ZAO App for Mobile

Professional Smartphone Live Streaming for Broadcasting & Public Safety Applications

Professional Smartphone Live Streaming for Broadcasting & Public Safety Applications

Mobile phones have become ubiquitous for every day operation in both business and personal life. But consumer live streaming video apps do not have the sophistication required for professional use. Live streaming requires reliability, very low latency, a talk back feature, and for critical communications, it requires encryption and integration into a broadcast or Video Management System environment at the receiving destination.

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Zao App for Android and iPhone

Uses of the Zao App

For Broadcast, the Zao Android App can be easily used for a variety of TV production applications such as News gathering, Sports Production, Religious events, Live Music to live stream back to the MCR room of a broadcast station.

For Public Safety Applications it can be used for law enforcement, emergency first responders including ambulance and firemen, civil rescues, coastguards, and security personnel to send an encrypted video live stream back to a command and control center.

The receiving end can provide a mixture of different video formats for different customer requirements including HD-SDI, NDI, RTMP (Push & Pull) and ONVIF compliant RTMP. Alternatively, the Zao Android App can be used with the Cloud View solution.

Key Features

  • Easy to Use

  • Encrypted Option

  • Full HD Stream

  • ONVIF Compliant

  • Remote Operation

  • Talkback feature

  • Full Management interface of all devices

  • GPS

  • Use either camera on smartphone

  • 5G Tested

  • Low Power Mode

Mobile Streaming: Zao App for Android and iPhone reigns supreme

The latest generation of smartphones means they have the hardware power to compress and live stream with broadcast precision, delivering a video experience that is now the envy of many external cameras that are far more expensive.

The flexibility of the Zao Android App is that it can support both H.264 and H.265 compression. The advantage of H.265 HEVC compression is that it requires only half the bit rate for the same video quality. It can support lower latency, typically under a second, even in weak signal conditions. H.264 works better on older phones, but many more back-office applications at the receiving destination support H.264, so transcoding is not required.

The advantage of the Zao Android App is that you can easily switch between the two compression modes depending on your requirements.

Despite all the complexity under the hood, the app itself is easy to use, with a red button to start or stop the live stream. It can be controlled remotely via a management platform. It also has other features like turning on the light, dimming the screen to save power, choosing between front or back cameras (and some devices even have a thermal camera), locking the screen to prevent accidental changes, and supports full GPS when live streaming to a map.

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Installed on Smartphone

Broadcast App in Field

  • Full HD Broadcast Quality
  • Low latency
  • Create HD-SDI or NDI at receiving end
  • Emergency Responders

How the ZAO app works for live streaming

The app is intuitive and easy to use within its environment. It offers various options for the camera, adjusting screen brightness, providing light for dark conditions, and the ability to lock the screen. Additionally, you can change the destination address as needed.

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What about the receiving end?

There are several solutions for the receiving end, normally installed within the Broadcast Data Centre or within the Command and Control Centre: 

HDView5 / Zao View/ Cloud View

There are software decoders that can be installed on a Win10/11 platform at the receiving end, or Zao View for Linux, and a cloud version option that can be subscription based, or  installed on-prem or within a public cloud environment.

It can be configured to provide an RTSP (IP) stream (H.265) that can be pushed to social media, Video Management Systems,  or other platform supporting standard H.265 RTSP, pr H.264 RTMP protocols.

The cloud version comes complete with its own Zao client known as Cloud View. This provides an H265 WebRTC stream.

Zao Cloud View

A virtualized software solution hosted or “On-Prem” solution that allows up to 12 incoming Zao Android encrypted video streams, and up to 6 receiving clients to view and record live streams either in the Command Centre or remotely in the field.

Supported Phones

AIRBUS

Tactilon Dabat is the world’s first hybrid smartphone and full TETRA radio in one device. In use by Emergency Services.

SAMSUNG

Lightweight popular telephones with Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset. Ideal for broadcasters and public safety officers looking to live stream.

CAT

Rugged phone with a thermal camera, ideal for fire departments and other tough applications.