What equipment do you use for webcasting?

With the recent move by HQ to H.264 encoding we all have to change some of our webcasting equipment. I
thought it might be helpful if we polled everyone to see what we are each "presently" doing, and what we
plan to change for the "future". Feel free to add your configuration/plans to the discussion thread.


Here is what we do.

PRESENT CONFIGURATION
=====================
VIDEO EQUIPMENT
3 EVI-D70 PTZ cameras
Ipad with AV connections to plays church Videos 1 hr before conference.
DataVideo SE-500 video mixer
TeleMetrics PTZ Controller

AUDIO EQUIPMENT
3 audio inputs (chapel PA, choir mic, iPad)
Behringer 1204 mixer
"ORBAN Loudness Meter" pgm (free) to monitor "integrated loudness" levels.

CAPTURE CARD/WEBCAST ENCODER EQUIPMENT
Osprey 230 Capture Card
Dell Dual-Core-AMD Windows7 computer with Church's Webcast pgm.

RECEIVING BLDGS
Dell Dual-Core Laptop in each bldg

COMMENTS
We have a portable system that allows us to rotate the originating webcast through all 4 of our bldgs.
One CAT5 cable carrys power, video, and RS232 PTZ signal to/from each camera.




FUTURE CONFIGURATION
====================
VIDEO, AUDIO, & RECEIVING BLDGS EQUIPMENT
No change

CAPTURE CARD/WEBCAST ENCODER EQUIPMENT
MonoPrice Composite to HDMI Converter
VidiU H.264 Encoder

COMMENTS:
We want to keep using multiple cameras (we're spoiled I guess). New HD PTZ cameras & mixers are presently
quite expensive so we plan to stay with our SD resolution equipment. We are unhappy with HQs 500kbps
receiving bitrate limitation of the new system on dual-core computers so we are looking at using a different CDN.

We use the 79.00$ option

http://www.streamingvideoprovider.com/prices.html

HD looks fantastic too.

No stress great bandwidth, just works. Pay as needed.


TVone makes a much better Scaler than the monoprice unit. If you do get the monoprice, unplug it when not using it as it does get hot.

What do you use for cameras, mixers, encoder, etc.

PTZ Optics 20x SDI

Teradek Vidiu

With just one camera, we setup and control all of it with a cellphone. I like simple. Both have apps.

All equipment is permanently mounted.

We do use a Shure M367 mixer and 100 snake to control all the mics including the wireless.

I sit in the overflow and control the mics as it give me a better perspective on how they sound.

VIDEO
1x Sony SD PTZ Camera mounted in chapel above exit door
1x cruddy fixed security camera mounted in same location (ugh, the picture is so ugly I can't even stand to use it)
1x borrowed SD camera
Blackmagic Design Production Studio 4K video mixer (in the library)
Blackmagic Design Intensity Extreme capture box (my personal unit)
Wirecast Play (streaming to private YouTube channel) - we may swap this out for the Vidiu unit now that we finally received it
video is also routed to the coax distribution system on channel 6 for use in the RS and primary rooms for overflow, and for the meeting house across the parking lot.

AUDIO
16 input snake on rostrum routed back to mixer at back of chapel overflow (in front of cultural hall)
audio out goes back to the podium to run into the automixer and 70V overhead speakers
we have 4 choir mics on tall stands and other mics for flute, violin, soloists, etc. typically we have 6-8 mics total. We're doing a Christmas concert that will have 14-16 mics.

I'd like to get 1 or 2 used Sony BRC-300 cameras for around $600 each to replace the fixed security camera and add a third camera on a tripod.

I am a new STS, but have been doing live tv production for a few decades now. I primarily do A2 (set up audio at events with the A1 being the one on the board), but have experience with most aspects of the biz. Up until I got here, they have been using webcast with a single consumer camera taking in audio after the potentiometer. That has actually served its purpose. We recently received our vidiu so am in the process of building a system around that which is hdmi. I basically have about $1k per year to build the system so will be using my own gear for many years to come.

So, we started with a Roland v-1hd mainly because is a sub $1k (actually right at $1k so this year's tech budget is gone).
I am using my own cameras (Sony PMW-100 and Canon C100) using the hdmi output routed via 35' powered hdmi cables straight into the switcher. I will probably be using my Gopro mounted high up as a crowd shot for the 3rd input and maybe an iPad or one of my MacBook Pros to run prebroadcast spots or whatevers.

