How to

retain flexibility and produce a

Better Than Broadcast livestream
 How to
retain flexibility and produce a
Better Than Broadcast livestream
ACT I
T
here’s a lot of hard work and
hardware that goes into mak-
ing an engaging livestream.
However, when you pull it off, it’s
extremely fulfilling and builds up a
strong catalog of exciting content
for new potential followers to enjoy.
Now more than ever, livestreaming
is integrated into how we commu-
nicate and entertain audiences.
NewTek pushes the livestreaming
medium forward by reinventing
1
how we livestream with the TriCast-
er line and by supporting the indus-
try during these difficult times.
“With the demand for livestreaming
growing across multiple verticals,
alongside dramatic changes in
streaming workflows, all eyes turn
to NewTek with the release of their
first new TriCaster model in the
COVID era to see how the compa-
ny has addressed tectonic changes
in the live production world,” says
Steve Nathans-Kelly, a reviewer
from Streaming Media.
The newly released NewTek Tri-
Caster 2 Elite looks to not only
keep up with the growing lives-
tream industry, it looks to push
it forward. During these times,
NewTek TriCaster 2 Elite’s flexibility
is imperative for high retention of
viewership, which is key to produc-
ing a great livestream.
RETENTION OF VIEWER
Audience Retention is the average
percentage of viewers that watch
a livestream. So, say you broad-
cast a 60-minute livestream. If the
 With the demand
for livestreaming
average time people watch your
growing across stream is 30 minutes, your audi-
ence retention rate is 50%. The
multiple verticals,
Audience Retention metric gives
alongside dramatic you a good idea about which parts
of your streams are keeping your
changes in streaming audience watching and which parts
workflows, all eyes your audience starts to dip. It lets
you know if your content is com-
turn to NewTek with pelling enough to keep your view-
the release of their ers watching. Streams with higher
retention rates have increased
first new TriCaster chances of higher visibility on the
model in the COVID platform they streamed on. So,
having strong viewer retention will
era to see how lead to more people discovering
the company has your channel.
addressed tectonic WHERE DOES VIEWER
RETENTION COME FROM?
changes in the live
Low audience retention could mean
production world, the content you’re focusing on isn’t
keeping your audience engaged.
There’s a good chance that might
be the case. In that scenario, you
STEVE NATHANS-KELLY should do things such as remove
STREAMING MEDIA. anything that’s unimportant to your
stream. You can use the retention
metrics to determine what content
2
isn’t engaging your audience. If
you see a big drop in the reten-
tion of viewership when a specific
segment starts, that could indicate
that the content you’re transition-
ing to isn’t right for your target
viewership.
However, there’s a chance that
your content ideas are good, but
the way you’re presenting the
segments to your audience isn’t
as effective as they can be. Your
content might be good, but its pre-
sentation might not be as strong.
How you present and transition
between segments is very im-
portant in keeping your audience
interested as you move through
your livestream. So, how can you
better present your content? If
we take a look at the TriCaster 2
Elite, we can see ways that you
can spice up your livestreams.
The TriCaster 2 Elite is capable of
overlaying names, titles and re-
al-time data during the livestream.
Say you want to add a guest into
your stream. You can introduce the
person on your stream with names.
You can also inform viewers drop-
ping in the middle what you’re do-
ing or talking about with overlays.
Viewer retention also comes from
audience interaction. Talking with
your audience directly and in-
cluding them in your stream will
increase audience retention. Peo-
ple always want to engage with
the content they’re watching. By
acknowledging their thoughts and
including them, they will want to
stay because they feel they’re tak-
U
ncompromising flexibility
is one of the primary goals
NewTek set out for the
TriCaster 2 Elite. It looks to meet
the ever-changing needs of today’s
livestream market and hybrid work-
flows. The TriCaster 2 Elite with its
many flexible features and tools
ensures the system is capable of
producing dynamic broadcasts for
the foreseeable future.
“By all appearances, the TriCaster
2 Elite, which enters the market at
the top of the TriCaster line, has
been expressly designed to meet
the needs of live producers imple-
menting remote and hybrid work-
flows,” says Steve Nathans-Kelly.
