Livestream just made it easier to stream video from your camera

Livestream is announcing two new pieces of hardware today — the Broadcaster mini and the updated, more compact Broadcaster. We visited the Bushwick company’s offices last week, for demoes of the new products from two Livestream founders.
Livestream’s mission is for all live events to get shown live over the internet. “The biggest barrier is the ability to capture high-quality video quickly and easily enough,” Max Haot, one of the cofounders, told us during our visit.
The original Broadcaster was the company’s solution. The device allowed a camera to feed directly into a Livestream event via WiFi or ethernet connection.
“We’re not trying to make a profit from hardware,” Haot told us. By making a simple and affordable device that solves this key problem, it’s easier to secure customers for their core business: selling streaming video services. That said, the devices still fit into a larger Brooklyn narrative of moving technology from bits to atoms, which is taking many forms. Some 40 percent of Livestream customers use a Broadcaster now, Haot said.
While the original Broadcaster, launced in 2012, is still available for sale, Livestream will not be making more. The device is now retired, with a more compact Broadcaster to take its place. Alongside it comes the Broadcaster mini, a smaller, more affordable system for using the most core functions.

The mini is now available for pre-order from Livestream’s website, for $295. It begins shipping March 16. The mini is tiny, compared to the original Broadcaster — maybe about half the size of a typical cell phone in volume. With a built-in battery, it can transmit video over 2.5 or 5 GHz WiFi for around three hours without a charge.
The mini is set up and run entirely through the Livestream app. Software is built into the app to give less sophisticated users recommended settings for video quality and aspect ratios, but the mini can handle up to 1080p. That adaptive streaming technology is unique to Livestream, according to Phil Worthington, another of the cofounders who demoed the device. The mini can also use Bluetooth LE to broadcast via your phone’s mobile data.

The new Broadcaster is not yet available, but it’s considerably more compact than the original, and it goes for the same price, $495. It has more input ports than the its sibling and it also has an onboard display that allows the user to control it without use of the app. One other important difference is that it has audio inputs and outpubs, which makes it possible for broadcaster, for example, to use a different source of sound than the camera’s built-in microphone.
Both Broadcaster devices are made in California.