How to use Clear Touch RL500 camera

This morning we were surprised to see permanent cameras installed in two of our chapels in the stake. They look similar to one we already had in our stake center.
It's a Clear Touch RL500. The building I'm in doesn't have an A/V closet. And this new camera seems to have come installed with a new port plate near the back pew. The ports include a "RECORD OUT LINE LEVEL" port for audio and an HDMI port. Plugging a laptop into the HDMI port presents a "unrecognized USB device" error, I suppose because USB-C to HDMI cables are accustomed to transmitting video rather than receiving it.

This installation didn't come with any notification or instructions. No remote (that I can find) nor software. Where can I find out about how to use this new camera?

You're correct in that USB-C to HDMI cables are only for outputting video, not capturing it. you'll need an HDMI to USB-C A/V capture device. These are not very expensive for a basic adapter.

Here's a prior thread that discusses how to find a manual and communicating with the RL500 over a LAN cable, if that's an option for you:
https://tech.churchofjesuschrist.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=41700

AArnott wrote: Sun Mar 30, 2025 3:59 pm This morning we were surprised to see permanent cameras installed in two of our chapels in the stake.

Huh. A couple years back the directive we got was that the mounted cameras in non-stake center chapels was fundamentally not allowed, and our FM said this came straight from the Presiding Bishopric.

I'm assuming this policy has changed.

brad_p wrote: Fri Apr 11, 2025 4:25 pm I'm assuming this policy has changed.

Hard telling. We never get to see FM's Handbook.

brad_p wrote: Fri Apr 11, 2025 4:25 pm Huh. A couple years back the directive we got was that the mounted cameras in non-stake center chapels was fundamentally not allowed, and our FM said this came straight from the Presiding Bishopric.

I would be interested if you find some official guidance on that since our non-stake building has credently gotten a mounted camera.

brad_p wrote: Fri Apr 11, 2025 4:25 pm Huh. A couple years back the directive we got was that the mounted cameras in non-stake center chapels was fundamentally not allowed, and our FM said this came straight from the Presiding Bishopric.

I'm assuming this policy has changed.

We received the same [rather stern] directive at about the same timeframe as you. Fast forward a few years and we now have the green light in our stake to mount cameras in ward buildings. This may not be the same for all stakes so YMMV.

Mikerowaved wrote: Sat Apr 12, 2025 6:54 pm

brad_p wrote: Fri Apr 11, 2025 4:25 pm Huh. A couple years back the directive we got was that the mounted cameras in non-stake center chapels was fundamentally not allowed, and our FM said this came straight from the Presiding Bishopric.

I'm assuming this policy has changed.

We received the same [rather stern] directive at about the same timeframe as you. Fast forward a few years and we now have the green light in our stake to mount cameras in ward buildings. This may not be the same for all stakes so YMMV.

Same here! I was shocked when I received an email from the FM group telling me that they were installing a RL500 PTZ camera in our meetinghouse. Just a few years ago, the FM group firmly denied our request to install a PTZ camera on the wall of the chapel. Times change!

Now I just need to learn how to connect our laptop via Liahona to the RL500 video/audio stream, and share it with our Zoom meeting.

I'm not saying anything everyone else isn't already thinking, but if anyone does get any kind of insight into the guiding policy behind these changes, that would be really helpful to share! I know quite well it's generally hidden from view, so even just a glimpse, any detail would be nice.

Perhaps it's the typical variance from FMGroup-to-FMGroup, or perhaps it's a more general implementation throughout the USA. It definitely doesn't seem to be related to specific local requests or local needs.

There's a couple of units in a few of the stakes around us (geographically quite large, with minimal tech support at a stake or unit level) that are struggling mightily with their zoom experiences. Even if they were able to know that their building is on a timeline to receive a mounted and integrated camera "at some point", that would immediately lower their stress levels.

Not that long ago (pre-COVID), the only exception to "no video in the chapel" was for Stake Conference to other chapels. So it makes sense that the stake centers were the only ones to get cameras.

Then, during COVID, many units started webcasting to those at home. The policy changed, and now post-pandemic it is permissible for wards to webcast to the homebound.