For audio, I am just using podium audio split under the podium into my Sennheiser ew100 G3 cube (the other end goes into the house jack like normal) and received into my Sony (for convenience, but could also go into my Canon) and transported through the hdmi feed into the switcher and controlled through the Roland app.

Coming out of the switcher, preview feed goes into a monitor so I can see each input. The program feed goes into a Blackmagic Ultrastudio Mini Recorder to convert the signal from hdmi to thunderbolt and then fed into my MacBook Pro which is running Wirecast. Wirecast is mainly for lower thirds of speakers and for hymn text. In the future, I plan to have b-roll of different Lds related spot arounds the island that I can use as cut-ins like how general conference has showing outside shots.

Coming out of my MBP via HDMI, it goes into a KanexPro 1x4 HDMI powered splitter. Output 1 goes to a monitor so I can see program. Output 2 goes into the vidiu and out of the building via Cat6e cable run straight to the modem. Output 3 goes to a KanexPro HDMI to composite and into the house jack to be distributed for projection. I gotta work on this as the output image is over scanned and looks terrible. I plan to reterminate the jacks with 75 ohm connectors and run hd-sdi so I can have hd to the projectors rather than crappy sd. I may have to get a few sdi to hdmi converters at the projector end so it can take take the feed.

For projectors, we just have 3 fm Epson projectors which works fine for our needs. I have a lot of hope for upping the production value of the broadcasts for our stake.

Moku

We are a relatively new stake and just purchased 3 brc-300 cameras on ebay, along with a controller, atem studio 4k, and analog to sdi gear to get the svideo from 3 cameras into the atem, sdi to analog to get it out of the atem to the rf modulator/slingbox, and sdi to vga to feed the 2 projectors in the cultural hall over existing coax, and sdi to hdmi + hdmi replicator to feed monitors on the rostrum for the leadership and choir.

We also updated the receiving buolding by implementing hdmi to sdi from the receiving clerk computer at the rostrum, sdi 4:1 distribution, and sdi to hdmi in 4 peripheral rooms for audio+video distribution within the remote building, where there is no church modulator system. This replaced a cheap consumer-grade vga to composite and composite rf modulator distribution system that had very poor picture quality and was difficult to keep working.

We are still using the church rf modulator for peripheral rooms in the stk cntr. We just had a very successful stake conference, but did use a slingbox to send video to the remote building since the church webcasting solution failed miserably at dryrun during the early morning leadership meeting.

Using sdi & vga dramatically improved the clarity of the picture in the cultural hall over the composite signal, even though the resolution is just 480i.

We will soon be installing an inexpensive ubiquity wifi link between buildings which will eliminate the 2Mbps uplink bandwidth limit at the stk center. Finally, the next upgrade hopefully will be a blackmagic design sync generator to feed the cameras and atem to significantly reduce the lip sync issues caused by frame alignment delay at the atem.

aaronrsmith, all I can say is WOW on your set up. It's interesting that you were able to get 3 BRC-300 cameras and use them all. My FM director has told us that we are not to make stake conference into production, so we have been limited to one camera.

When you say that you "will soon be installing an inexpensive ubiquity wifi link between buildings which will eliminate the 2 Mbps uplink bandwidth limit" are your building that close to allow you to do wireless?

Are you going to be doing the encoding at the stake center and then have everyone connect to it?

If it was me, this sounds like you are making something very complicated that no one will be able to come in behind you to run the system. I know that I'm working to make our system a turn key system so that my replacement will be able to pick up and keep moving forward without having to kick in a huge learning curve.

Look forward to hearing back on this.
Terry

Our two buildings are less than two miles apart, so the ubiquity wifi/microwave link should work very well. To be fair, we intended to purchase two cameras, but between the two STS's buying stuff we accidentally got 3. The presidency was ok with keeping the extra one. This last conference we used tripods, but intend to permanently mount at least two of them. One camera has a slight issue with rotation, so it could be a 2.5 camera situation soon.

The SDI sounds complex, but the beauty of it is that it uses simple coax, it's really pretty plug and play, and it just works perfectly and reliably. Having last-minute problems from marginal tech is not fun.

My description sounded complicated when re-reading it, but it's really just sdi adapters on the ends of the same coax cables - easy to understand and use when you see it.

