Video Morning Announcements

How To Use Video to Build School Community

You aren’t still reading your school morning announcements over a tiny public address system designed in the 1960s, are you?

Delivering live video morning announcements (news) school-wide – in the building and remote – is not only amazingly easy, it’s a great way to engage students, boost morale, and build a sense of community.

Setting Up Your "Studio"

You’ll need a place to record your morning announcements, but it doesn’t have to be an expensive broadcast studio. Most schools use a library “reading room,” classroom, storage room, or other suitable location.

And in the age of COVID, of course your broadcasting team can all be virtual.

Morning Announcement Video Broadcast Equipment List

Most schools have old AV equipment, but as the saying goes, “garbage in, garbage out.”

You’ll want to use the newest technology and electronics to get the best quality picture and ease of use. 

The equipment list is the same for remote broadcasting, although some elements will need to be replicated for each broadcaster or production contributor.

Camera

In the “studio,” use a modern camera with an HDMI output. 

For the remote broadcaster, this could be a smart phone, webcam, or any mobile device.

If you use two cameras, your second video input could also be the HDMI output of a computer, allowing you to switch to show a web page, image, Powerpoint presentation, video, or anything else on the presenter’s screen.

Lighting

Modern cameras will balance the light automatically, so you don’t need exotic lighting systems.

However bright and even lighting will improve the quality of the video and look more professional. Consider an inexpensive LED lighting system for your studio. An LED light ring is perfect for remote broadcasting.

Microphone

You can use the microphone that’s built into the camera, but for best results a “newscaster”
should have a desk or wireless lavalier microphone.

If more than one person will be speaking, consider using multiple microphones connected to an inexpensive audio mixer.

Many webcasters also use the microphones in headsets or the one in the webcam. Accessories like wind screens and pop filters deliver cleaner sound and reduce background noises.

Green Screen

A green screen allows you to put images or videos behind the people on camera. To use this feature, you’ll need a green screen, which could be as simple as painting a wall green, hanging a green blanket, or using a commercial green screen setup.

Video Encoders

Once you have your inputs of camera, mic, and presentation device, and an appropriate broadcasting space, you need an encoder and a video server.

What’s an encoder and how do you pick one?

Simply put, an encoder compresses and transforms the video into a stream.  The stream runs over the school IP network to a server.  The server sends the live or recorded stream to whatever device requests it.

VIDEO MORNING ANNOUNCEMENT KITS
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Example Shopping List

Canon XA10 HD
Professional Camcorder

• 1/3” CMOS Sensor
• Native 1920 x 1080
• 24Mbps AVCHD Recording
• 60i, PF30, PF24, Native 24p
• 64GB Internal Flash Drive
• 10x HD Zoom Lens
• Dual SD Memory Card Slots
• 3.5” Touch Panel LCD Screen
• Dual XLR Inputs w/Detachable Handle
• Waveform Monitor, Peaking, Zebra 70/100
• Built-in Microphone, supports external mic

Magnus VT-3000 Tripod
with Fluid Head and Dolly

• Supports 6.6 lb (3 kg)
• 65mm Ball Diameter
• Quick-Release Plate
• Fixed Counterbalance
• Separate Pan/Tilt Locks
• 2 Stage Leg Design
• Mid Level Spreader
• Adjustable Wheel Base
• Independent Wheel Locks
• 31” Doorway Width

Microphone Kit

• Shure SM58
• XLR Cable & Boom Mic Stand
• 20’ cable
• Desk Stand
• Bescor LED-200K Twin 300W Kit
• Two LED Light Panels & Stands
• 304 5mm LEDs Per Panel
• 300W Equivalent Output Per Panel
• 5500K Color Temperature
• 15-100% Brightness Dimmer
• Two Soft White Diffusers
• Two Orange Correction Filters
• Stands Feature 74” Max Height
• HDMI Cable, 15 foot
• HDMI Mini Adapter

Making Students the Stars

For your daily morning broadcasts, be sure to make your students the “stars.” Student participation keeps students interested and helps to build and reinforce the school community. Students love it and their confidence and skills grow with practice.

