Opening of the World’s Longest Railway Tunnel Brought to the Web via Blick webTV and LiveU

Blick webTV was founded in 2006 and is part of the larger Ringier, a Swiss-based, multifaceted media group with employees in 15 countries. It produces web video content for both Ringier and external customers.

Michel Huber, Head of Technology, said, “We were determined to broadcast live from the entire event. We also wanted to stream the first train journey through the Gotthard live. That was why we chose LiveU. The mobility was crucial. Our video journalist was able to transmit images to our editors for almost an hour without an external power supply and all live!”

Blick webTV used a LU500, LiveU’s flagship uplink device for professional newsgathering, equipped with eight SIMs spread across three network operators. The company also took a Reuters Live Stream from the tunnel via satellite downlink. That was produced onsite by SRF and allowed Blick webTV to cut between images from the two feeds.

Huber said, “Our expectations were more than exceeded. No test runs were possible in advance so we therefore had to rely on the 4G network working in the tunnel as advertised. There were, in fact, a few places where the available bandwidth dropped to just 500k bits. Even in those extreme circumstances we kept broadcasting. As a result, we were very satisfied with what LiveU delivered to us from the Gotthard.”
Blick webTV has been using LiveU technology for eighteen months now with the company deploying it for various types of news and sports coverage including the European Beach Volleyball Championships this year. It highlights even greater LiveU use since Facebook opened itself up to live video streaming.

LiveU owns the patent for cellular bonding for remote news gathering in the US, Europe, China and other countries. All LiveU products are based on this fourth-generation patented technology.

About LiveU
LiveU sets the standard for high-quality and reliable live video acquisition, management and distribution over IP. LiveU's award-winning technology enables live video transmission from any location around the world with lightweight, easy-to-use equipment.  From backpacks to smartphones, and satellite/cellular hybrid to external antenna solutions, LiveU offers a complete range of devices for live video coverage anytime, anywhere. In addition, LiveU offers extensive cloud-based management and video distribution solutions. With top-tier customers in 80+ countries, LiveU’s solutions are being utilised for breaking and developing news and high-profile events, such as the FIFA World Cup™, Winter and Summer Olympic Games, Presidential Campaigns, Super Bowls, US Collegiate Championships and red-carpet events. LiveU’s solutions include multiple 4G LTE/3G, HSPA+, WiMAX and Wi-Fi cellular links, which are optimised for maximum video quality based on the available network conditions.