I suspect FM's policy is just catching up to the Handbook. I'll speculate that part of the delay may be budget related.

I know I'm preaching to the choir, but we get to see the Handbook that wards and stakes operate by. But we never get to see the policy CHQ hands down to FM. We end up having to take FM's word on everything. The lack of transparency is - well, it leaves the door open to those that can but just don't want to.

russellhltn wrote: Tue Jul 29, 2025 2:30 pm I suspect FM's policy is just catching up to the Handbook. I'll speculate that part of the delay may be budget related.

I know I'm preaching to the choir, but we get to see the Handbook that wards and stakes operate by. But we never get to see the policy CHQ hands down to FM. We end up having to take FM's word on everything. The lack of transparency is - well, it leaves the door open to those that can but just don't want to.

And even more importantly, often these budgets come with a time limit or a $$ figure. So if you don't get it the upgrade during the time the Budget $$ are set aside, you will never get it, until the next time a budget $$ is assigned.

So get your requests in!

Our new A/V system was installed about three months ago in July 2025. This included a new PTZ camera, I think the RL500. Back in July I asked the electrician who installed everything how I could connect my laptop to the camera for our Zoom meeting. He gave vague answers, implying that the FM would set it all up for me, as well as changing the admin password for the camera.

Yesterday, the engineer who designed the A/V system came in to tune the speakers and train our ward leaders. He showed me the HDMI port in the cabinet in the library, and said I needed an HDMI to USB adapter to connect my laptop. I asked about configuring the IP address of the camera, and he told me that the FM doesn't get involved in that process, and all that is done by the STS.

So after waiting three months for someone to configure the PTZ camera and train me how to use it, I have nothing -- except for the excellent help and instructions provided on this Forum.

Thanks, guys! I just wish Ward Tech Specialists had access to CNM.

This discussion thread (posts #19 & #20) has links to get a PDF of the manual.
viewtopic.php?p=242866#p242866

The manual contains the info you need to access the camera video streams via a network connection. See pages 10-11, sections 6.4.2 & 6.5.3

To summarize, you can look at the LCD on front of camera to view the camera IP address. This IPaddress is then used by a program like VLC or OBS to view the video stream on a remote computer. OBS has a "virtual camera" output that ZOOM can use.

For example
"rtsp://IPAddress:554/1" (First stream)
"rtsp://IPAddress:554/2" (Second stream)

If you connect a stereo line-level audio signal to the camera's LINE INPUT jack, then the stream will also contain the audio for the meeting.
This wireless audio system will plug into the chapel "record Out" jack and transmit audio to the camera.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0D8HW9TR1

Once you have audio to the camera, it can be setup to stream directly to youtube (without a remote computer) by just turning on camera power for each sacrament meeting with a timer and POE Injector.

I followed the excellent instructions in the PDF created by brad_p to configure the IP address of the camera. Since I don't have access to CNM, I asked the GSD to assign a static 192.168.108.xxx IP address to the MAC address of the camera. So now I can access the camera via Liahona. I can view a full-screen video stream from the camera in a tab on my browser, which I can share to my Zoom meeting.

However, I don't know if the chapel audio is connected to Line Input on the camera. So I am not sure if I can stream both audio and video from the camera to my Zoom meeting. I have had a few conversations with my STS, and we are trying to set up a time when we can meet at my chapel.

I have never used VLC or OBS, and I don't know where to download them. Until I can get that set up, I can use the PTZ camera video and the audio from Record Out on the podium via a very long TRS cable to my laptop for the Zoom meeting. I hope that does not create a sync issue between audio and video.

We have no intentions of using YouTube to stream Sacrament Meeting. But we may choose to change from a Zoom meeting to a Zoom webinar.

This is a good YouTube video by Ken Taylor on how he uses OBS with Zoom for Sacrament Meeting. It does not address PTZ cameras, since he uses a portable webcam.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Dd5zelVW8Q

This is another very helpful video on how to setup OBS with your PTZ camera. The RL500 uses the same internal software as the Honey Optics PTZ camera in this video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyrAj-hh5Qc

He talks about using the NDI OBS plug-in and the PTZ OBS plug-in to control the camera within OBS.