Camera, Mic & Tripod Setup Instructions

1. Mount camera on tripod; connect camera to power supply (charger)
2. Mount microphone on stand; connect microphone to cable; cable to camera (if not using camera internal mic)
3. Mount lights on stands; connect to AC power using provided adapters.
4. Connect HDMI adapter and cable to camera; connect to Captiva HDMI input (Spirit, Rover, Streamsie, MCE, Mantis)
5. You May Also Need
   • Power cord extension; power strip for lights, camera power supply
   • SDHC Memory Card (Class 10 UHS-1) for camera recording

Your Live Morning Announcements Broadcast

A morning announcement program is usually about 10 minutes long. It typically starts with a pre-recorded introduction, a pre-recorded Pledge of Allegiance, and a moment of silence.  The camera switches to the newscasters who read the news, weather, and talk about special events. Sometimes there are guests, such as a local or national celebrity, teacher, or other person of interest. The program often ends with a pre-recorded segment.

Pre-Recorded Segments

Before you begin broadcasting live morning announcements, create a video called “Pledge of Allegiance.” You can record this in your new studio, but you may wish to use a video editor and create a video with professional polish.

For example, your video might start with a picture of your school and play dramatic music. The video might then ask students to “Please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance,” followed by a reading of the pledge accompanied by a video of a waving flag. The video might then show interesting shots of your school set to dramatic music, followed by an announcement saying, “And now, here is today’s news.” 

You might want to make another video to end your broadcast, perhaps with music and a credit roll.

Both the intro and exit video clips are available on your software encoder. In our Streamsie Pro they are accessed as “File as Input.”

Live Streaming vs. Recording

Your streaming software, or hardware encoder should let you stream, record, and do both simultaneously.

Broadcasting your morning video announcement in real-time can be exhilarating for students, but may not be the best option for your school. Although your newscast is streamed at a scheduled time, you can record your live broadcast to a video hosting server, like DEVOS, or with your software encoder to a local file.

Whether you broadcast in real-time or stream pre-recorded clips at the scheduled time, recording your content is always recommended. The recording is available as video-on-demand for anyone with the link, and to be shared on social media platforms and professional news organizations for the wider community.

Delivering the Video Morning Annoucements

Now that you’ve created your announcement, you need a way for people to watch it.

TVs, Devices & Digital Signage

Most modern classrooms are equipped with a computer attached to a projector or “smart board” capable of displaying video.

For classrooms still using TVs, the live video can be selected via a remote to a Roku-type set top box connected to the TV.

Alternatively, the TV can have a USB “stick” that receives the video from the server. With DiscoverVideo’s DEVOS system, TVs with SignSticks can display digital signage. The signage is interrupted to display the morning announcement, and returns to their normal display when the announcements are over.

Of course, individuals can watch from any computer or mobile device with just a web address, in or out of school.

When you use Discover Video to deliver morning announcements, you can also use the system to stream conventional TV channels to classrooms, boardrooms, and desktops, eliminating legacy “CCATV” systems.

Putting Your School Announcements Together

When ready to start your broadcast, press the Stream button in your software or hardware encoder. Select your introduction “Pledge of Allegiance” video. When that is complete, switch to show your camera video.

As the newscast progresses, you may switch to other video sources, change templates, add titles or overlays, etc. When the newscast is over, select the pre-recorded ending video, and when the broadcast is complete, simply stop streaming.

With a DiscoverVideo DEVOS streaming and video on demand platform, your broadcast is automatically recorded and uploaded to the server.

Parental Engagement

Allowing parents and extended family to “tune in” from home, at their workplace, and on their mobile devices enhances parental engagement by keeping them informed of their child’s school life. A personal login allows videos to be served over the public Internet, while protecting children’s privacy.  

 

Video Communicates Best

Nothing communicates better than video; live or recorded, school morning announcements engage students and staff alike.  With a streaming video platform and tools like the ones from DiscoverVideo, video school news, and more, can be affordable and easy. 

