Case study: Tourism | Apps: CamStreamer App, CamOverlay App, CamSwitcher App
Keywords: livestream, graphic overlay, slideshow, branding, case study, tourism, travel, Mt. Everest, the Himalayas
Mission
One of the biggest advantages of Nepal’s Hotel Everest View is its location: situated within the Sagarmatha National Park at 13 000 ft (3 880 m) above sea level, the hotel offers a breath-taking view of the Himalayas. That is precisely what the management decided to emphasize by giving the guests a little interactive taste of what’s waiting behind the hotel windows.
Solution
For installation on the “Roof of the World,” the hotel chose the IP camera AXIS P1448-LE mainly for its 4K resolution and durability in challenging weather conditions. The camera is connected to CamStreamer Cloud for easy remote access as well as the ability to both record 4K videos to an SD card and save videos on the cloud, which makes generating video sequences and post-production easier. Informative livestream is achieved through CamOverlay App, which adds an info ticker with the weather forecast, weather widget, and cards with information about mountain peaks directly to the livestream powered by CamStreamer App. The stream uses ambient music instead of camera sound, and to make it more interesting during the night, a slideshow with photos of hotel construction was added using CamSwitcher App, making the livestream resume with sunrise. Parallelly running Panomax enables a live view of the Himalayas with embedded named peaks and a personalized menu.
Result
Not many things can compare to a live view of Mt. Everest, the highest mountain peak on our planet. But the skyline is not the only advantage of this solution. “It is very helpful for the hotel guests to check the weather and know what to expect before visiting, and also for the helicopter companies to check the weather before landing at our hotel’s helipad,” said Sonia Miyahara, the Managing Director of Hotel Everest View.
The installation of the CamStreamer App, CamOverlay App, CamSwitcher App, and Panomax together on one camera greatly increases the marketing potential and financial benefits of this solution. Using their new setup, Hotel Everest View streams directly to YouTube in 720p due to Internet connection speed with informative overlays, branding, ambient music, and picture presentation while their IP camera is simultaneously taking 4K pictures for Panomax presentation enriched by interactive points of view and interesting time-lapses. This way the hotel both entices new guests as well as provides valuable service to both their clients and partners and the management is very satisfied with the solution.
CamStreamer Cloud: Easy Camera Management
Both CamStreamer App and CamOverlay App are accessed through CamStreamer Cloud. This solution was chosen mainly for its Remote Access feature which significantly expands the options for camera management and provides system health alerts which are critical in challenging weather conditions. Furthermore, the cloud allows recording live streams in Full HD (1080p/30fps) both to physical storage such as an SD card and to the cloud. Cloud recordings can be accessed for 30 days, which makes generating videos and post-production much easier.Panomax: Exciting Custom-built Presentations
The interactive part of the presented solution, Panomax, attracts attention right away. It consists mainly of points of interest–Summit Labeling with altitude–and automatically created Last Day Timelapse. A hyperlinked logo can be easily added to the presentation for branding. Another interesting feature is a personalized menu with a multitude of features such as an archive, picture comparison, best pictures selection including weather information, a current view download, the option to send an e-card, and a map with camera position including POV. The menu allows for language selection and automatically recognizes the user’s browser language.Axis: A Camera for Every Occasion
“It looked simple–install a camera and livestream–yet the difficulties have been many: installing the camera in the middle of winter and the long journey from Lukla to Káthmándú, to name a few,” said Mani Gurung, Sales Engineer for Axis Communications. As a leading manufacturer of IP cameras, Axis Communications offers solutions for all your needs. Their wide selection includes fixed, PTZ, panoramic and thermal cameras as well as fixed dome cameras and onboard cameras. All network cameras come equipped with excellent optical performance, advanced features, and a high-performance processor, which allows for running in-camera streaming apps. This can be utilized by connecting to CamStreamer Cloud and running apps such as CamStreamer App and CamOverlay App, and by using Panomax to create interactive presentations.| Video quality | 4K |
|---|---|
| Audio | from SD card |
| Camera model | AXIS P1448-LE |
| ACAP aplication | CamStreamer App, CamOverlay App, CamSwitcher App |
| Streaming platform | YouTube.com, Panomax.com |
| Location | Nepal |