How the TriCaster 2 Elite leverages
flexibility to make broadcasts more
dynamic
CREATIVE VERSATILITY
Conventional routing switchers are
limited with their creative versatil-
3
ing part in the livestream. Visual in-
teraction is also critical. Movement
keeps audiences engaged. Just
think about how movies are able
to keep audiences watching for
hours. They keep people engaged
with action, cuts, transitions, and
varying camera angles. You should
consider using visual elements
to increase engagement across
the board. Utilizing multiple vid-
eo sources and picture-in-picture
streams will keep visual interest up,
resulting in people wanting to stick
around and watch.
ACT II
ity The TriCaster 2 Elite breaks the
mold. At the center of the TriCaster
2 Elite is a 60x45 video crosspoint
that includes 32 external inputs.
By all appearances,
This system automatically deter-
mines video format and resolutions the TriCaster 2 Elite,
up to 4Kp60. With the TriCast-
er 2 Elite, content creators can
which enters the
make simultaneous mixes, as well market at the top
as stream multiple 4K streams to
different locations simultaneously. of the TriCaster
At the same time, all the separate line, has been
inputs support custom branding
and language packages. expressly designed
to meet the needs
The TriCaster 2 Elite features proc
amp tools, independent keying, of live producers
triggers for animation, and crop- implementing remote
ping for each input. These are
features you’d be hard-pressed to and hybrid workflows.
find in conventional routing switch-
ers. Additionally, the TriCaster
2 Elite offers 8 configurable mix
outputs in HD or 2 in 4Kp60, direct
NDI outs of media players, multiple STEVE NATHANS-KELLY
streaming encoders, continuous STREAMING MEDIA.
NDI conversion of all 8 SDI inputs,
and 8 independently selectable
recorders. There are no tradeoffs.
The TriCaster supports video over
IP and more traditional SDI, ensur-
ing it’s a routing switcher that’s
future proof.
LIVE CALL CONNECT
Livestreaming is quickly becoming
one of the primary ways creators
connect with their audiences.
Businesses communicate and are
livestreaming through conferences
and briefs. In turn, there are many
different video conferencing ap-
plications creators and businesses
can use. The TriCaster 2 Elite’s Live
Call Connect feature allows people
to connect from anywhere in the
world using any application. The
TriCaster 2 Elite integrates vid-
eo conferencing applications like
Skype, Microsoft Teams, Zoom,
Slack, Discord, and Tencent.
So, no matter what a person or
business’ preferred popular video
conferencing application, the Tri-
Caster 2 Elite can support it. These
parties using the TriCaster 2 Elite
4
can receive calls regardless of the
user’s application of choice.
LIVEGRAPHICS
Movement and animation will bet-
ter engage audiences and result
in strong audience retention. One
of the primary ways to add variety
into a stream is by adding graphics.
Those using the TriCaster 2 Elite
can increase livestream’s value
and engagement by designing
animated titles, motion graphics,
and looping effects. Additionally,
users can import design directly
from Adobe Creative Cloud into the
routing switcher. Its LiveGraphics
Creator plugin makes it easier to
import from Adobe After Effects
CC no matter the users’ experience
levels. So, anyone can design cus-
tom motions graphics and titles in
After Effects and import them right
into their streams.
VIRTUAL SETS
TriCaster 2 Elite can transform any
room into a virtual television studio,
a newsroom, or a spaceship in out-
er space. With integrated LiveSet
technology, the TriCaster 2 Elite
can composite live video sources
into rendered scenes that can be
broadcast from multiple angles, vir-
tual camera movements, real-time
reflections, specular highlights and
animated lens flares. Additionally,
users can utilize augmented reality
effects can add in dimensionality,
embedding video overlays into
the 3D virtual space created. By
utilizing LiveSet technology, users
can get camera-ready in just a few
moments without needing to set up
their background.
LIVE STORY CREATOR
To keep the stream moving
smoothly, the TriCaster 2 Elite
supports production automation.