VIDEO MORNING ANNOUNCEMENT KITS
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Video School News Resources

• Learn More About our School Video News Kit
• Green Screen tricks and trips using OBS
• Streamsie® Software Encoder
  A DiscoverVideo app for smartphones, tablets, PCs, and Macs for live streaming and recording. It can be used with any camera with our Captiva® Razor USB Converter. Free Download for PC, Mac and iPHone.
• OBS
  Open Broadcaster Software is an open-source software encoder. Free download for Windows, Mac, and Linux.
• OBS Plugin
  For DEVOS clients who want to use OBS and easily integrate with our service.
• Rover
  A lightweight mobile streaming system that incorporates the Streamsie Pro encoder onto a powerful laptop computer. 
• Scorpion IPTV Encoder 
  Our Multi-Channel Encoder lets you deliver multiple video sources from one encoding platform. Ideal for internal cable TV distribution or 24×7 webcasting.
• Mantis® Encoder
  A self-contained universal HD encoder for live HD streaming from multiple cameras and video inputs.
• Spider Encoder
  “Video production in a box,” Spider supports multichannel inputs and switches display templates without software.
• DEVOS Streaming Platform & VoD Hosting
  A live streaming and video on demand hosting platform to manage and deliver all your video content. Available on premises or as cloud service.
• Set Top Box
  A simple appliance to allow any TV to connect to the network’s private IPTV and stream in-school content and traditional TV programming.
• SignStick ® 
  This USB media player turns any TV into digital signage
• All DiscoverVideo Products

About DiscoverVideo

DiscoverVideo is a US-based leading software, hardware, and services provider for streaming live and on-demand video, presentations, and digital signage. We focus on the enterprise where network citizenship and security are crucial. We support a complete video ecosystem to stream, record, connect, manage, and deliver to any device anywhere.  Our customers are schools, colleges, corporations, hospitals, and local, state, and federal governments.

The post How To Do Live Video Morning Announcements appeared first on DiscoverVideo | Enterprise Video Solutions.

How DEVOS Simplifies Video Management

Do you wish you could search your organizations entire video library for a word or topic? How about wanting to know who’s engaging with your content and for how long? Or maybe how well viewers are comprehending the material?

 

Your DEVOS enterprise video system can do all that and more. From engagement reports and closed caption search to automatic video processing, these video how-tos will help you get the most out of your EVS. 

DEVOS Features

16 Videos

DEVOS Video Management System

Engagement Reports

Remote Alert Activation

Realtime Announcements

Unlimited Channels

Signage Scheduling

Viewing Invitations

Automatic Transcoding

Trimming

Automate Stream Recording

Adaptive Bit Rate

Priority Alert

Closed Caption Search

Streamsie Remote Control

Embed Questions in Video

PowerPoint Upload

Play Video

About Discover Video

DiscoverVideo provides scalable streaming video for institutions and businesses looking for easy and economical solutions, while maintaining HD quality. Our products and service empower the non-technical users of schools and organizations of every size to produce professional live stream broadcasts. Our end-to-end system for live streaming, video conferencing, and VoD content, make digital media management easy and accessible. Systems can also include unlimited digital signage, distribution of content in-house and remotely via private IPTV, and send emergency video and text messaging.

The post DEVOS Features appeared first on DiscoverVideo | Enterprise Video Solutions.

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July 5, Wallingford CT — DiscoverVideo announces the capability of the DEVOS Enterprise Video System to support closed captions in multiple languages. When alternate language captions are added, the viewer may select the desired closed caption language.

Uploaded Video Text Tracks of (VTT files) in English, Spanish, French, German, or Arabic are available to the viewer in playback.

Closed captioning benefits more than the hearing impaired. This new feature allows viewing content in native languages, promotes learning of multiple languages, is helpful in noisy and quiet environments, and can make non-native content understandable.

The DEVOS platform is designed to distribute live video streams, function as a video on demand server, deliver unlimited digital signage, and send priority video alerts throughout buildings and across communities.

“DEVOS is being used in thousands of K12 schools, state and local government, and in corporations”, said DiscoverVideo CEO, Rich Mavrogeanes. “Scheduled and centralized IP control of Epson projectors, as well as TVs and other devices, saves energy and makes the technology director’s job much easier.”