I am wondering if any stake or ward technology specialist is using YouTube to stream stake and ward meetings. It seems to me like a privacy nightmare. First, a YouTube account must be created and managed. Then livestreams must be scheduled. And then there is the problem of controlling who is able to watch the stream.

While anyone in the public is welcome to attend our meetings, many members and leaders who speak do not want their talks to be broadcast to the public at large. I know that using YouTube and Facebook is a simple way for people to connect to the stream, but we prefer to use the church-provided Zoom account to monitor and control who is watching the stream. And we typically do not record any stream for later viewing.

So far, I like the ease and power of using OBS to control the PTZ camera and special effects. And I like the ability to use OBS as a virtual camera source for our Zoom meetings. I just hope that the engineer and contractor have connected chapel audio to the Line Input of the PTZ camera. Otherwise, I will be sitting in the meetinghouse library during every Sacrament Meeting to manage and monitor the stream.

CalS201 wrote: Thu Oct 09, 2025 9:39 am OBS has a "virtual camera" output that ZOOM can use.

For example
"rtsp://IPAddress:554/1" (First stream)
"rtsp://IPAddress:554/2" (Second stream)

These videos say that RTMP is for things like YouTube, while RTSP is for local encoding and streaming (such as for Zoom). It also states that "/1" is the HD video stream while "/2" is the SD video stream.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffijtsWL6A8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8No9bSheCo

My change from using a Logitech webcam to the RL500 PTZ camera may be more simple than I thought. With the webcam, I have been using Logi Capture to manage the webcam. With the PTZ camera, I just need to replace Logi Capture with OBS using the NDI and PTZ plug-ins. Then I just need to set the Audio and Video sources for the Zoom meeting to use the OBS virtual camera.

I believe it is the Zoom app that actually performs the encoding, bitrate control, and so on.

Thanks, everyone for the help.

I may have misunderstood what the OBS virtual camera does. Apparently, it provides video only. I have to setup some sort of virtual audio source as well. One video I watched suggests using Voicemeeter Banana as a virtual audio device. So this may not be quite as simple as I had thought.

drepouille wrote: Fri Oct 10, 2025 7:25 am I am wondering if any stake or ward technology specialist is using YouTube to stream stake and ward meetings.

I know quite a few who still do. We had to use YouTube during COVID because the 500 users allowed by Zoom is not enough for the 1800 connections we had for our stake conference.

Today, most of our wards use Zoom with simple setups. But at our stake center, the wards use the rear ceiling mounted camera and the stake equipment, which culminates in output from an encoder. (We do stake conference the same way.) Since Zoom will not accept output from an encoder, we feed YouTube. If Zoom accepted encoder output, we would change in a heartbeat.

I am the stake STS (one of my four callings) and I do not live near the stake center. I have trained the ward STSs there to turn on the encoder at the beginning of the day and turn it off after the last meeting. The more ambitious ones will also use the camera remote control to view more than just the pulpit. They also know how to turn off the rack video and audio feeding the encoder so that the sacrament ordinance is not webcast.

I do have to set up the YouTube event each week. I also turn off the event at the end of the day. I have set the YouTube stream to go Unlisted when the stream ends, and when I set up the webcast I turn off the DVR setting. You watch it live or not at all.

I use my smarter then I am phone each week to check in the morning that the webcast is working, to end the stream after the last meeting, to set the stream for the following week, to delete the webcast, and then to email the bishop and clerk of each ward the number of connections they had to the webcast that day.

I thought making the event unlisted would keep anyone from watching it again, but I discovered that if someone saves the link on the way to the webcast, they are able to access the video again even after it has ended and is unlisted. So I have added to my checklist a step to delete the video as soon as I turn off the stream. I was deleting them anyway. I am just more efficient about it now.

