What’s New in Mediasite…

Mediasite Recorders

While not a major change it is distinct in how you will see Mediasite Recorder referred to. In an effort to continually Simplify parts of Mediasite the name of each Recorder in the hardware lineup is getting a minor tweak. Rather than referring to each Recorder by a model number, there are now four distinct levels.

Mediasite Mini Recorder – Formerly RL Mini

Mediasite Recorder – Formerly RL220

Mediasite Pro Recorder – Formerly RL940

Mediasite Mobile Recorder – Formerly ML941

Quality-Defined Variable Bitrate (QVBR)

The most significant update in this release of the Mediasite Recorder platform is an improved encoding methodology. From the back end of the system the encoding occurs by taking the input and converting it to the digital video we see. Under the new method of encoding video, called Quality-Defined Variable Bitrate (QVBR), recordings will be smaller in size because videos will encode based on the video quality needs. One way to think of this change is that the bitrate set on the template is the maximum bitrate the video will encode at.

The primary benefit to this method of encoding is smaller video files which will bring additional benefits.

Storage Saving

With a smaller presentation file size, it goes without saying that will result in storage saving. Because the bitrate will be defined by the video quality, the storage savings will vary somewhat from one presentation to the next. Recordings that include a lot of animation, movement and color will likely not have the same reduction in storage that a Power Point presentation would.

Faster uploads from Recorder to Video Platform

Storage saving isn’t the only benefit of a smaller file size. Since there is less total data to transfer from the Recorder to the Video Platform, uploads should go more quickly. This leads to presentations becoming available more quickly once they are recorded or the live broadcast is complete.

Bandwidth saving on playback

Since the recording will occur up to a maximum of the bitrate on the template it will lower the bandwidth requirements on playback.

Audio Sync

Out of sync audio is something that many people have had to deal with. Recognizing that having audio out of sync with the video is a poor experience for viewers, it is now possible to adjust the audio timing directly on the Recorder interface.

1. Access the Recorder interface either directly through a connected monitor or remotely.
2. Select Inputs on the Recorder preview.
3. Choose the input you currently have routed as the audio output.
4. Under Audio, use the Sync Delay slider to adjust the audio sync up to +/- 50ms.

Video Compositing

As an experimental feature in this release of Mediasite Recorder, composited videos can be created with multiple sources. This new feature can help to cut down on some bandwidth requirements as the composited video will encode at the maximum bitrate set on the template rather than each video stream encoding at the maximum bit rate.

Creating a composited video from multiple inputs is as simple as routing the inputs correctly. Within the Recorder preview:

1. Open a single video presentation on the Recorder through a schedule, blank presentation or default template.
2. Select Inputs.
3. Choose your first input and route its video to Video 1.
4. Choose another input source and route the video to Video 1.

The video will automatically composite and display on the Recorder preview.