K-12 Streaming Solutions

K-12 Streaming Video System | DEVOS | Video School News Kit | Enterprise IPTV | Video On Demand | LearningPath | Digital Signage | Priority Alert 

About Discover Video, LLC

DiscoverVideo is a leading software, hardware, and services provider that empowers customers with the ability to broadcast and deliver live and on-demand video, presentations, and digital signage to employees, students, or the general public. We focus on the enterprise where network citizenship and security are crucial. We support all five screens and we provide a complete ecosystem. Our customers include educational institutions, schools, corporations, and local, state, and federal governments.

The post Closed Caption Languages Added to DEVOS appeared first on DiscoverVideo | Enterprise Video Solutions.

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Why You Need Closed Captioning

Although closed captioning is required by the ADA, it is not just for the hearing impaired. The use of subtitles has a direct impact on the engagement, comprehension, and retention of video content.

Improve Engagement and Comprehension

Moving captions can keep your viewers’ attention and stop them from scrolling elsewhere. A survey of Facebook viewers found 85% watch video without sound. That’s good news when you want your viewer to stay engaged. Recent studies and surveys show an overwhelming preference for video with subtitles. Younger viewers especially tend to use captioning some or all of the time.

However, the most compelling reason for closed captioning is for increased comprehension and retention. This National Institute of Health manuscript sites several studies that have shown the benefits for subtitling, especially for those learning a language.

A Verizon study revealed 80% of closed caption users are NOT hearing impaired.

Closed Captioning and Search

You know you can search your video library by title, description, date, and entered tags.  But how can you find all the videos where someone mentioned “science” or “Shakespeare”, or any other word for phrase?

Just like YouTube, our DEVOS system searches the full text of the captions.

Making Closed Captions

Standards such as WebVTT and SRT have made manually creating captions obsolete. Wherever you upload or stream your video, the .vtt captioning file is automatically generated.

For example, in our DEVOS system, you can use the built-in services of Ceilo24 to create near-perfect captions.

The AI that creates your captioning is able to identify different speakers, and pick voices out of background sounds.

All that’s left to do is edit for spelling, punctuation and timing, as you play it back.

If you need to translate your closed captions, a free tool like SubtitlesTranslator.com, powered by Google Translate, can quickly make your video accessible in any language.

Live Captioning

Make sure you don’t sacrifice your viewers’ engagement and comprehension in your live stream. Just like YouTube and Facebook, the Discover Video DEVOS and Arcus system supports live captioning. Enable the text to be generated automatically or manually. To caption streaming of regular TV through enterprise IPTV simply turn on the captions in the TV Set Top Box.

About Discover Video

DiscoverVideo provides scalable streaming video for institutions and businesses looking for easy and economical solutions, while maintaining HD quality. Our products and service empower the non-technical users of schools and organizations of every size to produce professional live stream broadcasts. Our end-to-end system for live streaming, video conferencing, and VoD content, make digital media management easy and accessible. Systems can also include unlimited digital signage, distribution of content in-house and remotely via private IPTV, and send emergency video and text messaging.

The post Closed Captions For All appeared first on DiscoverVideo | Enterprise Video Solutions.

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WALLINGFORD, CT – Streaming solutions company, DiscoverVideo, recently added adaptive bit rate streaming (ABR) to DEVOS, it’s signature enterprise video management platform.

Adaptive Bit Rate automatically adapts a received stream to current network conditions, delivering at a low, medium, or higher rate, depending on the ability of a viewer’s device.

ABR improves the view experience by reducing instances of “buffering, please wait.” It temporarily lowers the video quality as needed but keeps the audio quality. ABR applies to both live streams and to Video-on-Demand (VoD) files.

For live streams, ABR feature within DEVOS enables an encoder to deliver a primary high-speed stream and secondary lower-speed stream to the server. The DEVOS server then creates a special manifest file that informs the player that multiple rates and resolutions are available. For VoD, ABR processes a video file into multiple bit rates, with each rate represented by multiple file chunks. When called for playback, the player selects the stream that is best for then-current network conditions.