I regularly watch sacrament meetings where my children or grandchildren speak. Most of them attend stake centers where they seem to be doing things the same way I do them at ours.

lajackson wrote: Fri Oct 10, 2025 8:17 am But at our stake center, the wards use the rear ceiling mounted camera and the stake equipment, which culminates in output from an encoder. (We do stake conference the same way.) Since Zoom will not accept output from an encoder, we feed YouTube. If Zoom accepted encoder output, we would change in a heartbeat.

That is very interesting. The engineer who designed our new system specifically told us that everything from the chapel is encrypted (which may be the same as encoded). He said that he intended that we use an HDMI to USB adapter to feed this encrypted video/audio into our laptop, which makes the whole system appear as just another webcam to the laptop. (Funny story -- the contractor has not yet delivered that adapter to us, but they promised us that it has been ordered.)

But if Zoom does not accept encrypted/encoded A/V from that adapter, then the engineer's entire design is not usable for Zoom. In that case, then using OBS with NDI, PTZ, and other plugins is our only choice for Zoom.

I told the church engineer who designed our new A/V system that my goal is to run the Zoom Sacrament Meeting wirelessly, because I don't want to sit with my laptop in the meetinghouse library or the overflow (with the cold metal folding chairs). I want to be able to sit with my laptop anywhere in the chapel. The biggest challenge may be connecting to the audio source.

Am I being unreasonable?

drepouille wrote: Fri Oct 10, 2025 8:57 am The engineer who designed our new system specifically told us that everything from the chapel is encrypted (which may be the same as encoded).

Encryption and encoding are different things. I'm not sure what the engineers point was.

The web page you're reading is encrypted via https, yet there's nothing stopping someone else from coming to this same server and reading the same webpage. They just can't see your stream to know what you are reading.

From the LDS Tech Forum and various YouTube videos, I see a few challenges:

• Encoded HDMI from the A/V rack may not be acceptable as a Zoom meeting input.

• OBS audio output is not an available Zoom audio input.

• Audio sync issues may result if NDI video from the PTZ camera is mixed with audio from a Record Out jack.

• Using NDI video and NDI audio sources while streaming to a Zoom meeting may overload the laptop's wireless adapter.

To mitigate the above issues, I think I should:

• Use a laptop with a discrete GPU so I can use hardware acceleration.

• Use a wired Ethernet jack, rather than wireless.

• Use a 3.5mm TRS cable from a Record Out jack to the laptop headphone jack.

• Use the VB-Audio CABLE Windows Audio Driver as a Virtual Audio Cable, which is a valid audio source for Zoom.

These YouTube videos are a good demonstration of using NDI video and the VB-Audio CABLE driver with OBS and Zoom:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wr9PdkX93WM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8X1kgumf_k

So I need A/C power for the laptop, an Ethernet jack, and a Record Out jack to make this work. And a laptop with a discrete GPU would also be helpful.

drepouille wrote: Fri Oct 10, 2025 8:57 am ... our laptop ...

What laptop?

And that is the trick. We do not have a laptop and for now we do not need one. We do not ask our members to furnish one.

At the point where a laptop becomes necessary, the stake will budget for it and provide it. And then the hassle of maintaining two extra pieces of equipment (laptop and HDMI to USB converter) will begin. The laptop will need to be replaced regularly. Someone will need to update it before each stake conference use.

Or can we just use the Chromebook in the stake clerks office?

Well, our stake issued older Lenovo laptops to each unit during COVID shutdown, to use with the unit Zoom accounts. I think they are Lenovo P50 with 6th Gen i7 and a GPU, plus SSD. They can't run Windows 11, but they are pretty good laptops. I have several Dell laptops with 8th Gen and 10th Gen CPUs, some with Radeon GPUs. I got bored during the COVID shutdown era, and took up the hobby of repairing and refurbishing broken Dell laptops from eBay. I always get mad when I buy a laptop that is listed as "For parts or not working" and it springs to life as soon as I unbox it. I feel cheated.

lajackson wrote: Fri Oct 10, 2025 8:17 am I have trained the ward STSs there to turn on the encoder at the beginning of the day and turn it off after the last meeting. The more ambitious ones will also use the camera remote control to view more than just the pulpit. They also know how to turn off the rack video and audio feeding the encoder so that the sacrament ordinance is not webcast.