The receiving building had cheap consumer-grade vga to composite, followed by composite to RF which was distributed throughout the building, and the quality was terrible. The new SDI solution just changed out the rf distribution amp in the attic for SDI, and put new boxes at the sending and receiving ends of the same coax cables. It is still simple to setup, and is fully digital and hd-capable. The complication we had this time was getting audio to both the TVs and the chapel sound system. The receiving computer would do hdmi audio or analog audio, but not both. We ended up using a mixer owned by the other STS as a quick solution.

The slingbox could be used over the ubiquity link, or we might repurpose an old clerk machine (if an athlon II will work...) as a media server for the vidiu and have the remote building connect to it. It just needs to shuffle packets, not transcode, so maybe it will work.

Once we get everything permanently installed, it should be pretty turn-key. The ATEM can be used simply for basic cuts and transitions from the software interface, or in a more complex way with xkey and so forth for those that want to do that.

I just wanted to add or clarify that our first priority isn't the tech, but to present conference in a way that helps the viewers to feel part of the meeting, without drawing attention to itself. For us, that includes proper lip sync (even within the stake center), a clean picture, good audio quality & volume, and some variety in camera angles without jarring video transitions or live panning (and the ability to avoid the choir members dozing or chatting behind the speaker!). It might be gravy, but our stake members really appreciate on-screen hymn lyrics.

We had a one-time opportunity this year to put in place infrastructure to support many years of future broadcasts, and chose to go with SDI for its robustness/quality, ability to handle HD in the future, use of existing coax, and ATEM compatibility. It was reasonably cost-competitive with other low-latency (lip sync friendly) hd-capable video distribution technologies available.

We are blessed with leadership that understands and values the contribution that tech can make to the work in the stake. The STSs do stay quite busy supporting conferences, stake and ward activities, and the various youth camps and activities where speakers & audio are required.

We are from the Lethbridge Alberta East Stake in Canada. We have gone from the church webcast media computer for 5-6 years to a Teredek system (very simple setup) to the Wirecast system we are using for our Stake Conference April 9-10. This will be the first time in the big leagues with subtitles for hymns, speakers etc. We broadcast to a couple remote sites as our stake is over 100 kilometers in length between some buildings. We use the church sanctioned Sony EVI-D80N video camera with a Blackmagic Design Intensity Shuttle Thunderbolt video capture device. It has taken some time and trial and error but with a Macbook Pro we finally have things working. I have less than 2 weeks to go and am scrambling for an answer as to a proper output device to display the video signal live in house with the hymn text. It will work fine at the remote locations as there is a 90 second delay but I have to get a composite output from the Macbook Pro to the projectors setup in the back of the gym for overflow. What type of an output device can I use to see what Wirecast is seeing and send it live through our composite setup? Been looking online but can't find any answers.

I tried an inexpensive hdmi to composite adapter once and the video quality was very poor. Regardless, I think you will find that there is too much video latency through the computer to achieve reasonable lip sync in the cultural hall. Where there is no audio delay, lip sync becomes noticeable with only a frame or two of video delay. This is the major constraint that caused us to go the ATEM route. One stake in my area has a little 4x4 matrix video switch and feeds the camera directly to the cultural hall projectors during the talks, and then switches in the wirecast output to the cultural hall only during the hymns, but does not zoom in too closely on the music conductor to avoid making the lip sync noticeable.

I think what I'd do is split the feed from the main camera - send one to the cultural hall and the other to the mixer. That way the cultural hall will be in sync. Granted, they won't have the extra views and all, but they don't have as great a needs as those who are located off-site.

The SDI setup sounds great; anything to get away from SD limitations.

Our approach is HDMI-based. HDMI from a professional camera on the stage (with good zoom), a camcorder mounted in the breezeway (Canon R52) and an EVI-70 on the side of the chapel. HDMI connections from cameras are across cat5 cable using Monoprice HDMI extenders to the "control room". Audio is tapped at the sound cabinet and fed directly to a Tascam 6 mic input to USB converter. The central hub is a PC with a 4-input Magewell HDMI card running vMix, which handles all the video/audio inputs, switching and compositing, and encoding directly to the Church webcast server. We use a VGA to RCA converter to feed the program to the modulator for other rooms within the stake center. When we need to "embed" a broadcast from church HQ (like last month's regional webcast) we use an RCA to HDMI converter from the satellite receiver and treat the feed as another video source for webcast. (This makes the transition to and from the broadcast much, much cleaner for remote congregations).

vMix provides an extremely easy and powerful broadcast system. We've been able to do much more with it than we thought we could, including using a 1080P input image and window to the 720P output to avoid having to move the camera for different speaker heights.

