AJA HELO Plus Advanced H.264 Streaming and Recording

HELO Plus is a compact, advanced H.264 streaming and recording stand-alone appliance. HELO Plus offers both SDI and HDMI I/O with the capability to stream up to 1080p60 to a Content Delivery Network and record simultaneously. Two separate streaming destinations can be set up and recordings can be made to a combination of SD card, USB storage and NFS or CIFS network storage. HELO Plus also provides Picture-In-Picture and graphics functionality in hardware for compelling presentations made simple.

Features

• Portable, stand-alone device with 3G-SDI and HDMI I/O
• Encode up to 1080p60 in H.264/MPEG-4
• Stream to two separate destinations simultaneously
• Create Picture-in-Picture streaming/recording output from multiple input sources
• 2-channel stereo audio 
• Analog stereo audio out
• Front panel LED audio meters
• Data rates from 100 kbps to 20 Mbps in MPEG-4
• Record to SD, SDHC, or SDXC cards, USB storage, NFS, CIFS, or SMB network volumes
• USB slot and SD card slot for local external storage
• Video input and output on 3G-SDI and HDMI
• Support for RTP/UDP, RTSP, RTMP, RTMPS, HLS, and Unicast
• SRT compatibility
• AV Mute with user graphics upload support for pre-live feeds
• Web-based GUI preview window
• Group control for multiple HELO Plus and Ki Pro devices

Connections and Indicators

HELO Plus offers all the professional digital I/O you need to make HELO Plus the heart of your streaming service. The easy to access front panel buttons make starting and stopping your stream simple. 

Front of the HELO Plus:

• Record button
• Main and Backup LED indicators
• Stream button
• Streaming LED indicators
• LED Stereo VU meters
• 1x USB 3.2 Gen1 port (5Gb/s) for media recording and playback. This USB connection can supply 1A of current to the storage device, allowing it to work with modern, larger memory sticks.
• USB LED indicator
• 1x SD card slot for media recording and playback
• SD card LED indicator

Rear of the HELO Plus:

• 1x Stereo analog audio input
• 1x Stereo analog audio output
• 1x 3G-SDI input
• SDI signal LED indicator
• 1x 3G-SDI output
• 1x HDMI 1.4a input
• HDMI signal LED indicator
• 1x HDMI 1.4a output
• 1x Dedicated Micro USB port for use with AJA Mini-Config software
• 1x 1GigE network connection for control and SMB recording/playback
• 1x Locking power connector

Sports Streaming Workflow

In this use case, a sports channel 1080p59.94 video feed is being commentated on in the studio, with the video output and embedded audio being passed directly to the SDI input of the HELO Plus. The HELO Plus streaming content is monitored using an HDMI monitor and headphones. The first encoder is set to encode the video and audio as an RTMP stream, while the second encoder is set to output an HLS stream instead. HELO Plus allows high quality sports feeds with higher frame rates of 59.94 and 60 to be encoded easily, with greater detail and motion than lower frame rate content offering an enhanced user experience.

Live Event Streaming Workflow

In this use case, the live event PGM feed is passed to the SDI input of the HELO Plus. The HELO Plus streaming content is monitored using an HDMI monitor and headphones. The first encoder is set to output an RTMPS stream, while the second encoder is recording directly to an SD card as a backup for later editorial use.

Educational Streaming Workflow

In this use case, a college lecture is taking place. The HELO Plus receives video over SDI of the lecturer. At the same time, the presentation on the lecturer’s laptop is being output via HDMI to the HDMI in of the HELO Plus. The HELO Plus streaming content is monitored using an HDMI monitor and headphones. The HELO Plus has been set up to create a layout for picture-in-picture. In this case, the lecturer's video is scaled down and moved to the lower right corner as an overlay of the presentation. This picture in picture combined output is passed to both encoders, with the first encoder offering a stream for students outside the facility via RTMP. At the same time, the second encoder utilizes HLS for delivery to a college breakout area.

HELO Plus offers high quality streaming with ultra-reliable performance for any critical streaming service needs, including eSports, news, sports, education, creator, live events, and beyond.