Boxx.tv Announces New Concept For Live Reporting From Streets Of London

Boxx.tv has announced the launch of 'Street-Live', a network of hotspots that allows broadcasters to stream live pictures out of central London at a fraction of the cost of satellite trucks.
Used for the first time to relay live pictures from the Royal Wedding at Westminster Abbey, Street-Live replaces the need to set-up expensive satellite trucks in central London, using microwave links to provide dedicated bandwidth into the internet.
The concept is similar to the wireless hotspots currently provided in places like Starbucks, but with Street-Live a news crew simply uses a small portable extendable mast (which can be carried in a backpack) to hook into the Street-Live hotspot. This network offers (up to) 20Mbits upload speeds so streaming live HD pictures or uploading large video files from the streets of London is simple and reliable.
Morten Bradstrup, TV2, Denmark, said: "We broadcast live from numerous sites in London on the day of the Royal Wedding, and we found that Boxx.tv's Street-Live gave us a robust uplink from Westminster Abbey, which was easy to use, and only a fraction of the cost of the traditional services we used at other key locations. When we are in London again we would like to use Street-Live again."
Scott Walker, Co-Founder and Technical Director of Boxx-tv, said: "Most news organisations have already invested in hardware platforms that will allow them to get live pictures back to their studio via the internet. There are a number of companies offering such a service to news crews but they are all restricted by the lack of access to a fast, constant and reliable connection into the internet. Street-Live addresses this problem by allowing crews to use these hotspots dedicated bandwidth directly from the street."
Street-Live is available from key news locations around London; including Big Ben, Westminster Abbey and Leicester Square. Broadcasters can purchase slots on the network to relay live shots or transfer (FTP) large video files fast at a fraction of the cost of hiring a satellite truck.
Boxx.tv plans to expand the network of Street-Live hotspots to cover the Olympic sites in London for 2012.
For a limited time, Boxx is offering free access to the network. Please contact: [email protected] for more information.
(KMcA)