This works very well with a cost of less than $2500 for the total. Next buy will be a professional grade HD camera but in the meantime even the camcorder is giving excellent picture.

Remote locations are sometimes tricky and get little attention, but we're looking for any alternative to the use of laptops (personal or otherwise) simply due to the update and player version issues. We much prefer a dedicated streaming video device like Roku or Apple TV.

Our goal is very similar to ones stated above: as close to a live experience at the remote locations as we can make it.

randysteck wrote:When we need to "embed" a broadcast from church HQ (like last month's regional webcast) we use an RCA to HDMI converter from the satellite receiver and treat the feed as another video source for webcast. (This makes the transition to and from the broadcast much, much cleaner for remote congregations).

Just be aware that the webcast system can crash during a regional conference due to increased load. The instructions I received for a February 14 bi-regional conference indicated that remote sites were to hold their own local open/close and stream the program directly. I don't know if that's been changed for later regional.

Our stake is only has one remote building, and we have found a slingcast to be reliable. We attempted to use the church's new solution last conference, but reverted back to the sling cast because the dryrun during the early morning leadership mtg went very poorly.

We use three permanently mounted Sony PTZ Cameras. One is in the site wall on the stand looking backward and two look forward. We use a Roland VR-3X Audio / Video Mixer. There are three audio feeds. (Chapel PA+Choir Mikes, Organ-mike, Ambient noise-mike). The fourth video input is used either for an HDMI feed from the English satellite receiver or for a VGA connection from a laptop that is used to put titling up and song lyrics. The "broadcast desk" is permanently located in the stake work room in the stake office area. We don't have to do any setup to do a broadcast. Everything is left in place and powered on.

rolandc wrote:PTZ Optics 20x SDI

Teradek Vidiu

With just one camera, we setup and control all of it with a cellphone. I like simple. Both have apps.

All equipment is permanently mounted.

We do use a Shure M367 mixer and 100 snake to control all the mics including the wireless.

I sit in the overflow and control the mics as it give me a better perspective on how they sound.

I am a new STS and I'm curious about the remote control portion of this setup. As a network engineer by trade, I'm always looking for ways to control things over a network. A/V stuff isn't exactly my forte but I dabble here and there. We currently have a pair of EVI-D70s which, as you know, have to be controlled over a serial connection. I'd like to look into something that I can control via a network connection. I was looking through the manual for this camera which has an interesting statement. "The main thing to note about the IP interface is that all adjustments will occur on the IP stream only. It will not affect the HDMI, SDI or USB connections of the camera. In addition presets set in the IP interface will not be the same as the IR remote presets and vice-versa."

What are you using for output? I'd like to use HDMI output and still be able to control the camera over the network. It seems to me like that should work fine. The manual just says otherwise if I'm understanding correctly.

The PTZ optics cameras can be IP controlled, and the changes show up on all video outputs. I have seen it IP controlled while using the SDI video output and work great.

Regarding the church's webcast system, we used YouTube for the last conference, and it worked very well at 720p, and was easy for shut-ins and a few other remote people to connect to. They just needed the right link. Experience has caused me not to trust the church webcast system on Sunday, but YouTube knows how to do live video very well, and is supported by Roku/apple tv. The Vidiu can connect directly to YouTube, making it very simple to use. It is critical to make sure YouTube privacy is not set to public, and to bypass the church firewall for the event.

aaronrsmith wrote:The PTZ optics cameras can be IP controlled, and the changes show up on all video outputs. I have seen it IP controlled while using the SDI video output and work great.

Great, thank you! Hopefully I can get a hold of one of these.

Clint, the STS in the San Tan Valley North Stake, has more experience with these cameras. Look him up in CDOL.

We just had our best webcast to date using Wirecast and YouTube Live. The name & calling of each speaker faded in and out near the beginning and end of each talk; the chorister had a webcam dedicated for her with the words to the hymns showing on the lower third of the screen; the Single Adult choir had both a wide angle shot and a bit of close-up panning; all done as discretely as we could with consumer video cameras mounted on tripods.

