NEW YORK, May 15, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — DIVEVOLK announced that it supported BAFTA-winning naturalist Steve Backshall’s first-ever live underwater aquarium broadcast by providing its SeaLink underwater livestream technology during the event at the National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth, UK.
The Technology Behind the Broadcast
Backshall tagged two product partners alongside the broadcast: DIVEVOLK and Ocean Reef Inc. Together, they covered the two challenges that have historically blocked real-time underwater presenting — moving live video to the surface, and hearing and being heard while submerged.
1. Surface Connectivity via DIVEVOLK SeaLink
Underwater wireless signals don’t travel through water the way they do through air. That’s why the obvious solution — a phone in a waterproof case — has never been enough for live work: the moment the phone is submerged, it’s effectively offline. The DIVEVOLK SeaLink is a contact-type underwater wireless transmitter that solves this by linking a smartphone — protected inside a SeaTouch 4 Max+ housing — to a surface unit over a tethered WiFi link. The result: the phone behaves like it’s still on a normal wireless network, even at recreational diving depths down to 30 metres.
For a broadcast like this, that means the diver-presenter can run a live stream from the smartphone they already own, push it to YouTube via a normal app workflow, and let the audience comment, react and watch in real time. No proprietary camera, no specialised broadcast rig, no umbilical heavier than a fishing line.
Beyond these features, SeaLink also boasts the following core technological capabilities:
- Two-way voice communication: Clear audio between the diver and the surface, with access to broadcast systems.
- Real-time video transmission: Live video feed from a smartphone camera is transmitted to the surface receiver.
- Full touchscreen control: Divers control live streaming, calls, and application functions via the gel membrane interface of the SeaTouch 4 Max waterproof case.
- One-handed operation: Ergonomic control terminal equipped with smart-locking retractable wheels for easy deployment and storage.
- Retractable buoyancy system: Portable and precisely adjustable buoyancy.
- Surface safety shield: Reflective strips ensure the diver’s visibility on the surface.
- Multi-carrier compatibility: Supports European, Australian, and US carrier networks.
2. In-Water Voice Comms via Full-Face Mask
The other half of the puzzle is voice. Standard scuba regulators occupy your mouth and make speech impossible. A full-face diving mask — like the systems made by Ocean Reef Group — covers the whole face and integrates a microphone, allowing the diver to talk normally underwater. Pair that with a wireless or wired comms link to the surface, and you have a presenter who can both see and be seen on camera and narrate the dive in their own voice.
That combination — SeaLink for the live video and data path, a full-face comms mask for the audio path — is what turned a tank dive into a broadcast.
What Made This Broadcast Different
Backshall’s audience is used to watching him in remote locations — Arctic ice fields, Pacific atolls, the Tepui plateaus of Venezuela. But those segments are filmed weeks or months ahead and edited for broadcast. Live underwater, presented by a working naturalist who is also breathing and swimming, is a different format altogether.
In the words of Backshall himself, posted to his Instagram channel a few days after the event:
“Our first UNDERWATER live event… Come and join me for a dive inside the tank at the Plymouth National Marine Aquarium. We’re surrounded by some brilliant native British species, with sharks cruising past and all sorts of other marine life moving around us. It’s a proper chance to slow down and take it all in — no rush, just the rhythm of the water and the wildlife doing its thing.”
That tone — patient, observational, no theatrics — is what made the format work. Most live underwater content drifts toward stunt territory. This one lets viewers sit inside an immersive marine environment and watch native UK species behave naturally on a half-hour timeline that television rarely permits.
Why This Format Matters Beyond One Event
Public aquariums have always been one of the most accessible ways to introduce people to ocean life. But there’s a glass wall. Visitors press up against the acrylic; they don’t go in. A live underwater broadcast collapses that distance for anyone watching the stream — a school group in Manchester, a curious viewer in São Paulo, a future diver in Seoul. The presenter is in the water with the animals, narrating what he sees as he sees it, and the audience is right there with him.
For institutions like the National Marine Aquarium, that opens up new outreach formats:
- Schools livestreams — extending the aquarium’s existing Friday classroom sessions into the tank itself, with a presenter who can answer questions live.
- Conservation campaigns — letting a charity show the species it protects in their behavioural context, not just behind glass.
- Behind-the-scenes broadcasts — feedings, health checks, husbandry work that visitors normally don’t see.
For independent presenters and creators, the same toolkit means an underwater live event no longer requires a broadcast truck, a satellite link or a dedicated production crew. A diver, a phone, a SeaLink, and a comms mask is enough to run the whole show.
About the Venue: The UK’s Largest Aquarium
The National Marine Aquarium is the largest public aquarium in the United Kingdom, operated by the marine conservation charity Ocean Conservation Trust. Its headline tank — the one Backshall dove for this broadcast — holds 2.5 million litres of seawater pumped directly from Plymouth Sound, and at 10.5 metres deep it remains the deepest aquarium tank in the country.
The tank’s residents include sand tiger, lemon and nurse sharks, southern stingrays, tarpon, barracuda and more than a thousand other fish across roughly 5,000 animals on site. Several of these species — particularly the larger sharks — circulate in clear sight lines for divers in the tank, which made it a natural choice for an immersive live segment.
About Us
Based in Zhongshan, China, DIVEVOLK is redefining marine photography. The company specializes in smartphone underwater housings and accessories for diving, snorkeling, and content creation. Its flagship product, the SeaTouch 4 Max, delivers professional-grade underwater smartphone photography at a fraction of the cost and complexity of traditional camera systems. But that’s not all.
The revolutionary SeaLink UW Smartphone Dada Transmitter enables phones to receive signals at depths of up to 30 meters underwater, supporting features such as live streaming and video communication across multiple platforms. DIVEVOLK was honored as ScubaLab’s Best Buy in 2024 and twice won the Dive Award of Innovation in 2024 and 2026.
DIVEVOLK products are sold worldwide through divevolkdiving.com and authorized retailers.
Contact：
Contact Person: Lexi
Email: [email protected]
Photos accompanying this announcement are available at
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