event organisers, we don’t often have that privilege. Guests at your festival, party, wedding or outdoor sporting event expect to be able to connect to their friends, customers and the wider world. Present Communications can make that happen.

We take internet connectivity from 3G and 4G across all the networks as well as satellite and microwave connections. We can connect all of those connections together and provide a strong and resilient internet and wifi connection to any number of guests over large areas.  We call it PresentAnywhere.

This internet is not only strong enough to provide internet for your guests to upload photos to their social channels but also good enough for live streaming and media centres etc. Imagine what that can do your your events media profile…


Present welcomes Alpha Media Events

Present Communications are quickly becoming the ‘go-to’ technical supplier in the UK for quality webcasting services. Our highly skilled engineers work with our trade partners around the UK, Europe and the world to provide live streaming video production for end clients in a number of exciting sectors.

As a part of our expansion in this sector, we are very pleased to announce our acquisition of Alpha Media Events Ltd. Managing Director of Alpha Media Events Ltd, Dan Dexter will join Present Communications ltd as Director of Webcasting.

Dan brings with him a decade of experience in live events and webcasting including 360 and has a particular interest in public sector events and accessible webcasting. 

We’re really looking forward to working with Dan and his team in exploring and merging our various technologies to bring clients a better experience.

Present Communications ltd aims to be the most respected and trusted technical support business for live events, providing a superior service to its trade customers. We look forward to Dan continuing to exceed client expectations for years to come.


Museums, Historic and Unique Venues

Over the years, Present Communications have provided exceptional technical support to some amazing events in wonderful locations. And our impeccable attention to detail and the care we put into our work has lead us to being asked to provide audio visual equipment, services and live event support to some beautiful venues. In fact, we were the first supplier ever to provide technical support to the Wellcome Collection Conference Centre after it was refurbished almost 10 years ago. Since then, we’ve been in-house at places like Lambeth Palace and Southwark Cathedral.

Most recently, you may have seen adverts in the newspaper, on the news or on the tube for the new Postal Museum which we are very proud to be supporting. We have worked for years with the staff now at that venue and so we were the obvious choice for a potentially demanding venue (in that it is open to the public during the day).

We are very proud of the fantastic work we do in these venues and we are now calling on other unique and historic venues who might be looking for a new supplier to get in touch.