What is Broccoli-TV?

Broccoli-TV is a free online TV channel broadcasting 80's music videos 24x7.  Just like MTV used to do when they actually played music videos.

The good times are back again!

How or why did you choose the name "Broccoli-TV"?

I was inspired by MTV music television.  Back in the 80's this meant Music television.  In recent years MTV has substituted the "M" for "Mush" television - or just plain reality TV crap.  Afterall, we were all tuning in for the videos weren't we? 



I figured I'd intervene with a healthy vegitative dose of music again.  Broccoli tastes good and is healthy for you, right?  Substituting Broccoli for Mush.



Voila : Broccoli-TV.

What happened to the original webpage?

It was kind of clunky and built on my own.  I finally moved to a WIX website and I think it looks much better.  With multiple channel buttons on the bottom.

How can I request a song?

Send an email - navigate back to the "BrocTalk" menu at the top of this page and submit your video music request.

What happened to the TVUPlayer or TVUNetworks?

Broccoli-TV used to stream with TVUNetworks as channel # 49048. However, TVUNetworks changed the purpose and intention of their business on Feb 25, 2013 away from a FREE streaming service to a PAID service intended for broadcast television producers who wish to find an affordable way to broadcast high quality HD video over the internet via a mobile device. 



They now sell a TVUPack which accomplishes this.  I certainly miss their FREE medium but also wish them the best of success in their new adventure.

Who is the lovely spokesmodel on Broccoli-TV?

The lovely person is Ms. Jeon Ji Hyun, a South Korean actress and supermodel.  Alot of people over the years have mistakenly thought that the spokesmodel is also the producer of the content.  Jeon is in no way affiliated with this site.  Although I hope someday she will discover us.

I bought a T-shirt, where can I enter size information?

In the "BrocSwag" section : 

Make your selection by pressing "Add to Cart".  You will be prompted to enter your T-shirt size.  Make your selection then press the shopping cart icon.  When you're done with your order, press the Paypal icon "P $50".  This will take you to paypal.com secure site.



Or Email me here with questions : go_speed_racer_2000@yahoo.com.

What is the upstream broadcast bandwidth?

Signal bandwidth varies between 250Kbps - 512Kbps.  This is driven by several factors:



1) Original Source : The quality of the original content (be it VHS or DVD or over the air) varies widely.  Old recordings for example, no matter what data bit rate is used will not improve on sloppy recording.  Combining DVD source material with VHS source material will obviously not look the same back-to back.



2) Program Source : The source of the sequenced broadcast program files which I create based on originals (most are 257Kbps, some are 300Kbps and some 512Kbps).  The quality of the source is generally dictated by the age of the program.  Older programs I created were in the lower range due to upload bandwidth limitations of my internet provider.  Recent upgrades in my area allow for larger bandwidth programs.  New content will always be 512Kbps.  The SopCast stream is always 512Kbps.



3) No. of Streams : The number of streams also plays a factor.  We broadcast to vshare.tv, justin.tv, ustream, veetle, livestream and sopcast.  Each of these consumes between 250 - 500Kbps, multipled by 6.  This number of streams requires between 1.5Mbps - 3.0Mbps upload bandwidth.



4) Network Bandwidth : Upload bandwidth varies.  My internet provider does not guarantee a minimum and my bandwidth varies between 750Kbps - 5Mbps.  When at peak usage (usually evenings), bandwidth is slower.



5) Settings : Wirecast broadcast settings.  We use wirecast to broadcast the signal from a sever here at headquarters.  We have the option of several broadcast settings but generally stay with 250Kbps per stream.  Multipled by 5 streams that requires about 1.3Mbps upload from my ISP.  If the video appears choppy, it's because alot of folks are on the Timewarner network, impacting upload bandwidth availability.

Do you still do the live broadcast?

Sometimes.



Usually weekends.

Where do you find the content for the channel?

This has been a lifelong obsession, 80's videos.  Started with a set of old VHS recordings I'd made from an MTV countdown broadcast back in the 80's.  Grew from there to VHS videos, DVDs and over-the-air recordings,



To date we have around 5000 videos, mostly from the 80's.

How do you prepare a broadcast?

For pre-programmed broadcasts:

Step 1 : Have a passion for 80's and recognize the frustration of no legit MTV.

Step 2 : Sort/gather the video sources digitally (WMV, AVI, MPG, FLV, VOB, etc.).

Step 3 : Group selected videos into a genre or theme (ballads, new wave, metal, etc.).

Step 4 : Create commercials to fill in the spaces :)

Step 5 : Assemble the selections into Sony Vegas Movie Studio Platinum 11.  

Step 6 : Edit imprefections (sync problems, text removal, size adjustments, color).

Step 7 : Sequence and save to WMV 512 format.

Step 8 : Move large file to server.

Step 9 : Add the file as a "Shot" in Wirecast broadcast SW.

Step10: Connect and stream to 6 servers (vshare, justin, ustream, veetle, livestream, sopcast).



For live broadcasts:



Step 1  :Select videos based on emails (these come in live while broadcasting).

Step 2 : Use e2eSoft's VCam application to switch between live video & music video files.

Step 3 : Or : use Telestream's wirecast to switch between live & file.

Step 4 : Connect and stream to 6 servers (vshare, justin, ustream, veetle, livestream, sopcast).