Replacing Video Cameras With Mobile Phones Using the Multi-Phone Livestreaming (MultPLS) Method

Alhadi, Bujang and Nurul Izzah, Nasir and Mohammad Khairuddin, Ahmad and Siti Hajar, Abu Bakar and Mohamad Hishamuddin, Wang and Ernisa, Marzuki (2023) Replacing Video Cameras With Mobile Phones Using the Multi-Phone Livestreaming (MultPLS) Method. In: The Southeast Asian Conference on Education 2023, 10-13 February 2023, Singapore and online.

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Abstract

Livestreaming has become the new normal for universities. It is common nowadays for academic events such as webinars and conferences to be streamed live to a global audience. A conventional livestreaming session typically utilises multicamera production (MCP) to achieve varied and dynamic video angles. This kind of footage is crucial for the audience to fully appreciate the event; however, it requires video production cameras, which presents constraints due to the cameras’ lack of flexibility, high costs, and necessary usage training. Our study aims to overcome these challenges by 1) emulating the MCP livestream quality using a simple, flexible, and sustainable approach; and 2) optimising the use of existing equipment to minimise financial needs. We devised the Multi-Phone Livestreaming (MultPLS) method, an innovation that uses mobile phones in place of video production cameras, with its own plug-and-play Wi-Fi access point to produce an isolated network for the mobile phones. MultPLS was repeatedly tested and evaluated in various academic events over 21 months. We discovered that MultPLS held advantages over the conventional method. In terms of footage quality, MultPLS is equal to or better than the conventional MCP. MultPLS is more flexible when it comes to physical and location movements. It is also more economically sustainable. Finally, this method can be utilised for livestreams from any locations with internet connection, thus cancelling the need for outdoor broadcasting vehicles. We are therefore confident that MultPLS possesses great potential for applications in the academic domain and beyond.

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