Speedify: Cost Effective Software Alternative to LiveU
LiveU is the backpack a news crew straps on: a field unit full of SIM cards that pushes live video to the studio across many mobile networks at once. Broadcasters buy or rent them, and each unit plus its subscription is a serious line item for every crew you send out.
Speedify delivers that same multi-network upload from software on the laptop or phone running the stream, drawing on 4G/5G cellular, Wi-Fi, Ethernet and Starlink together. Like LiveU, Speedify needs two or more internet connections for that; on a single connection Speedify works as an encrypted VPN and cannot stop that connection from dropping.
Speedify bonds every link you have into one broadcast feed, with no hardware
Everything here compares LiveU units with Speedify, including the Miri X510 router as a hardware route. A call with Speedify will tell you which one fits your newsroom.
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How Speedify combines internet connections on any hardware
Get started with Speedify for your business
Speedify offers three commercial paths. They work together, and most enterprise customers use two or more.
01
Speedify Teams
Speedify on every supported OS for every team member
Centralized dashboard for billing, user provisioning, and usage analytics
CSV import/export and a RESTful management API
02
Speedify for Routers
License for supported OpenWrt routers
Powered by Speedify hardware lineup ready to deploy out of the box
Miri, GL.iNet and other partner models
Covers every device on the network, with no per-device install
03
Embed Speedify into your product
A · DIY
Build it yourself with the Speedify SDK.
Integrate Speedify into your iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, Linux or QNX product. Full developer documentation, sample code and supported integration paths. Your team owns the build, and the Speedify SDK handles combining the internet connections.
B · CUSTOM ENGINEERING
Have the Speedify team build it for you.
LiveU vs. Speedify: Equipment, Connections, Bitrate and Cost Compared
Here is how Speedify compares with LiveU on fast, reliable and secure internet for live broadcasts:
|
LiveU |
Speedify |
|
| Typical equipment: what you get for what you pay | Dedicated cellular bonding hardware + streaming service subscription |
Software subscription to run directly on supported hardware devices |
| Portability: can be used on the go | Some solutions only, e.g. LiveU Solo |
Yes, depending on the device it’s running on: laptop, mobile device |
|
Supported connection types |
Wired Ethernet, Wi-Fi, cellular |
Wired Ethernet, Wi-Fi, cellular |
|
Supported operating systems |
All |
All major ones: Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Linux |
|
Technology |
LiveU Reliable Transport (LRT) |
|
|
Maximum bitrate |
20 Mbps for streaming / 60 Mbps for file transfer (LU600 HEVC) |
Up to 1 Gbps (Speedify with a dedicated server) |
|
Cost |
Starting at $995 for the LiveU solo + $450 / year for the LRT service |
Both solutions work very well for use cases such as:
- IRL live streaming
- remote learning
- online and hybrid events, including wedding videography and concerts
- reporting from the field
- entertainment
- houses of worship
Why Choose Speedify as a Software Alternative to LiveU
As you can see above, there are three main differentiators when it comes to LiveU vs. Speedify:
- hardware vs. software-only: LiveU claims at least some of their solutions are “one touch, wireless live streaming”, given you get that preconfigured dedicated hardware. Speedify’s defaults prioritize live streaming while running on any supported device. As a software-only service, Speedify is more versatile and portable: Speedify runs on the laptop or phone you already carry, with no extra unit to power.
- Cost: LiveU has an initial investment of at least $995 for their Solo, as well as a monthly or yearly subscription cost for their LRT technology. With Speedify, you only pay for the monthly or yearly subscription, which costs less on its own than the one from LiveU.
- Flexibility: with LiveU you are committed to their dedicated cellular bonding hardware. Speedify turns any supported device, including OpenWrt routers, into a streaming machine that combines internet connections. If you want, you can even create your own bonded Internet router and use it in a similar way to a LiveU hardware device.
Looking for a real world use case? Read about Doug Piper’s decision to live stream beer tasting using Speedify after considering a LiveU setup.
Speedify Business Solutions
Speedify Teams
Speedify for Routers
Speedify Embedded Solutions and Integrations
Add Speedify to your own app or hardware with the Speedify SDK. Your product then combines internet connections, fails over automatically when one drops, and encrypts the traffic, using the same technology as the Speedify app.