LiveU Launches First Production-Level Field Unit

LiveU today unveiled its all-in-one production-level field unit for live news and sports coverage. The LU800 combines multi-camera production and video and audio capabilities with mission-critical transmission in a native 5G unit. LiveU said: “Designed from the ground up to unlock 5G potential, the unit offers unparalleled quality of service and resiliency.”

The LU800 supports up to four fully frame-synced feeds in high resolution from a single unit, using powerful IP bonding of up to 14 connections. The unit also offers the highest-quality video performance, with up to 4Kp60 10-bit HDR transmission for optimal color depth and richness, as well as up to 16 audio channels for high-end productions.

Samuel Wasserman, LiveU’s CEO, said: “Launching this ground-breaking product has taken on extra relevance, with the industry experiencing social distancing and budget limitations. There is an acute and growing need for high-quality, reliable and cost-effective solutions, supporting remote production (REMI) workflows. The LU800 offers unlimited possibilities for customers to enrich their productions and cover more events at a fraction of the cost of traditional transmission methods.”

The LU800 combines “superior 5G performance with up to eight 5G internal, dual-SIM modems, supported by high-efficiency internal antennas. The unit has been optimized for 5G operations, addressing unique 5G requirements with maximum versatility and full support for 5G network evolution,” LiveU said.

Wasserman continued: “With the return of live sports, 5G is expected to play a significant role in live production and contribution. The LU800’s smart 5G-bonding technology enhances the sustainability of video quality in sports stadiums and other venues, taking advantage of the increased bandwidth, lower latency and greater speeds offered by 5G networks. Our successful live 5G broadcasts with leading US, APAC and European cellular providers, together with our ongoing participation in EU 5G collaborative projects, have strengthened our knowledge and expertise in this field, enabling us to enhance our algorithms and solutions accordingly.”

With the LU800, LiveU said it now offers a full end-to-end contribution, production and distribution solution. The unit’s multi-camera production streams are fully managed by the LiveU Central cloud-based management platform and automatically fed into the LiveU Matrix IP content management and distribution workflow.

Available now, the LU800 product series offers multi-camera and single camera variants.