ComVU's live streaming wireless/wired video application: Revolutionary?

I don't like to use the word "revolutionary" (which is why I've inserted a question mark in the headline), but for ComVU's live streaming wireless and wired video application (see below) the term actually might be appropriate.

With ComVU's client/server software, you can use cellular, WiFi or a landline to transmit live streaming video.  The video also is automatically archived on ComVU's site and if your device (e.g., a cellular phone or laptop computer) has GPS, the coordinates are automatically embedded in the stream.

Individual streams may be password protected and there are security features are embedded to identify videos (so don't record a movie on your cellular phone and try to sell it!).

Citizen journalism

Think about what live streaming video means.  Think about coming upon a newsworthy scene (fire, tornado, automobile accident, military invasion), opening ComVU's PodCaster software on your phone and in less than a minute you're broadcasting live video to the world. 

Think about what this means to so-called citizen journalists and, indeed, traditional journalists who aren't carrying a video camera but have a PodCaster-enabled cellular phone.  Think about the live videos students could have shot during yesterday's horrific massacre at Virginia Tech.

(Yes, I do indeed think about the risks involved in using camera phones to take photos and videos of dangerous situations.)

Business uses

Think about what this means for vertical and horizontal business applications.  Think about the law enforcement implications, such as for security guards.  Think about live streaming of business meetings.

Of course there are many ways to record video, save it on your cellular phone or computer and transmit it to the Web where it's archived.  But with ComVU the stream is going out live; live is the key.

ComVU's broadcasting control center

ComVU's software may be used by individuals as well as corporations.  One of ComVU's major target audiences is, duh, the broadcasting industry.  The company has established a demonstration of an online control center -- it's "Mobile Video Studio" -- that incorporates four viewing areas for live feeds and archived videos plus a larger area to view one of those four videos (see below).

ComVU also posted a white paper (pdf format - boo!) aimed at TV broadcasters (see below).

Anyone can play around with this demonstration, although you're likely to see one live video of Vancouver (one of the ComVU's main offices) and some archived footage of a goldfish swimming.  Oh -- be sure to use Microsoft Internet Explorer, not Firefox, for this demo.  (Yeah, I know, I use Firefox almost exclusively, too.)

Compatible phones

PocketCaster is compatible with Windows Mobile (5.0 and some 2003) and Symbian Series 60 Third and Second Edition phones.  I tested it with a Nokia N93 camera phone using the handset's WiFi connection and it worked fine for the two videos I shot (see below).

I've heard that about 100 phones are compatible with PocketCaster.  Unfortunately, with the United States' motley mix of GSM and cellular operators using phones with a multitude of operating systems -- Symbian, Windows Mobile, Java, BREW, Palm OS, etc. -- many phones won't work, yet, with the software.

ComVU has a listed of supported phones on its Web site.

Pricing

So far the service is free.  If you have a compatible handset you may download PocketCaster software from ComVU's site and test it yourself.  I had no problem downloading and configuring the software, although it took a while for me to figure out the WiFi connection on the N93.  But that's "user dumbness," not PocketCaster's fault.

(I was able to configure WiFi on two other Nokia N-series phones without any stumbling around.)

ComVu hasn't listed any official pricing for PocketCaster.  I'm guessing it will be around $3 - $10 per month for individuals and a license fee for large corporations that could be in the five figures.

What do you think?  Is live streaming video via cellular phones a revolutionary application or just one more arrow in the always-connected quiver?  I think it's closer to the former than the latter.

Comments

[Mark Krebs]

www.moy.tv is a "mobilizing" video site which you might want to check out. A quick introduction is provided in the "How to" document linked at the bottom of the main page.

movy.tv is based on the technologies we have developed at www.movidity.com

I should comment that I'm writing in response to this article because we are doing something similar through java/j2me which will run cross-platform on various java-supporting handsets, including Blackberries and is essentially cellular network agnostic.

Sincerely,

Mark Krebs
CTO, Movidity Inc
www.movidity.com
www.movy.tv