How Wilmington University Used Wireless Video for Spring Commencement

Live streaming is one of the best ways to engage with your community and bring your school up to speed in technology.

However, schools that already live stream might have an interest in taking their content to the next level. From school sports to assemblies to graduation, there’s a lot of action to capture and moments to share.

What’s the next frontier in school live streaming?

Wilmington University, a non-profit undergraduate & graduate college based in New Castle, Delaware, found the answer with zero-delay wireless video. Essentially, wireless video is the sending of A/V from camera to switcher completely wirelessly, removing the need for any HDMI or SDI cables. This means that previously stationary cameras can now be roaming, capturing the action from exciting new angles and giving the audience a more engaging show.

Roaming Camera

“We have over 8000 students who earn 100% of their degree online, and over 12,000 who take at least 1 online class. Naturally, we have a very big international student population. So we really want to bring a high-quality production for everybody in the Wilmington University community when they watch commencement.” - Russ Lichterman, Director of Educational Technology and Multimedia

Spring Commencement 2019 at Wilmington consisted of 4 shows over the course of several days. Russ’ production team used 3x Panasonic PX270 cameras with SDI cables that fed straight to a Datavideo SE1200mu switcher.

What made their setup different this time was a Sony NX camera with the addition of an Ace 500. With the Ace 500, the team was able to make the camera completely wireless while sending real-time video to the switcher in the back of the auditorium. This allowed for capturing more action than any stationary camera on a tripod.

Producing Better Live Streams

“Adding the Ace 500 gave us the opportunity to get bump shots, reaction shots, hallway shots, and much more. It allowed us to achieve new levels of intimacy that we weren’t able to do with just our normal setup. Right after we used it, our sports department saw what we were doing and took it for their live productions too.”

“It’s going to be a huge factor in all of our multicam productions going forward. We’ll use it in sports, speaker events, commencements, music performances, and just about any multicam show. It’s one less camera to worry about wrapping cables for, and allows us to get as close to the excitement as possible. With the Ace being so budget-friendly too, we as professionals in the education space are drawn to it. It’s an invaluable piece of our kit.”