Updated Android app

We recently updated our Android app to version 1.6.6. This small update should be of particular interest to owners of modern Sony phones, as we've added support for fast and efficient video encoding on many of their models. Owners of Galaxy S II, Nexus 4 or Nexus 7 devices can also expect higher quality video and a smoother frame rate.

A small note for Nexus 7 owners: Even six months after Android 4.2 was released, the Google Play store has not been updated to support detection of devices with any kind of camera, so our app is unfortunately not visible to Nexus 7 devices on the Play Store.

As always, you can find the Android app and the recent changes on the Play Store. You can also get the app straight from our download page.

We mourn the loss of Mr Muhammad Qassem Eid al-Masalmah

Yesterday Muhammad Qassem Eid al-Masalmah was killed while covering clashes between Free Syrian Army and Assad military forces. He had travelled to the Daraa countryside, Bosor Harir as he was brutally gunned down by an Assad sniper (Warning: Graphic). His life could possibly have been saved if there had been any medical facilities in the area but Bosor Harir lacks all of that due to the ongoing conflict.

Muhammad Qassem Eid al-Masalmah was one in the first group of people in Daraa who started peaceful demonstrations to protest against the Assad regime. He became one of the first citizen journalists in Daraa and in Syria taking photos, shooting videos and doing live broadcasts. It's no understatement saying he was a crucial part of the Syrian uprise against the regime in Syria and especially in Daraa. The Syrian secret police and military had tried to eliminate him numerous times because of his work. Among activists in Daraa he was looked upon as true hero who was respected by all.

Mr Qassem Eid al-Masalmah was early a part of S.N.N. SHAAM News Network and he was essential in getting information out from Daraa about the situation there. He was broadcasting live as late as yesterday before taking to the streets in Bosor Harir.

Here's a video of him when covering clashes between Free Syrian Army and Assad forces in Daraa a few weeks ago.




A wife has lost a husband, the world has lost a very brave man fighting for democracy in Syria and an opportunity to get live footage and photos from inside Daraa, showing the brutality, killing and terror exercised by dictator Assad and his armed forces.

In his honor activists in Daraa will continue using his channels to distribute information from the governorate of Daraa.

More information to be found here

5 ways to get the best out of Bambuser

1. Adjust your video quality and resolution - While broadcasting you can see your current stream health in the app. If the stream health is permanently at 100% you can try to switch to a higher resolution/quality. If it's below 70% it's a good idea to switch to a lower resolution/quality for better video flow and a better experience for your viewers.

2. Improve on-demand viewing - When you broadcast, it may not be possible to send all video in real-time, depending on your network speed. Our apps will then drop some data to ensure low latency combined with the best possible flow for your quality settings. Any unsent data is stored on your device and can be uploaded to make the archived video full frame rate, giving a much improved on-demand viewing experience. Read more on our help page.

3. Tag specific times in video - If you want to share a specific moment in the video just click "Share", tick the box "link to specific time in player" and use the time in video you want to refer to.

4. Upgrade to the latest version of the Bambuser iOS app to get support for 16:9 widescreen broadcasting on iOS 5 and up.

5. Are you a professional user? Get even more out of Bambuser. Read more about Bambuser's Premium solutions.

Bambuser and AP cement citizen content collaboration

We’re really proud to announce that we’ve cemented an agreement with the Associated Press to continue our joint efforts to bring instant video footage from citizen journalists around the globe to mainstream media.

After a successful joint development of the “share the news” opt-in function on the Bambuser platform, we’ve given eyewitnesses and AP’s own journalists an unparalleled opportunity to share newsworthy content in real time from their mobile phones.

All newsworthy video shared with AP is verified by AP’s social media specialists before being shared with a global audience via AP’s worldwide network of more than 700 broadcasters. The agreement also puts Bambuser’s live streaming ability in the hands of more AP journalists, increasing the agency’s commitment to Bambuser and the amount of live content AP can exclusively offer customers.

The deal follows five months of successful collaboration between AP and Bambuser, which has already given AP subscribers access to Bambuser ‘s growing number of content creators.  In the last four months Bambuser content has been used by AP customers more than 4,000 times – much of it from the front lines in the Syrian conflict, but increasingly from other parts of the world as well.

 “User-generated content is integral to covering breaking news events," said Mark Davies, AP deputy director of international video. "Through the Bambuser deal and use of the ‘Share The News’ function, AP has pre-approval to use the Bambuser content, allowing us to check and verify content we deem newsworthy and put it live to air incredibly fast."

Around the world unprecedented numbers of people are broadcasting live video to the Web. The probability of someone being at the scene with a smartphone when news breaks is increasing by the day. More and more Bambuser users are utilising their handheld devices to capture news stories to share on their blogs, on Twitter and Facebook, and on other social media.

“Through the co-operation with AP, Bambuser has further strengthened its position as a tool to capture live and newsworthy video content," said Hans Eriksson, executive chair, Bambuser. “We have already had enormous success working with AP in getting live news video distributed globally and this is because users can rely on AP’s expertise as a very credible and professional news organisation that matches many of Bambuser’s own values.”

Egypt non-profit media collective Mosireen launch crowd funding campaign to fuel citizen media initiatives

About a year ago, Jonas and Måns from the Bambuser team visited Cairo, Egypt to meet with Bambuser users and human rights activists and learn more about their every-day challenges and how they are using Bambuser to share live video from the unrest in the region.

It was a trip that provided a lot of insight and inspiration. Some of the insights even resulted in new features that eventually made it to our mobile broadcasting apps. It also brought a deeper understanding of how some of the networks on the ground are mobilizing their crowds and creating, gathering and publishing content online to provide the world with a richer understanding of the situation in Egypt.

One of these organizations is the non-profit media collective Mosireen. During the visit, the volunteers at Moisereen impressed with their skills, energy and creativity. By engaging "the people on the street" as well as making huge efforts to aggregate and publish their content online, we believe Mosireen make an important addition to traditional news and media reporting. The Mosireen workspace in Cairo is open to virtually everyone and the organization is relying on private donations to fuel their operations.

To continue their operations, they've now launched a fund raising campaign through an initiative at Indiegogo. The funds will mainly be used to support further operations and purchase of equipment.

Feel free to check it out!

Cheers!