“Waiting for video to load, like in the middle of a test, presentation, or engrossing content, can have a major negative effect on the viewer’s experience,” said DiscoverVideo’s CEO, Rich Mavrogeanes. “The higher the stakes, the more important adjustable bit rate streaming is to your video system. Netflix and Hulu have it, so why shouldn’t your organization?”

The DEVOS 4.9.7 update is available to new and current service subscribers.

About Discover Video, LLC

DiscoverVideo is a leading streaming video software, hardware, and services provider. Their products empower customers to broadcast and deliver live and on-demand video, presentations, and digital signage to employees, students, or the general public. We focus on the enterprise where network citizenship and security are crucial. We support all five screens and provide a complete video ecosystem. Our customers include educational institutions, schools, corporations, and local, state, and federal governments.

The post Adaptive Bit Rate Added to DEVOS appeared first on DiscoverVideo | Enterprise Video Solutions.

South Carolina’s largest educational technology conference happens at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center with content and activities in all areas of educational technology, with diverse workshops, presentations, speakers, exhibitors, and recognition events.

DiscoverVideo will be demonstrating its video school news kit and education video system with WH Platts, one of South Carolina’s premier AV integrators.

About SC EdTech Conference

SC EdTech Conference’s primary goal is to bring all planners and end users together to think, discuss, listen, and learn. Thought leaders and vendors present the best solutions for today’s flexible classroom and virtual audiences.

About Discover Video, LLC

DiscoverVideo provides scalable streaming and hosting video solutions. Their platform enables live stream broadcasts of morning announcements and events, and serves unlimited digital signage, private IPTV, and emergency video and text messaging, and more.

About WH Platts

The WH Platts Company is a Design/Build Integrator of professional Audio, Lighting and Video equipment. They offer comprehensive and modern audio-visual solutions that help schools connect and collaborate in innovative ways, and simplify technically complex processes. WH Platts has served the South East for over 35 years, with offices in Charleston, South Carolina, Charlotte, North Carolina, and Atlanta, Georgia.

The post Teaming for Streaming appeared first on DiscoverVideo | Enterprise Video Solutions.

Here’s a cautionary tale and how to insure a happy ending.

A few years ago, a major hospital contacted DiscoverVideo to help them stream a large event.  They were convinced they wanted to use our streaming service, Arcus, to stream live video to thousands of viewers.

“Can you say where the viewers might be located?” I asked.

“Oh, right here in our building.  We want all employees to watch” she said.  “Maybe a few at home too, but mostly the viewers are here on the campus.”

“You really should have a local server in this case” I offered.  “Unless you have a ton of inbound internet access, a premises solution is better for you.”

“No, we will just use the Internet.  It will be fine,” she said.  “Please, don’t inflict a denial of service attack on yourself!” I warned.

It wasn’t fine.

Just 1,000 viewers of a 1 Mbps stream requires more than 1 Gbps of inbound bandwidth (1,000 x 1 Mbps).  Their email and other applications slowed to a crawl, and the streaming experience was not good as more and more local viewers tuned in.  

For the next event, they installed a DEVOS server which delivered the live streams to local viewers transparently, while viewers outside of their local network got the video from the Arcus CDN.

Now they can deliver live streams to everyone and view on desktops, mobile devices, set top boxes, even Roku boxes, without using excessive internet access bandwidth.  What’s more, they can simultaneously stream to Facebook, YouTube, Vimeo, Twitter, and even Twitch.

And remote offices use StreamPump to eliminate bandwidth worries and deliver crisp, live HD video broadcasts everywhere.

Bandwidth is generally free and plentiful inside our enterprise networks, but internet access is not free and often not plentiful.  You should use it wisely.

When to Use Which Streaming Appliance?

Here are some tips:

• If your viewers are remote, dispersed, independent, in their homes, or on cellular service, then stream via the public Internet with Arcus or DEVOS Cloud
• If your viewers are local, in the same building or LAN, then stream via local DEVOS server or use DEVOS Cloud with StreamPump
• If your viewers are both local and remote, then use both.
• Double check with DEVOS Server Selection Guide.
• Check out our Bandwidth Calculator to help accurately prepare.

Still not clear? Give us a call.

The post It’s The Bandwidth appeared first on DiscoverVideo | Enterprise Video Solutions.