Explore.org live streams nature cams to global audiences with AWS

Explore is a multimedia organization that brings a live nature network directly to connected viewers. Its online portal, explore.org, serves as a community destination that aggregates live content from more than 150 cameras to audiences worldwide. From the majestic Decorah Bald Eagles in Iowa, to an underwater manatee preserve at Blue Spring State Park in Florida, to the Tau Waterhole at Madikwe Game Reserve in South Africa, the nonprofit nature cam network captures and shares real-time views of exotic and endangered wildlife with audiences across a range of OTT platforms and devices.

A branch of the Annenberg Foundation, explore.org’s content is available to consumers free-of-charge. Volunteer camera operators remotely access explore’s platform to move and reposition cameras that capture the daily lives of animals, from hunting to feeding and taking care of their young. To ensure high-quality live feeds for viewers 24/7 and streamline production and delivery, explore has selected Amazon Web Services (AWS) for its live streaming video workflow, on-demand viewer clipping, and camera control application.

“At explore our mission is threefold: never stop learning, fall in love with the world again, and champion the selfless acts of others. We partner with amazing nonprofit around the world dedicated to the conservation of our environment. AWS has been vital to us by supporting reliable, high-quality video delivery that allows us to focus more on our mission than on our technology stack. AWS Elemental has simplified our infrastructure and enabled us to leverage our live assets in new and innovative ways,” said Candice Rusch, Director of New Media.

Explore recently transitioned its nature cam network to go all-in on AWS. Video feeds captured by its camera network are first transported into AWS and then sent through AWS Elemental MediaLive for processing. Scheduling and API controls in MediaLive make it easy for explore’s team to then switch live inputs to existing video-on-demand assets, such as older archive footage or highlights, when locations are dormant on-camera. Using MediaLive, the content is delivered to YouTube and Facebook so that audiences around the world can tune in on supported devices.

For remote regions where connectivity may pose challenges, such as the Grace Gorilla Sanctuary in the Congo, explore is testing AWS Elemental MediaConnect to enable reliable transport of high-quality live video feeds in the cloud.

For more information on explore, visit: https://explore.org/