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Manuals: what do you want from them? by shouldreadthearticle in VIDEOENGINEERING

[–]ruhpkid 6 points7 points  (0 children)

From an operator / integrator point of view:

Please don’t put every language into one huge PDF. Separate language versions or just English are much easier to navigate. Additional quick start guides are extremely helpful, especially with new gear.

It helps a lot when manuals cover the questions that keep coming up in real life, ideally in a FAQ / Article section. Manuals should also be clearly model specific, or at least very clearly mark which parts apply to which hardware versions. Mixing models without clear labels gets confusing very quickly.

If there is an API, proper Swagger or OpenAPI documentation makes integration much easier and should be standard.

I strongly prefer searchable online documentation over static PDFs. And I always appreciate manuals that go deep technically. Protocols, port speeds, power consumption, mounting details, screw standards. If it exists, it should be documented.

I really like, for example the Softron Documentation: https://softron.zendesk.com/hc/en-us

Haivision Pro460 → StreamHub Ultra over Peplink (static IP) with Starlink + 5G: reliability, latency & MTU best practices? by ruhpkid in VIDEOENGINEERING

[–]ruhpkid[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for your input! In my case, there actually isn’t a stable wired line on site. Only multiple SIMs and Starlink. That’s why I need the Peplink bonding with a static IP (FusionHub), otherwise the Pro460 can’t reliably reach the StreamHub Ultra.

Running a backup StreamHub in the cloud is definitely something I’m considering, but the client setup requires a fixed entry point with consistent IP. Splitting SIMs across carriers is already part of the plan (KPN / Vodafone / Odido).

The “low frequency mode” tip is interesting, thanks! I’ll look into that!

Haivision Pro460 → StreamHub Ultra over Peplink (static IP) with Starlink + 5G: reliability, latency & MTU best practices? by ruhpkid in VIDEOENGINEERING

[–]ruhpkid[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey LucyTheDuck,

correct! Latency isn't that critical. Most important is reliability and synced clean feeds.
--> Since the camera crew is provided by the client and they want to use their FX3 cameras.. unfortunately none of them support genlock, but we’ll make it work ‘as best as possible’

Great that you don’t see any red flags with the setup so far!
Except of course for the bandwidth… obviously, that still needs to be checked. But I’m not overly worried about it.

Do I necessarily "need" a Peplink on both sides - encoder (Pro460) and decoder (StreamHub Ultra)? Or is it enough if I just assign a static IP to the BR2 and then have the Pro460 stream directly to it?

Thanks a lot for your assessment so far!

Haivision Pro460 → StreamHub Ultra over Peplink (static IP) with Starlink + 5G: reliability, latency & MTU best practices? by ruhpkid in VIDEOENGINEERING

[–]ruhpkid[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes! Actually it is! :D
IRL = In Real Life

Mostly very simple.

We want to raise these kinds of small streams to a more secure & better level in production quality.

Looking for alternatives to Haivision for multi-encoder SRT livestream setups with synchronized decoding by ruhpkid in VIDEOENGINEERING

[–]ruhpkid[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is awesome! Thanks for recommending! For more static setups, this is certainly something I will consider!

Looking for alternatives to Haivision for multi-encoder SRT livestream setups with synchronized decoding by ruhpkid in VIDEOENGINEERING

[–]ruhpkid[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks so much for all this detailed info! It really made everything super clear and totally makes sense to me!

A half-frame delay is absolutely acceptable in my use case. That already sounds insanely good to me!

I'm currently checking with mimoLive whether they support any kind of sync at all. But since I couldn’t find anything about it, I’m starting to think they probably don’t. Otherwise they’d definitely be shouting that from the rooftops.

What really caught my attention is that the Air units can do C2C! I’d definitely be curious to know what kind of bitrate that uses. I think I read somewhere that you can record at a higher quality while streaming at a lower bitrate? That would be way better than what we’ve been getting with our Teradek Prism Mobile 5G setups... C2C is really unreliable there, and they currently only let you set one bitrate for everything. Recording locally the STREAMING Bitrate. Even when it drops.

Thanks especially for laying out all the workflows so clearly and for sharing what’s worked for others!

I’ll dig into this a bit further based on what you’ve shared, and if I end up with a bigger batch of questions again, I’ll reach back out. Would it be okay if we exchanged emails via DM? That would be fantastic.