I do have to set up the YouTube event each week. I also turn off the event at the end of the day.

I learned yesterday that the power button on the pedestal on the podium turns the entire system on and off. So if our camera were set up as you have to stream to YouTube whenever it is on, that would happen any time anyone pressed that power button on the pedestal.

What would happen if someone turned on the system during the week, when no YouTube stream was scheduled? I wonder what the camera would do then.

Meanwhile, I am having fun learning about OBS, NDI plugins, PTZ controls, and virtual audio cables and mixers. I am using one of my Dell Inspiron laptops that has a discrete Radeon GPU (about 7 years old). Judging from the fan RPM, it appears that OBS loves to heat up the GPU.

The beauty of using OBS is that I can have one scene for chapel video and audio, and another scene for playing hymns from the church music library in a browser with sheet music or lyrics. The chapel feed is disabled when I switch to the music feed. That helps me hide the Sacrament ordinance, and it helps the folks at home to hear the music, since the pulpit mic doesn't pick up the organ, piano, or singing.

drepouille wrote: Sun Oct 12, 2025 5:19 am I learned yesterday that the power button on the pedestal on the podium turns the entire system on and off. So if our camera were set up as you have to stream to YouTube whenever it is on, that would happen any time anyone pressed that power button on the pedestal.

What would happen if someone turned on the system during the week, when no YouTube stream was scheduled? I wonder what the camera would do then.

Our system is always on. The button only turns on the microphone. Our camera is always on.

The camera does not control our stream. The encoder does, and the encoder is not controlled by the rack. It must be physically turned on and off. If I have an event loaded at YT and someone turns on the encoder, YT will begin the webcast without waiting for the set time, and I will need to end it and reset it again before Sunday. But the STSs have been good about letting me know when they will be training someone new.

That is part of the challenge. Every system and setup is different.

lajackson wrote: Sun Oct 12, 2025 5:11 pm That is part of the challenge. Every system and setup is different.

And that is why when I asked the engineer who designed the system during our training last week, "Who will set up and configure the PTZ camera and train me?" -- he answered that our STS would have to do that, since the FM does not get involved in that, even if it was the FM who paid for the camera and the installation work.

drepouille wrote: Sun Oct 12, 2025 6:02 pm ... he answered that our STS would have to do that, since the FM does not get involved in that, even if it was the FM who paid for the camera and the installation work.

Except that there is no provision to train the STS. And so we have come full circle to the original topic.

Our camera is on the verge of failing. I assume that when it does, the FM Group will install a new one, perhaps similar to the one being discussed here. I will learn about it because the wards will not be able to webcast their sacrament meetings that day. I hope it is not the Sunday of the children's sacrament meeting presentation.

I will ask the same training questions, and then I will come here to the Forum to learn all I can before I go out to the Interwebs to learn more.

And then, when the FM Group gets after me for messing with the rack so that I can make it work, I will say things that should not be printed here, smile kindly, and then hope they do not lock me out of the FIR system.

Perhaps I should ask for a pay raise. Or maybe a discount on my tithing. [grin]

I left town on vacation last Monday, and will not return until next week. This Sunday is our Primary Sacrament Meeting, and members have already contacted me to ensure the Zoom meeting will be available this Sunday. I left it in capable hands, using the same hardware we have been using for years.

drepouille wrote: Sat Oct 11, 2025 5:31 am From the LDS Tech Forum and various YouTube videos, I see a few challenges:

• Encoded HDMI from the A/V rack may not be acceptable as a Zoom meeting input.

Most desktop and laptop PCs don't have HDMI video capture capability. This is where the HDMI to USB-3 device saves the day. It can be used as an OBS input, capable of providing a stream for either YouTube or Zoom (or both!). It can also be used as a direct webcam input for Zoom without OBS.

drepouille wrote: Sat Oct 11, 2025 5:31 am

• OBS audio output is not an available Zoom audio input.