To keep in the spirit of the thread's subject, I've attached a PDF of our setup. The PDF has 2 pages, the first would be a typical setup if we were to use the VidiU encoder, and the second page is what we used for this past conference with Wirecast. The VCR is used as a crutch until we can get the A/V feeds from the satellite cabinet working properly. The "HDMI to SD box" converts the 1080i from the main video camera to 480i anamorphic (squished), then injected into the stake center's video distribution system via the RCA jack in the back of the chapel. The cultural hall projector and cry-room TV (not shown) are adjusted so the image is shown in the (un-squished) 16:9 format. It obviously doesn't have 1080i quality, but it's really not too bad.

Unfortunately, none of our cabling is hard-wired into the building, so they all had to be laid out in advance and taped down. This requires a bit of work and our stake president asked if we could permanently install some (or all) of it.

This brings me to my question. If we got permission from our FM group to run some cables through the walls and overhead (yes, they would be plenum rated and installed according to local building codes), it would make sense to make them as obsolete-proof as possible, without breaking the bank. For video, SDI is a proven way to have long A/V cable runs without any degradation, but the cost of the converters to & from SDI are quite pricey.

Has anyone looked into the HDBaseT standard for our buildings? It uses CAT6a cables to transmit uncompressed ultra-HD 4K video up to 100M (328'). 1080p can be delivered using CAT5e cables. At the same time, it can also deliver 100Mb Ethernet functionality, Power over HDBaseT (PoH) up to 100W, and control signals emulating RS232/USB, and IR. Sets of HDBaseT Tx/Rx boxes for 1080p are selling on Amazon in the sub $50 range.

I wish I knew what standard the church is using for new stake centers. I would much rather follow their lead rather than come up with a totally different solution.

We have not yet looked at HDBaseT. SDI to HDMI adapters can be found for about $30. Does your building have any network cabling? If so, you may be able to pull new cables for video through the existing conduit for the network cables.

@Mikerowaved thanks for the drawings

Noob question: Is there no official policy for what we're supposed to be using for webcasting? Using YouTube Live and being able to use a Roku or something on the receiving end sounds neat. How does the Church's webcast system compare in quality, experience, and ease of use to something like YouTube Live?

I'll try to answer your questions.

jay.burgon wrote:Noob question: Is there no official policy for what we're supposed to be using for webcasting?

The suggested policy is to use the VidiU encoder, but since that only has one video input, we are stuck using one camera, unless some sort of video switching goes on upstream of the VidiU box. This is where we are left to be creative on our own.

jay.burgon wrote:Using YouTube Live and being able to use a Roku or something on the receiving end sounds neat.

I started using YouTube Live years ago when the church's servers could only stream to those viewing the exact bitrate of what I was uploading. The YouTube servers take the bitrate of your upload and automatically make lower bitrate streams available to those with slower Internet access. (The servers the church is using now can also do this.) The YouTube servers are completely free to use and don't tack on any ads or even hints that we're using their service. Their server farm is MASSIVE. (I have a son currently working on the YouTube side of Google and he told me I couldn't imagine the number of servers they have just for live streaming.) The one BIG gotcha, is you must bypass the church's firewall for both the UL and DL buildings. I've never downloaded using a Roku, so I can't offer an opinion on it, or even if it's feasible.

jay.burgon wrote:How does the Church's webcast system compare in quality, experience, and ease of use to something like YouTube Live?

The church's webcast system works quite well most of the time. It requires making reservations in advance and testing is limited to (I think) 1 hour per test. They also block the higher bitrates from being used. The church has the ability to see detailed logs of both successful and unsuccessful webcasts.

In contrast, YouTube Live does not need any advanced notice, nor does it have a time limit for testing (that I know of). I've let a test run almost 24 hours once while tracking down an overheating problem. There is no bitrate limit. If you can manage to stream 4K video, it will happily take it. The YouTube servers also provide a logistics page where you can see the quality and numbers of connected viewers in real-time, but it's probably not as extensive as the logs the church gets.

I highly recommend starting off using the church's system, but maybe have some experience with the YouTube servers where you can fallback to them if needed.

Thanks. That's great information!

Since you asked what is suggested, "Units that use webcast technology are encouraged to keep their webcast setup as simple as possible. Overly complicated systems can be difficult to run, and represent an unnecessary expense to the Church. Advanced features such as speaker titles, hymn text, and multiple cameras are optional, not required, for a successful webcast."

That and more can be found under Webcast in the Help Center.

It is fair to say that most stakes will only use it twice a year and any extra equipment comes out of the stake's budget. The same budget that's used for church activities.