Essentially, users can set up a
teleprompter to help streamers
to keep the stream on track or
nail their speaking portions. No
in-depth knowledge is required
to use the production automation
feature. Taking scripts directly
from Microsoft Word, it’s a revolu-
tionary way to approach program
automation. Anyone can use it,
allowing them to focus on the
stream and less on the technology
running it.
LIVEPANEL
The NewTek LivePanel makes it
easier for people to control the
livestream process. The system is
capable of configuring a custom
user interface. All the tools and
functions are accessible through
any Web browser, desktop, or mo-
bile device. It’s an included feature
in the TriCaster 2 Elite. It offers
users access to control panels for
remote video mixing, media play-
back, audio mixing, and macro au-
tomation, giving streamers control
over their streams remotely.
WHO WILL BENEFIT?
All of these flexible features will
directly benefit studios, broadcast-
ers, and even enterprise facilities.
The TriCaster 2 Elite’s call connect
allows broadcasters and enterprise
facilities to invite guests or meet
with clients knowing their video
conferencing applications will be
supported. Broadcasters can utilize
5
the system’s virtual sets as well as
import their own motion graphics
to spice up the broadcast. They can
also use multiple outputs to create
a dynamic broadcast full of various
different camera angles and transi-
tions. Churches and Municipalities
can also make use of the TriCaster
2 Elite’s built-in Live Story Creator
as a teleprompter to smoothly and
accurately get their messages out
to their audiences.
The NewTek TriCaster 2 Elite is the
most powerful and complete live
video production system on the
planet. It’s ‘better than broadcast’
functionality and uncompromising
flexibility allows it to be a useful
tool for anyone and everyone that
uses it for years to come. All the
features listed above allow broad-
casters to engage their audiences
with dynamic livestreams, keeping
viewers interested, resulting in
stronger retention of viewership.
SETTING NEW STANDARDS
By supporting all IP video sources
including NDI, SRT, RTMP, RTP,
HTTP, SRC, and smartphones, the
NewTek TriCaster 2 Elite sets new
standards for the livestream indus-
try. Users can access an unlimited
amount of traditional SDI sourc-
es and use them simultaneously.
Additionally, The NewTek TriCaster
2 Elite offers a high speed 60x45
video crosspoint that includes 8
configurable mix outputs in HD or 2
in UHD; 8 mix/effects (M/Es) with 4
layers each and 32 external inputs.
Those inputs also automatically
determine video format and resolu-
tions up to 4Kp60.
Essentially, this all means you can
produce simultaneous mixes and
deliver multiple 4K streams to dif-
ferent places at once. So you can
feed numerous video walls and
record what you’re streaming. At
the same time, you can accom-
modate separate branding and
language packages. This ultimate-
ly gives you the flexibility to tailor
your stream for different plat-
forms, allowing you to tell more
and more effective stories to your
different audiences.
 ACT III
The NewTek TriCaster 2 Elite is the
solution that will provide better
than broadcast results because it’s
providing revolutionizing tools to
streamers. When it comes down to
it, the TriCaster 2 Elite is the most
powerful and complete live video
production system on the planet
due to its ‘better than broadcast’
functionality and uncompromising
flexibility. It’s setting new stan-
dards by harnessing nearly every
major video conferencing video
calling application and IP video
source type. Applications inte-
grated into the NewTek TriCaster
2 includes Skype, MS Teams, and
Zoom Meetings. Additionally, the
system can stream and tailor mul-
tiple 4K streams to different places
at once, and can overlay graphics
directly from Adobe After Effects.
Users can even utilize the system’s
Virtual Sets feature. This feature
allows users to stream from any-
where they want and still create
a professional quality livestream.
Many of us right now don’t have
access to a studio to livestream,
but the TriCaster 2 Elite allows us-
ers to key in a virtual set wherever
they plan to stream from.
During these trying times, there
have been dramatic changes in
streaming workflows. The TriCast-
er 2 Elite, thanks to its uncom-
promising flexibility has made it
easier for its users to adapt to
these dramatic changes. Not only
that, but it’s also reassured them
that they’ll be able to produce
better than broadcast livestreams
for many years to come, no mat-
ter how many more changes are
thrown at them.
Learn more at:
NewTek.com