This used to be an issue until products like the free VB-CABLE showed up.

drepouille wrote: Sat Oct 11, 2025 5:31 am

• Audio sync issues may result if NDI video from the PTZ camera is mixed with audio from a Record Out jack.

Very true. Since NDI|HX can have 200mS or more of latency, it makes it difficult to sync with a near-zero latency audio feed - UNLESS you feed the audio from the sound system into the camera's 3.5mm audio-in jack. Then both the audio and video are sent to your laptop via NDI|HX with the exact same latency, so they're always in sync.

drepouille wrote: Sat Oct 11, 2025 5:31 am

• Using NDI video and NDI audio sources while streaming to a Zoom meeting may overload the laptop's wireless adapter.

Both NDI and streaming should always be done on a wired connection. There are rare circumstances where this can't be done. In those cases, have your FM group install a LAN jack in a spot you can easily plug your laptop into.

drepouille wrote: Sat Oct 11, 2025 5:31 am To mitigate the above issues, I think I should:

• Use a laptop with a discrete GPU so I can use hardware acceleration.

Most Intel (since 2011) and AMD (since 2012) CPUs have a dedicated encode/decode chip onboard. This provides the hardware acceleration needed for H.264, (and later) H.265/HEVC, and AV1 encoding eliminating the need for a dedicated video card.

drepouille wrote: Sat Oct 11, 2025 5:31 am

• Use a wired Ethernet jack, rather than wireless.

Always a good idea.

drepouille wrote: Sat Oct 11, 2025 5:31 am

• Use a 3.5mm TRS cable from a Record Out jack to the laptop headphone jack.

Feeding audio to the camera instead of the laptop solves a lot of problems.

drepouille wrote: Sat Oct 11, 2025 5:31 am

• Use the VB-Audio CABLE Windows Audio Driver as a Virtual Audio Cable, which is a valid audio source for Zoom.

Yep.

The Sunday before I left on vacation, I asked an assistant clerk to run our Zoom meeting from the chapel, using a laptop with a webcam. I sat in the meetinghouse library, where the A/V rack is located, and tried to get a feel for how our new configuration would work with the PTZ camera over the network.

My first learning "jolt" was that the library is like Grand Central Station during Sacrament meetings -- children and parents coming to get paper and crayons, teachers making copies, etc. They all had to comment on the A/V rack, the laptop, and me. It was hard to concentrate on anything. And several complained to me about the poor audio quality in the overflow, where the FM had just replaced the entire system. They asked if I could increase the speaker volume. But the FM's engineer specifically told me that I was not worthy to tinker with his speaker tuning configuration.

I believe a combination of NDI Tools, OBS, and Zoom is what we need. The Razer Ripsaw HDMI-to-USB3 dongle that the FM provided may work, but since I already have a wired Ethernet connection to the PTZ camera, I can use NDI to grab video and audio directly from the PTZ camera, so the Ripsaw really isn't needed. (Chapel audio is fed into the Line Input jack on the camera.)

I believe there is an NDI tool that does the same thing as the VB-Audio CABLE Audio Driver. And one of the videos I watched said that the NDI connection from OBS to Zoom is always on, so I never need to remember to start the OBS Virtual Camera. I have not yet confirmed that.

I have resigned myself to the fact that I will be chained to the A/V rack, and my wife will be chained to the rostrum, since she leads the music for Sacrament meeting.

CalS201 wrote: Thu Oct 09, 2025 9:39 am "rtsp://IPAddress:554/1" (First stream)
"rtsp://IPAddress:554/2" (Second stream)
If you connect a stereo line-level audio signal to the camera's LINE INPUT jack, then the stream will also contain the audio for the meeting.

I find it very interesting that there are so many ways to capture an A/V stream from a PTZ camera.

The old school way, I believe, was to create a Media Source in OBS, turn off the Local File checkbox, and enter the rtsp settings shown above.

Another way is to use a video capture device that converts the HDMI output to a USB3 input, essentially converting the PTZ camera into a webcam.

And now we have NDI Tools, which allows us to do all of the above using nothing but an Ethernet cable and a network switch.

