Tutorial: Boosting Your Streaming Signal with the Teradek VidiU Pro via ShareLink

Figure 6 (below) shows three iPhones, all connected to the VidiU Pro via its wifi access point. You activate ShareLink on one phone, and download the VidiU app on all of them.

Figure 6. Three iPhones running the VidiU app. Click the image to see it at full size.

I’ll start transmitting on a single phone. Then I’ll activate the others by clicking Link My Phone (highlighted in Figure 6).

Click Stats to check the strength of your signal, as shown in Figure 7 (below). I have good service where I’m testing, so a single phone can carry the complete 5 Mbps signal. But as anyone who’s shot events in different venues knows, signal quality varies dramatically, which could mean dropped frames or even temporary loss of service.

Figure 7. My current signal strength

Adding More Friends

When I click Link My Phone to activate the next iPhone, Vidiu Pro shows two friends (Figure 8, below), which means the two phones are pushing the signal. You see the signal kick in on the Stats screen (Figure 9, below Figure 8).

Figure 8. Two “friends” (i.e., 2 iPhones) now pushing the signal

Figure 9. The Stats screen shows 2 iPhones connected via ShareLink

Now, the next phone. ShareLink load balances the signal across all devices. When throughput on one unit drops, ShareLink compensates by transmitting more on another. In the location where I did this testing, it makes the stream smoother and more robust, as well as providing signal redundancy. If overall service was poor, ShareLink would combine the signals to increase bandwidth and enable you to transmit a higher-quality stream.

Maximizing Your Streaming Signal

ShareLink provides the signal maxing and redundancy previously available only on cellular bonding units that cost thousands to buy, and hundreds a month to operate. ShareLink costs $19.90 a month for up to 50 GB of transmission, and $49.90 a month for unlimited use.

It's currently available only on the Vidiu Pro, which costs just under $1,000, though Teradek will extend the service to other products over time.

For more information about ShareLink or VidiU Pro, contact this tutorial’s sponsor, Videoguys.com, at 1-800-323-2325.