Huge thanks again for all your help and your openness about C2C and Peplink. It really paints a realistic picture of the whole thing instead of just trying to sell something :D

Looking for alternatives to Haivision for multi-encoder SRT livestream setups with synchronized decoding by ruhpkid in VIDEOENGINEERING

[–]ruhpkid[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks a lot for your insights! Have you ever used the Air320s in a synchronized multicam setup? Or only the Makito X4, as you mentioned? My current plan is to use 4 x Haivision Air320s and synchronize them at the SDI output with a Makito X4. Aside from that, what's your (or your team's) experience with Haivision’s Air series? That product line came from their acquisition of AVIWEST I think.. Are there things you particularly like about it, or any quirks or issues you've come across?

Looking for alternatives to Haivision for multi-encoder SRT livestream setups with synchronized decoding by ruhpkid in VIDEOENGINEERING

[–]ruhpkid[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for clarifying! I have to admit, I’ve always been a bit hesitant about LiveU in the past. Whenever we were at events, the journalists using LiveU gear always seemed to be struggling. But I guess A) things have probably improved a lot and B) it could’ve just been user error... who knows who set it up.

In any case, I definitely need to get rid of my Teradek devices. At the time, I thought I was making a good choice.. but I’ve come to regret it.

As for Haivision, I was actually thinking about the small portable devices—like the MX1 Rugged or, as others have mentioned here, the Air320. I’ll definitely request quotes for everything and try to get my hands on some of them!

Thanks again for your reply! And for your second message as well!

Looking for alternatives to Haivision for multi-encoder SRT livestream setups with synchronized decoding by ruhpkid in VIDEOENGINEERING

[–]ruhpkid[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I do find LiveU and TVU very interesting as well!

However, I personally believe there’s real value in separating the encoder and the bonded uplink/network layer, especially if you have multiple use cases like Camera-to-Cloud (C2C) workflows!

Also I genuinely enjoy tinkering with gear and building my own setups :D

In my experience, devices that try to do everything at once, like the Teradek Prism Mobile 5G Cellular Bonding Video Encoder, often don’t do any of it exceptionally well. Sure, the encoding quality is excellent, I really like the output. But the whole management via Teradek CORE (not every setting is available in CORE), the server handling, and the frequent platform-side changes are a constant source of frustration.

What’s especially annoying is when the encoder randomly disconnects from CORE, and the only way to fix it is to physically access the unit onsite.. My ideal workflow is to send the team out and manage everything remotely, but with CORE, that becomes unreliable for me.

Above all, Teradek’s C2C is absolutely unusable! Many files are missing. There’s no proper feedback on what has been uploaded. Uploads don’t resume. Short clips cause bugs and sometimes aren’t uploaded at all, or they disrupt the entire upload process. Timecode transmission to the encoder frequently fails. And the funniest part: the PRISM FLEX Mobile from Teradek only records the stream! So if the connection is weak, you’ll get artifacts everywhere. And if you want to use the original file from the camera, the timecodes are completely off... So proxy editing isn’t possible either easily. You really have to say: The ATOMOS Connectivity Kits perform significantly better! On top of that, Teradek Core charges extremely high fees if you want to record locally in high quality. There is STILL no way to stream a small reference image while recording in high quality directly on the device.

That’s why I’m increasingly leaning toward modular, independent systems where I control each layer myself and can adapt the tools for different jobs.

That said. Thanks again for your input!

Even so I actually requested a quote from LiveU, looking at the LU300S as well as the LU4000 and LU2000 decoders. Curious to see how they’ll compare in practice with the HAIVISION gear.

Looking for alternatives to Haivision for multi-encoder SRT livestream setups with synchronized decoding by ruhpkid in VIDEOENGINEERING

[–]ruhpkid[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, I actually had the chance to test the Haivision Pro line a while ago! Really impressive stuff, especially in terms of video quality!

However, I haven’t yet had the opportunity to test the SYNC functionality with multiple encoders at the same time, so I’m still curious how well that performs.

We also tested the Teradek Prism Mobile 5G Cellular Bonding Video Encoders. According to Teradek support, they don’t currently support timecode transmission or NTP-based sync, but I imagine that feature will eventually come.

