Multimedia on a

Budget
Mo Krochmal (@krochmal)
Asst. Prof., Journalism

-at-
National Association of Hispanic Journalists
Convention
San Juan, P.R.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Forward-Looking Statements

• This talk is based on my research

and opinions and on my experience
of creating and organizing innovative
student-run news operations at
Hofstra University. Your mileage may
vary.

• See our stuff at

NassauNewsLive.com
Proudly serving the communities surrounding Hofstra university since
 Financial Restraint,
Responsibility
• I’m not a Mac. I’m a PC, cause I’m
cheap.

• It still about the journalism, not the

toys.

• Hardware is expensive, but, oh my,

what you can get these days for your $

• “How much did it cost to do that? Is it

worth it? Are there ways to do it
 Looking Forward
• What does the future of multimedia
journalism look like?
 The Frontier of Multimedia
Journalism
• Mobile Video
– Explosion of small hand-held devices
using Internet cloud-based services.
Not held to broadcast standards .
• Livestreaming Video
– Individuals and organizations can create
highly sophisticated broadcast-style and
interactive operations with studio in a
browser that enables remote reports.
 Entry-Level Tool Kit
To enter the future, you need these
tools:
– Phone/Mobile Internet connectivity
– Lightweight Computer
– Webcam/Mic
 Equipment Costs
• Laptop (~$600) with a webcam
• Or Netbook ($400)
+Upgraded Webcam ($100)
• Video capable 3G Mobile phone
($200-$700)
-- Contract=~$1,400/2 years unl
text/data
Investment over 2 years (Approximately $2,100)
 Getting Connected
• Broadband Internet access
WiFi – Cheap, but not
everywhere.
3G – Not cheap, more access,
portable.
 3G Mobile Internet Access
• Tethered Phone
Use your phone to connect your laptop to the
Internet.
• Hackz
PDANet
• USB Modem
Buy a USB modem, and a plan.
• Hotspot Modem
Mifi – A device that lets you create a hotspot,
with password.
• Pay-as-You-Go
 Tethered Phone
• If you have a smartphone, i.e. an
iPhone, a Palm Pre, or a Nokia, the
technology exists for using that
phone as your broadband modem.
• Now, you have to convince the
carriers to offer it, or do it outside
your TOS:
• AT&T – no tethering right now, but soon.
• Sprint – no tethering right now, but soon.
• Verizon – no tethering right now, but soon.
 USB Modem
• You can buy a little popsicle stick that
attaches to your computer’s USB port
and allows you to access the carrier’s
network.
• 2-year plan.
 Sprint, Verizon Hotspot
•
Modem
A relatively new gadget called “Mifi” works with
any WiFi device, connecting to mobile net,
creating WiFi cloud.

• Verizon -- $100 w 2-year service agreement ($50 rebate).

*Monthly: $40 [250 megabytes|$0.10/megabyte overage]
*$60 [5 gigabytes / $0.05 per megabyte overage].
*DayPass -- $400 for device and $15 per 24-hour access
period.
• Sprint -- $100 after $50 rebate, with a two-year contract.
Broadband-only for $60; or $150 monthly Simply
Everything
 Pay as you Go 3G
• Virgin Mobile USA
Broadband2Go on Sprint's Network
• Novatel USB broadband modem $149
from Best Buy
– $10 / month for 100MB of data usage for
10 days
– $20 / month 250MB
– $40 / 600MB
– $60 / 1GB of data usage
**--Bandwidth expires in 30 days
Pay as You Go
 Magic of Mobile

“It's the only device that you have

next to you -- three feet away at any
point in time. It's not the next huge
thing; it's huge right now.”
Bonin Bough, head of the social media effort for PepsiCo

[
http://members.whattheythink.com/allsearch/articleerc.cfm?id=39923
]
Hardware
 Computers

Allow you to perform more complex

editing tasks, and keyboard allows
texting using off-the-shelf or cloud-
based software/services. Good for
the Mojo.
 Netbooks

• What is a netbook?
7- to 12-inch notebooks powered by an Intel Atom
processor, capable of running a full operating system
such as Windows XP. Let’s you do simple editing.
MovieMaker. Blip.tv archive.
IDC forecasts manufacturers will ship 26.5 million “mini notebooks” by the end of
2009, or more than double the 11.6 million units shipped in 2008.

