How many receiving sites can we have?

[craiggsmith]

Is there a limit to the number of receiving sites we can have?

[russellhltn]

In the scheduling app, the "large event" switch says to use it if you expect between 75-200 sites.

[lajackson]

What if you expect 750 to 1,000? What if the members are told to stay home from stake conference and watch the webcast?

[craiggsmith]

Thanks, I thought there was something like that, but I wasn't in a position to set up an event to see. Now I see that when you hover over it, but the guide simply says more than 75 sites. I'm not sure why my stake president is asking but I suspect it might be for the reason that lajackson mentioned.

[russellhltn]

What if you expect 750 to 1,000?

Unless someone says something different, I'd suggest you look into a different solution.

[craiggsmith]

A number of units have been having virtual meetings lately, I thought I heard of a stake conference as well. I should know what technology they are using but don’t, but I would think the number of units broadcasting would be the main issue, not the number of receiving sites.

[russellhltn]

but I would think the number of units broadcasting would be the main issue, not the number of reviving sites.

I don't think so. I think what happens is that the church spins up a server in Microsoft's cloud for each meeting. We'd have to use up the whole Azure system to tax the number of sending sites.

The problem with streaming, is unlike radio broadcasting, each receiving site requires it's own stream. Each server has some kind of bandwidth limit that limits how many streams it can support.

[craiggsmith]

That’s why I said the number of units streaming would be an issue, although an inside contact says only 200, so I guess it is a separate stream for each receiving location. I guess it’s not the same method as general conference.

[Mikerowaved]

If you're concerned about capacity, I suggest using YouTube Live. It has unbelievable capacity and will spin up more servers automatically on demand. You can use your existing Teradek box for encoding. Hard to beat for free.

[russellhltn]

I guess it’s not the same method as general conference.

Method, yes. System, no. It's probably a combination of YouTube and Brightcove.

Interestingly, Brightcove's main page says "Brightcove is now offering 50 free hours of HD Live for 90 days to support our business community and help you avoid disruptions.*"