Just the Gear

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At Record My Research, we love our employees. We believe that they provide a real benefit to any event: from setup to real-time troubleshooting to tear-down. They are worth every dime that they get paid.

However, we also recognize that on-site technicians also have their drawbacks. They have to eat and take breaks and sleep and travel. All of which costs money. With that in mind, we offer solutions that do not include that level of support.

For the Technically Inclined

If you or someone on your team is familiar with audio-video equipment, you are comfortable with setting it up and running it during your event, then we are happy to ship you just the gear you need.

We include everything that we think you will need: power cables, signal cables, tripods, etc. If you have to run the wire a long way, let us know we will most likely be able to accommodate your needs.

Instructions for the common setups are also included: where the wires go, what buttons to press in what order, and how to ensure that you are recording what you think you are recording. We will also do our best to help you out over the phone should the instructions be unclear or something starts to go wrong.

Cater to Your Comfort

Keep in mind that we will always recommend that one of our technicians accompany our gear to your event. They are familiar with each of the pieces and will be better able to deal with any issues that arise if they are on-site and not trying to visualize what is going on the phone.

But, if you are good with electronics and feel that you have a grasp on what you are doing, then we are happy to rent you our gear, complete with all the necessary shipping documents to and from your venue.

If this is something that interests you, then give us a call. Tell us what you need and we will put together a package just for you.

Putting It All Together

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In the past couple of months, we’ve talked about some of the equipment options that we offer at Record My Research. Today, it is time to lay them all out and discuss how they all work together.

The Pieces

The hardware that we have discussed are:

There are a couple of more traditional pieces that we have not discussed, namely the 4K Sony cameras and the audio gear. These are still interesting, but a bit less unusual than the ones listed above. However, how much of this traditional equipment is being used helps us decide which of these more unconventional pieces to bring along.

How Many of What

The real issue is the number of cameras we need. If we only need one, regardless of whether it is a traditional camera or the 360 Panoramic one, it can be plugged into the LiveU Solo Streaming Encoder. That one piece will convert the audio and video feeds into a streamable feed and then feed it to either a local Internet connection or through a cellular modem, depending on which is more reliable. This is the typical single-camera focus group streaming setup.

If we need more than one camera and multiple audio feeds, each of which may need to be viewed by different people at the same time, then the LiveU no longer cuts it. That’s when we need to Mushroom Portabella 4000i and Epiphan Pearl 2.

The Pearl 2 can take up to six cameras with their associated audio feeds and encode them for streaming. If we have a reliable local Internet connection with at least 50 Mbps, then it can feed them out to whomever has the link and password.

But we never assume that the local Internet is going to be robust enough. That is why we carry along the Portabella 4000i. If our test show that the venue network is going to be problematic, then we have it as a backup.

Streaming Service

Keep in mind that all of this equipment is part of our streaming service and not part of our basic package. With all of this gear, we do need to charge a bit more to make that happen. However, remember that it can save you and your clients money and offer you greater flexibility: fewer people need to travel to the sessions, and more people can see the event first hand.

For more information on this or any of our services, please reach out to us via email (events@recordmyresearch.com) or call us at 1-800-910-9553.

Highway Streaming

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Image courtesy Epiphan Systems, Inc.

Over the past few weeks, we’ve been discussing some of the hardware we use to stream content on the road. This week, is the last big piece in our toolkit, the Epiphan Pearl 2 Streaming Encoder.

Six Lanes of Video

The Pearl 2 is what we use when we need to stream more than one camera to a remote location. It can encode and stream up to six devices from a variety of sources (HDMI, USB or a network camera). This means that if there are several discussions/deliberations/sessions going on at once, we can have a camera in each and send them out. Or we can have multiple camera angles of a single room, capturing different participants or other events that might be happening in that space.

What makes the Pearl 2 truly special is that we do not need to decide which of its streams to send out. It sends them all. Each of the six feeds are simply channels that can be switched between at your clients’ needs and watched simultaneously. On site, we will often dedicate a monitor to each camera feed, allowing everyone in the client viewing room to see what is going on everywhere. With the Pearl 2, we take that experience wherever your clients might be.

Secure Service

One of the dangers of streaming is that someone other than your clients might find a way to watch the feed. The Pearl 2 is more than a video encoder, it is also a secure server for the feed. We provide you with a link and password for the device that is good for that session. You provide those to whomever needs it on your end and everybody is good to go.

Well, almost. What this device does not include is the actual network. Unlike the Live U, it needs a network to connect to as it does not have any built-in cellular modems. To mix up the highway metaphor a bit, it is a large semi hauling up to six trailers, but it still needs access to the roads. That is where the Mushroom Portabella comes in. But we’ll discuss how all of these devices work together next week.

Flexibility

Keep in mind, all of these devices allows Record My Research to give you flexibility when discussing options with your clients. Break out rooms and different camera angles are all part of our experience, whether locally viewed or streamed. Of course, if all they want is a single camera to a local viewing room, then we are perfectly happy to do that. But we can do more. Whatever you and your clients need.

Internet Four Wheel Drive

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Portabella 4000i

We’re going to continue looking at some of the solutions that Record My Research offers to our clients looking to do remote research. This week, the Mushroom Networks Portabella 4000i is on the stand.

More Than Four Wheel Drive

The Portabella is a cellular modem, but saying that is a bit like calling a Acura NSX 4-Motor EV just another car. Sure, it connects to the closest cellular tower, be it 3G or 4G, and delivers internet access, but like the Acura, it uses four independent cellular connections, combines them, manages them intelligently and outputs the fastest and most consistent cellular access available in the area. Like the 4 independent motors in the Acura, to tie down the simile.