• On the Horizon:
Smartbooks -- netbook-like devices that run
smartphonechips and use operating systems such
as Android. Can play back HD video.
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/06/netbook-evolution/
 Best Netbook, For Now

Experts say:
ASUS Eee PC 1000HE (EPC1000HE-BLK005X)

~$400

Via Hardware Central Review

http://www.hardwarecentral.com/hardwarecentral/reviews/article.php/12095_3821901_2

http://www.crunchgear.com/2009/06/16/asus-t91-tablet-netbook-to-hit-us-retailers-soon/
 Data Plans
Netbook with built-in 3G
• Verizon offers HP Mini for $199 with 2-year
plan and costs $40 to $60 per month with
caps on data.
Smartbooks and netbooks with integrated
3G also don’t make much sense if you also
own a laptop.
In this case, it’s better to have a USB
broadband modem so you can use one
wireless account with both mobile devices
(unfortunately there aren’t many laptops or
netbooks in the U.S. with a SIM card slot).
 Webcams
• Simple technology that can be
bundled to do some sophisticated
switching using cloud-based
software.
 Webcams

• Low-end
Microsoft LifeCam VX-5000

~$25-$35
640-by-480-pixel resolution for video, 1.3-megapixel sensor, performs in low light than other
cameras in its price class. It has an integrated microphone and a unique, flexible base that
can clip on to more surfaces than some other webcam mounts.http
://www.consumersearch.com/webcam-reviews

• Not Mac compatible

 Webcam
High End

Logitech's QuickCam Pro 9000

“A top-quality webcam with
outstanding optics, user-friendly
software and excellent audio.”
http://www.consumersearch.com/webcam-reviews/logitech-quickcam-pr
$73.38 from Amazon, $99 from Dell
* -- not Mac-compatible
Computers+Webcams
 Livestreaming
• Livestreaming
Ability to stream video in real time.
Watch: WNYW/Fox 5 [
http://www.myfoxny.com/]
 Livestream.com

The Service formerly known as

Mogulus
Livestream.com Console
Livestream Interface
Ustream.tv
Ustream Dashboard
 Other players
Stikam, Kyte, Qik, Justin.tv
Social Networking:
Seesmic http://seesmic.com/ ,
12seconds http://12seconds.tv/
Paltalk
Oovoo
Google Talk
Skype
 Smartphones
• Top 3
• Iphone – new edition is out, has video
• Nokia N97 – new. Pricey
• Palm Pre – new. Cool

• For me, video and a QWERTY

keyboard are the critical factor in a
purchase decision.
 Smartphone Costs
• Smartphone costs:

“If you follow the rules, service for an

unlocked Nokia N97 or any other
smartphone will cost you as much as
service for any subsidized smartphone,
BlackBerry or iPhone that AT&T sells. These
plans cost $30 a month for unlimited data
and if you want a texting plan you can
choose from plans that range in price from
$5 a month to $20 a month for unlimited
texting.”
 Bandwidth
• Average iPhone user eats up around
400 megabytes of capacity each
month. Average smartphoneusage is
40 to 80 megabytes.
• Roger Entner, head of telecom research for
Nielsen
 Mobile Video Services
• Qik.com

• Kyte.tv

• Flixwagon
Nokia N97
 Distribution
• Outbound information

Write once, distribute.

Collecting Your Streams
Services
 Smartphones
• Nokia says that 100M of the 1B mobile
phones sold last year were smart
phones, with perhaps 200M smart
phones to be sold in 2009. Netbooks
are also selling very well. Orange says
that more netbooks are being sold this
year than smart phones.
• http://viodi.com/2009/06/14/tiecon2009/
• Smartphones are still a small part of the
overall market — about 27 percent of
mobile phone shipments
 It’s the tool most of the world
will use to see the Internet

Cell phone adoption exceeds 100% in

many economies (Intel)
http://www.wimax.com/commentary/blog/blog-2009/june-2009/wimax-inside-0602

“By 2013, 90 percent of web traffic

will be [for] the distribution of video."

Mozilla's Mark Surman