On this episode of 5 THINGS, we're going to take a look at the AJA Helo; a device that records and streams for your next production.
Let's get started.
Hello and welcome to another episode of 5 THINGS - a web series dedicated to answering
the 5 burning tech questions you have about technologies and workflows in the media creation
space. Tech stuff I dig, and how it's used. I'm your host Michael Kammes.
I mentioned a few episodes ago how I was looking forward to kicking the tires on the then new
AJA Helo. Well, here I am, courtesy of the fine folks at AJA. Let's get this review started.
The AJA Helo, in a nutshell, does 2 distinct things: it records an SD or HD video signal,
and also streams a signal to just about any streaming service you can find. Pretty simple, right?
But before I get too much deeper, let's take a quick look at where the Helo may work
for you in a production environment.
Here we see a typical small production setup. We have our cameras…and we have our capture
device that takes in the cameras and other video sources….next we have the switcher
which cuts between angles, adds graphics, and mixes audio…..and now we have our streaming
device to get out to the internet, and lastly, the webhost or CDN that takes our signal and
shares it with the world.
The Helo is that streaming device, and as an added bonus can also be a recording device.
Let's take a look at how the Helo does this.
First, the unit has 2 separate encoders. This allows the Helo to encode the incoming signal
in two discreet ways – one as a local copy, and one in your streaming format du jour.
This is pretty cool because it means you're not stuck with an archival version that was
optimized for live streaming – it can be recorded at a higher frame rate and frame size so you
can edit it after the event is over.
This recorded copy can either be written to a local USB drive or RAID, to a network mountpoint,
or even to an SD card. As the encoder is limited to h.264, and tops out at 20Mbps,
all of these onboard storage methods provide plenty of bandwidth with which to record the
incoming signal. 20Mbps is pretty cool; as it's a higher data rate than most other
portable encoders out there.
Speaking of the incoming signal, the Helo has an SDI and an HDMI spigot, however only
1 can be used at a time. Aside from embedded audio on these inputs, there is also an unbalanced
1/8" jack if you're into the second system audio kinda thing. Now, the Helo handles signals
up to 2K at 60 frames per second, however, it tops out recording and streaming at 1080p60.
1080p60 - now, this is really important.
"This means something. This is important."
1080p60 is often sought after for sporting events and gamers where higher frame rates
and frame sizes are needed. Many other portable encoders on the market will
top out at 720p60, or at 1080 with interlaced or slower frame rates.
The Helo has the ability to stream to virtually any of the platforms you'd want to stream to,
via RTMP and RTSP.
RTMP will cover a vast majority of the popular CDNs, including YouTube, Facebook, and Twitch.
What the Helo does lack is out of the box are pre-baked CDN presets. However, you can
easily create those manually inside the box for re-use. Thus, you do need to understand
what the CDN you're using is looking for. Luckily, a simple Google search for the RTMP
settings for the popular platform you'd like are usually widely published.
A few things you need to do, handy person. As the unit is new, firmware updates have
been coming frequently. So, go to the AJA website and download the latest firmware.
With this being the IBC season, look forward to new firmware. Also, you'll want to download
the AJA eMini Setup Utility, and install it. This will allow you to update the unit's
firmware to get the latest features and bug fixes.
Now, let's get the unit some juice with the included power supply, and connect the
supplied USB cable to the unit; and plug the other end into your computer. Launch the Setup
utility on your computer and update the unit's firmware.
OK, now we need to get a signal to the unit via HDMI or SDI.
If using this for streaming, this will come from your switcher's output, or even the
output of your camera if your production is more of a "set it and forget" type of affair.
Now, don't forget your separate audio line if your audio is coming in from somewhere else.
Now, the unit also has an HDMI, SDI and Audio output as well, so you could route these outputs
to a monitor and mixer to check things, or, place the Helo in front of your switcher in
order to have a clean recording from your camera– also called an ISO of your signal;
albeit in an h.264 format.
On the rear of the unit is the LAN port, where you'll want to run an Ethernet cable to
the Helo and out to your router or switch so you can do the initial setup and control
the Helo. There is no WiFi on the unit, or a way to use a portable USB LTE modem, so
you'll need to ensure you have a hardwired line during the setup process.
I know, They cut the hard line. There's no time. You're going to have to get to another exit.
Your unit should be set to DHCP, out of the box
so it should grab an IP address from your network when you plug it in.
There is a button to launch the web page that controls the unit.
You should probably at this point decide that if you are going to record the incoming signal,
where is that recording going to land? If it's on a USB drive, that drive should be
USB 2.0 or 3.0, and be formatted as ExFAT or Fat32. This can be a RAID as well. These
are cross platform, folks, not Apple HFS or Windows NTFS. If you're going to an SD Card,
make sure those are only formatted as ExFat. Lastly, if you're going to a network mountpoint,
ensure you're using NFS or CIF protocols.
We've got two ways to control the unit. We've got end user controls...
...and then the way I like.
The end user control consists of physical buttons on the Helo for recording and streaming,
so you can engage or disengage each of the functions independently of one another.
Very simple, and very handy if nontechnical folks are going out to record or stream an event.