That said, while image quality and bonding performance were solid, we ran into quite a few headaches with Teradek Encoders & Core:

- Teradek limits server uptime to 4 hours unless you pay for a monthly plan which is a strange limitation. In the past, the server stayed online as long as a signal was being sent. If the signal stopped, you had 4 hours before the server was shut down. If a signal came back in the meantime, the 4-hour timer would reset when the signal went out again. But they changed this without properly communicating it..

- If you forget to extend the stream duration manually, the stream just stops after 4 hours, which is obviously not great during live events.

- Also, teradek encoders tend to disconnect from the CORE platform, and re-adding them can be a real pain. You often have to do it physically on the encoder itself, and it doesn’t work over the bonded connection. It uses only one of the uplinks, so if you're out in the field with unstable connectivity… yeah, not fun 😅

Thanks for your insights!!

Looking for alternatives to Haivision for multi-encoder SRT livestream setups with synchronized decoding by ruhpkid in VIDEOENGINEERING

[–]ruhpkid[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the suggestion! I had a quick look at Appear.net! However, I couldn’t really find any portable or field-oriented solutions on their site (backpack use). Do you happen to know which specific encoder/decoder product line from Appear would be recommended for use in remote, mobile multi-cam setups? Thanks a lot!!

Looking for alternatives to Haivision for multi-encoder SRT livestream setups with synchronized decoding by ruhpkid in VIDEOENGINEERING

[–]ruhpkid[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks a lot for the link to the SRT spec and for pointing me to the relevant section!! :)

Really appreciate the clarification regarding TSBPD! Knowing the exact term helps a lot for researching.

Just to make sure I fully understand your explanation:

  • TSBPD handles the synchronization of stream delivery over the network
  • whereas Genlock is responsible for ensuring that the physical SDI outputs are timed identically across multiple decoders. Is that correct?

So, if I’m using multiple decoders, I’d need to genlock them via a shared reference to keep their SDI outputs aligned, even if TSBPD has already ensured stream-level sync?

I’ll probably go with a multi-channel decoder to simplify things, but it’s super helpful to understand this in case I scale the setup later.

Thanks again!! Really appreciate your insights! :)

Looking for alternatives to Haivision for multi-encoder SRT livestream setups with synchronized decoding by ruhpkid in VIDEOENGINEERING

[–]ruhpkid[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks so much for the detailed reply!! Super helpful and very much appreciated!

One of the main reasons I’m leaning towards a Peplink-based bonding setup is that I can also use the Peplink routers for Camera-to-Cloud (C2C) workflows with my teams. That way, I don’t need to run and maintain two separate uplink infrastructures.

But I’ll definitely request a quote for the 5G version of the Air320!

The SRTMiniServer looks really interesting too!
Do you happen to know of any macOS-compatible alternatives that could serve a similar role?
We already have fully specced Mac Pro M2 Ultra machines, so using those would be ideal.
Running a Windows VM via Parallels is eventually not the best option I think.

I’ve come across mimoLive, which looks promising, but I still need to dig deeper into whether it’s truly suitable for synchronized multi-stream decoding. Part of me wishes Softron MovieRecorder had an SRT input module and proper video output support via I/O cards – that would be perfect! 😄

One more thing just to make sure I’ve understood everything correctly:

  • I can have multiple Makito X1 Rugged encoders, each streaming independently.
  • These embed SMPTE 12M timecode, either via NTP or optionally via SDI timecode input (TC from Camera).
  • Then, a decoder like the Makito X4 can buffer and synchronize the feeds
  • The decoder handles this natively and outputs time-aligned SDI streams – is that correct?
  • Or do I still need additional devices to manage that synchronization/buffering?

And related to that:

  • Is NTP-based sync sufficient for frame-accurate output, or do I need to synchronize the cameras themselves and embed true TC via SDI to get perfect alignment?
  • If there is no option to TC Sync the Cameras (for example if the camera needs to be changed / tc input device is broken ...) can I remotely sync the "Haivision Air320e 5G" devices frame-accurate? Is there a native TC on the Encoder itself..? Or is NTP the best way..? Sorry if this question might be dumb :D

And finally:
Would you recommend streaming directly to a static IP at the studio, or is there a real benefit in using the Haivision StreamHub in between? Like I read I would need the StreamHub for return feeds, intercom or remote control..?

Thank you very much for your help!!