Three iOS devices allow Al Roker to broadcast live from home
It’s a whole new world out there and everyone is trying to get by and make it through to the end of the crisis. With millions around the world forced to work from home, our mobile devices (like smartphones and tablets) are being counted on to deliver in a pandemic that ironically is making us less mobile. Take NBC’s Al Roker for example. The “Today Show” host is using two Apple iPhone units and one Apple iPad tablet to continue broadcasting from inside and outside his home.
Roker disseminated a tweet on Friday (via AppleInsider) explaining that his makeshift broadcasting studio uses one iPhone that has the LiveU app installed. The feed from this handset is sent directly into NBC’s server; a second “return” iPhone allows producers to send clips and video streams to Roker allowing him to see cued-up videos and other production coming from NBC studios in New York. The iPad is used as a teleprompter, and a bank of lights. The tablet also sends audio to NBC via a Sennheiser microphone and iRig hardware.
The LiveU app (listed as LU-Smart HD in the App Store and LU-Smart in the Google Play Store uses both Wi-Fi and cellular networks to provide a video stream with optimal video quality. The user does need to obtain a “Smart-Activated” LiveU license. The developer, LiveU Inc., says that the app will allow broadcasters to “cover breaking news and events as they happen simply by using your smartphone or tablet to transmit live video back to the studio.”
Fans of the morning show have not lodged any complaints about the quality of Roker’s contributions to the broadcast, so we wouldn’t be surprised to see this setup used more often for remote broadcasts by NBC and other networks.