And now the way I LIKE to handle things – my way.
We do this my way. You shoot and you shoot to kill.
Get as many as you can. All you gotta do is just not miss.
The Helo gets setup and can be controlled via your web browser; this is actually where
you setup the parameters of the end user controls. While the web browser access makes things
easy and AJA gets points for functionality, their graphical interfaces have never been
the most eye catching. Function over Form. If you've ever used their other converters
and recorders, like the FS series or Ki Pro family, then the interface will be very familiar.
It's from here you can monitor the status of the unit, and see a summary of the parameters
that have been selected and saved on the Helo. At the top of every page is a current graphical
representation of the recording and streaming status of the unit, and you can use the mini
icons here to bounce back and forth between the recording and streaming functions.
If I haven't beat this into your head already, this is also where you can independently alter
the recording and streaming parameters of the Helo, and then save them, which AJA calls
"profiles".
This is where things can get slightly confusing.
The Helo has "profiles" for recording and streaming - 10 profiles for each, actually.
However, these profiles are not the same as "Presets", which are system wide groups of settings that
you can save to the Helo.
For example, you may have a recording profile for 720p, and a streaming profile for 1080p.
These are controlled independently, but a preset would configure both streaming and
recording profiles in 1 setting – a preset.
Through this methodology you could mix and match profiles to create specific presets.
Perhaps you could use this for various physical streaming locations, coupled with various
camera gear and the available bandwidth at that location.
Of the myriad of controls for each encoding parameter, there are some of note. You can
change the level of your h.264 encode, from constrained, to baseline, to main, and to
Plus, you can set the naming convention of your recorded clips, and you have the option of
MOV or MP4 wrapped h.264 clips, or simple TS streams.
What I dig is the easy "oh [censored expletive] what's wrong menu" on the left hand side, where
you get immediately notified of any errors that may be occuring.
Lastly, if you don't want to use the hard buttons on the front, or use the webpage,
Helo can take a calendar entry, like a Google calendar appointment or an ICS file to automatically
trigger recording or streaming at a predefined date and time.
Very simple.
I'm very impressed with the image. More so with the streaming than recording, but
I'll get into that in a minute.
Often when you compress a video signal down, one of the first things to be lost are the
details in the blacks. The details in the darks translate
very well from the Helo.
I did over 3 dozen recording and streaming tests, encompassing various record times and
at multiple recording and streaming bitrates, with no hiccups attributed to the Helo.
I did find with very early firmware releases that I would sometimes get a frame or 2 video hit
while streaming on YouTube, but that seems to have been rectified.
This does bring up an important point: and that is, always do a test from the location
you're streaming from before the day of the event. Congested networks and limited
upload speeds can cause you to drop frames while streaming. Just because the unit can
stream at 20Mbps, doesn't mean you need to.
"They did something awful, but that doesn't mean you should, too."
"AII that's Ieft in you now is mean and horrible!"
As far as recording, I'm not a huge fan of recording into h.264.
I figure if I'm going to record an ISO, or record the output of the switcher,
I want something that's high enough quality that I can manipulate the image later in post, whether
that be a color pass, or maybe even a re-edit…or even for archival purposes. H.264's tend to
fall apart after subsequent encodes.
On the flip side, if you don't plan on doing any manipulation of the recorded video, you
now have a great looking recorded h.264 that won't take forever to upload for VOD later.
I've posted some examples of how the recorded image looks. At the address below, I have
short clips of the source recorded media, as well as the recording in various formats
from the Helo. You can download 'em and see how they look.
Keep in mind, when you stream to a CDN, that is, after the Helo has encoded the video,
the CDN may transcode your media further, so your image may take another hit in quality.
Thus, it's best practice to always test what the end signal looks like before going live.
Portable switching devices like the TriCaster by Newtek are fantastic. But in addition to
the switching, audio mixing, and graphic capabilities, they often are handling recording and streaming
as well. This is a lot to burden 1 machine with. I like to spread out the points of failure
if possible, and the Helo helps with that.
The Helo is also a hardware encoder, rather than the traditional software encoder that portable switchers
or software switchers use, and hardware encoders traditionally mean better visual quality – and
less potential for hiccups due to a computer system and it's OS and everything else that
the computer is doing.
It's also great for folks who handle events that need to be streamed but may not have
uber technical people at the event. Churches and schools are a great example. The hard
buttons on the front make it totally simple to operate.
"She's right. We just have to keep this simple. We can do this."
The small footprint of the unit also makes it portable and lightweight for the aforementioned
remote broadcasts.
For sporting events and gamers, the larger frame size of 1080 and the progressive 60 frames
ensure you're getting as much info per frame as possible without compromising.
Lastly, and something many users overlook, is the value of support. For years, AJA has
had world class support, and knowledge of not just their products, but how their product
fits into typical workflows. It's important to have that backup behind you when you jump
into new gear.
Have more AJA Helo questions other than just these 5? Ask me in the Comments section.
Also, please subscribe and share this tech goodness with the rest of your techie friends.
Special thanks to the fine folks at AJA for their technical and financial support of this review.
Until the next episode: learn more, do more – thanks for watching.
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