Livestream introduces broadcasting hardware

The new Livestream Broadcaster lets you live stream from almost any camera

Livestream, a premium live video streaming service, has unveiled a new product that simplifies the process of live broadcasting video content if you don't have time to stream it through or download it to your laptop.

The new Livestream Encoder, priced at $485, can be connected to virtually any camera and stream HD video directly to the Web through a WiFi connection or most USB wireless modems. The device is fully integrated into the new Livestream platform and includes three months of free access to Livestream’s ad-free HD streaming service (the price is $45 a month after that). 

The Livestream Broadcaster connects to the Internet through a 3G or 4G modem (Livestream recommends using a USB modem connected to Verizon’s 4G LTE network) or a local WiFi or wired network to stream the content.

For a comparison, traditional live broadcasting setups could cost north of $5,500, and usually require far more clunky equipment for live, HD content.

New York City-based Livestream has raised $12.5 million in funding, since founding in 2007, and currently counts over 30 million monthly viewers. 

The broadcaster works with almost any camera with an HDMI signal (1080i, 720p or 480i) and the content is encoded in real-time at up to 720p and 2.3 Mbps. 

The true innovation of this product is how it circumvents the need for a computer in the process, producers can use the encoder and their camera to control the content and the streaming for live coverage of an event -- greatly because of the integration of the Livestream platform. 

Other competitors in the field include Cerevo’s Live Shell - priced at $299, but that product only supports Ustream right now and doesn’t stream in HD.

The Livestream Brocaster is available for pre-order today in the U.S. and Europe. It will start shipping in May.

As more people are in search of ways of being totally mobile, hardware like Livestream's Broadcaster will become crucial for journalists, movie producers and others looking to share more in depth content with Twitter-like speed.