Streaming More Than One Camera

Like all of the tech that we’ve discussed, the Portabella is the answer to a problem that we’ve encountered on the road. In this case, it is the unreliable nature of venue internet connections.

No matter what kind of event we are recording, from conferences, mock trials, focus groups or even (comparatively) simple dispositions, some form of network connectivity is required. At the very least, we are sending updates to our home office in Albuquerque and to our clients as to what is going on. Usually, this is also coupled with a video stream of the proceedings.

For a single camera setup, the Live U we discussed in an earlier post, is enough. That has a video encoder and cellular modem in a single package. But it will not work for two or more feeds. That’s where the Portabella comes in, along with a multi-camera video encoder.

Keep in mind, that we store and stream the individual feeds from each camera involved in the event. If we have one focused on the jury box, another on the prosecuting table and a final one on the defendant table, then we send all three out at once. More importantly, multiple live streams for the deliberation rooms. We do not attempt to do a live edit of the feeds; inevitably something gets lost or cut too soon. Streaming everything lets our clients decide what they want to look at when they want to look at it, instantly. In real time and independent from what others are watching on the streams.

Part Of The Kit

We bring the Portabella along on any trip that involves multiple cameras. It sits in our protective cases next to a multi-camera streaming video encoder. If our client isn’t interested in a steaming feed or the location internet connection is good, then we don’t fire it up. But it is a back up that we’ve learned we need.

LiveU Solo Streaming Encoder

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Traveling Show

Doing monitored human subject research on the road presents a myriad of challenges, not least of which is the actual monitoring. Who is going to be watching from where? How is that going to be set up in a place that is not designed with one-way mirrors and the other niceties of a purpose-built focus group facility.

Our standard package includes a closed circuit feed from the research room to large format monitors in a second room in the same building. But what if your clients can’t get to that building in the first place? Things like travel difficulties, scheduling difficulties or budgets mean that not everyone who should be watching the interactions can get to the site. That’s where some of our more specialized equipment, like the LiveU Solo, come into play.

Where do you want the client room?

With the LiveU Solo encoder, we can stream the sessions from wherever they are taking place to wherever you and your clients need to be. Are they sitting in an airport waiting for a delayed flight? They can watch it on their smartphone. Are they tied to their desk? They can watch it on the office PC. Of course, if they are there on site, then they can watch it on the screens we provide. This streaming service is something we offer on top of our standard package.

The streaming is done via YouTube. While the LiveU Solo offers other platforms, we’ve found that a password locked stream from YouTube provides a great combination of security and user friendliness. The stream itself only exists during the event. Afterwards, we offer our recordings, but the stream itself is shut down. We do this to ensure that no one who is not supposed to can watch the event after the fact. Of course, we have our several redundant recordings which you will be able to share with your clients as you see fit.

One of the other reasons that we like this piece is its network flexibility. Not only can it be connected to an onsite network, either wired or wireless, but it can also use USB cellular modems in case the facility network is not the greatest. It helps us to maintain the redundancy the we strive for.

Client Options

The LiveU Solo is only one of the streaming options that we have at our disposal. We’ll be talking about some of the others during the coming weeks and then recap all of them with pros and cons. But all of them allow you to offer your clients more options. Sure, having us stream the event costs more (if you are interested, reach out on our contact page), but that cost is usually much less than a single person’s travel to the event.

Let your clients know that together, you and Record My Research, can offer them options that let them get the input that they want, when and where they need to be.

Insta360 Pro2 Camera

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One of the pieces of equipment that Record My Research is particularly proud to offer is the Insta360 Pro2 panorama camera.  Here’s a link to the manufacturer’s website and a picture of it right here:

insta360pro2@2x
Image courtesy Insta360

Not A Standard Focus Group Camera

Most of you that host focus groups or other conference style research are used to the standard camera-on-a-tripod that is placed behind and to one side of the facilitator.  That is exactly what we offer in our standard focus group package.

However, there are limits to what that basic setup can offer.  In a nutshell, it offers one angle from a distance.  If someone is commenting from the edge or is looking at something on the table, it can often be hard to gauge their expression or what it is that they are looking at.

With this camera, it gets placed in the middle of the table and captures 8K quality video all the way around.  Every face is captured, every expression.  Beyond that, we are able to zoom in to a single person or area of the research group to allow your clients to focus on them… and still be recording everyone else at the table.

Results Ensured

Beyond the scope of its video capabilities, it also features some of the things that we look for in any piece of recording equipment.  Specifically, redundancy.

  • It has a battery pack so that recording will continue should the power go out.
  • It can simultaneously stream its video into the client viewing room, store it on an SD card and output to HDMI.

This kind of triple redundancy is critical to ensuring you get your results, no matter what.

Center of Attention

When we have shown this to potential clients, one of their first reactions is that it will be ‘too obvious’.  It does need to be placed in the center of the table to do its job.  It is a six-inch globe with lenses and antennas that your subjects are not used to seeing in the room.

However, we need to recognize that the people in the room know that they are being recorded on video.  They have all signed a release to be recorded before they entered the room.  They know that a camera will be in the room.  So why not make it something smaller than a standard camera-on-a-tripod.  Something that captures more of the results that you and your clients are looking for.

To us it is an obvious choice, which is why we offer this piece of equipment.

If you want to know more about the Insta360 Pro2 and how we use it, please reach out to us on our contact form or the information at the bottom of the page.