Note: If you haven’t read Part One yet, you might check it out.
So, as schedules happened, I was in San Francisco during the event — which meant I wasn’t going to be in Brentwood to handle the encoding and/or troubleshoot any problems that might arise (and arise they did…). But it’s a Webcast, so my plan was to find a wireless network and watch the event the same way the kids at the shelter would.
First, my setup: I had the Mac (iBook) with me, so I had to use the Flip4Mac plugin instead of Windows Media Player. In order to get full-screen video with Flip4Mac, you have to have Quicktime Pro (which I do) and open the live stream from QT player as a standalone instead of inside a browser window. With WMP, it’s easier — but I’d tested it earlier and knew it would work. Wireless was provided by the good folks at Nob Hill Inn (they really are good folks), so we’re all set. Also, I had my cell phone nearby, just in case…
About a half hour before the event, the live stream began. (So there’d be something to look at besides an empty stage, our cameraman, Doug, pointed the camera at the stained glass window in the church. Very exciting!)
Then the phone rang.
It was Lynn, who was at the shelter, calling to report that she had no Internet connection. Yikes! (The shelter doesn’t have any tech support staff, and the settings we had used in a previous test weren’t working.) Now, I wasn’t ever at the shelter during testing, so I’m not sure what settings were being used. Also, networking is not my strength. But I gave them a basic few suggestions and said to call back if nothing worked. (Nothing worked — but they didn’t call back until much, much later…)
So I assumed that things were going well. The event started, with me watching along from afar, and assuming that the kids at the shelter were watching, too. Cameraman Doug did an excellent job of panning the choir and zooming in as needed on soloists or speakers.
For my part, I was happy: Flip4Mac was running in fullscreen with excellent audio (as near as I could tell on my little built-in Mac speakers) and decent video. There was an annoying occasional jiggle in the video that I hadn’t seen in my previous tests with WMP, and afterwards the folks at the shelter reported that they didn’t notice any video shaking.
Then the phone rang.
It was Lynn, at the shelter. Still no Internet connection (why she didn’t call earlier, I don’t know — but I assume she was trying other things all the while). That means the kids are missing the concert we set up for them.
YIKES! After some panicked phone calls, someone suggested rebooting the router at the shelter, which worked. A little more fiddling and the kids were finally able to see the concert.
Which was nearly over. More phone calls to people at the church, and the Chorale did a few more songs just for the kids (a strange kind of encore, when it’s longer than what you’ve just seen). And so, in an abbreviated form, the Webcast ended.
Lynn said the kids were really happy to have a Christmas concert, and that she didn’t think our technical problems took away from their experience at all. They loved when the whole choir waved to them! So, despite my frustration, I’m calling the event a qualified success.
In the future, however, I’ll insist on having a network-savvy tech on hand at the remote site.