Amazing!

My initial test using OBS, the DistroAV OBS-NDI plugin, the NDI 6 Runtime, NDI Webcam Input (from NDI Tools), and Zoom was not promising at all. My Dell laptop struggled and stuttered with the load, and I wasn't even using the PTZ camera as a source -- I was just using the integrated webcam and microphone on the laptop for testing. My Dell laptop has an i7-8550u CPU, Radeon GPU, 16GB RAM, and a 256GB SATA SSD.

I also tested using the Razer Ripsaw video capture device as a source, but all that OBS and NDI magic made the laptop buckle.

When I closed OBS and NDI Tools, and changed the Zoom mic and camera sources from NDI Webcam to the Razer Ripsaw, the laptop was very happy to send the audio and video to a Zoom meeting, with no stuttering or freezing at all.

So sad. I was really hoping to use OBS to control the PTZ presets, and switch scenes between the PTZ camera and a browser window running the church music library.

I think my next test will be to remove NDI Tools and use the VB-Audio CABLE driver to transfer the audio from OBS to Zoom. It seems like NDI Tools require more horsepower than I can provide.

My devious mind will not rest. I just realized that we have two laptops, and two Ethernet jacks in the A/V rack in the library. I have seen that many "gamers" use a "gaming PC" and a "streaming PC" to share the load.

If one laptop cannot handle the processing load of OBS, NDI Tools, and Zoom, then I can use one laptop to capture the audio and video from the PTZ camera, and use NDI Tools to send the output of OBS to the second laptop, which runs the Zoom Workplace app. That actually sounds like a fun experiment.

On the other hand, I must remember that others may need to run the Zoom meeting without me, so I must have a simple "plug and play" alternative for when I am absent. Luckily, the FM sent me a Razer Ripsaw video capture dongle, which doesn't require any software or setup at all. The Zoom app sees the Ripsaw as just another webcam and microphone. So for anyone who doesn't want to mess with OBS and NDI Tools, the Ripsaw provides a much simpler alternative.

I discovered last night that anyone running the NDI Tools Studio Monitor app can discover and control a PTZ camera in a chapel. I visited my stake center and used a laptop that has NDI Tools installed. I was able to discover, view, and control the PTZ camera in the chapel. This could make our next stake conference more interesting -- if I were the type of person to mess with the STS who is controlling the broadcast. But since he is installing a new printer in our FSC, I will be kind to him.

I am in this exact same boat. We just had a Clear Touch RL500 installed. I'm able to access it via the IP address but in my tests the 2 built mics are picking up audio instead of through the HDMI. I assumed the HDMI was carrying audio but apparently not. I have a ugreen HDMI to USB adapter and it works great. That's a whole separate issue, audio

I would love to be able to do what you're describing here. Run the zoom meeting remotely from somewhere other than underneath the camera. I'm the STS and have access to probably more tools than a normal ward sts and also work in IT. It's frustrating working with the FM group sometimes as they're not always helpful and take a long time to respond to request.

Any insight to if you've successfully created a workflow you described?

Thank you to all who contribute to this wonderful tech thread!!!!

drepouille wrote: Fri Oct 10, 2025 9:18 am I told the church engineer who designed our new A/V system that my goal is to run the Zoom Sacrament Meeting wirelessly, because I don't want to sit with my laptop in the meetinghouse library or the overflow (with the cold metal folding chairs). I want to be able to sit with my laptop anywhere in the chapel. The biggest challenge may be connecting to the audio source.

Am I being unreasonable?

Wired Ethernet is the only way to go. I either sit in the library, where the A/V rack is located, or I sit in the choir seats with my wife (music leader), and run an Ethernet cable from the sound system rack in the corner of the chapel. There may be other Ethernet jacks in the meetinghouse, but I haven't looked for them.

I use NDI Studio to control the PTZ camera, and NDI Webcam as the source for Zoom. The engineer and contractor have connected the audio to the Line Input on the back of the PTZ camera, so NDI Tools can grab synchronized A/V from the camera.

So we don't have a dedicated AV rack, or at least i don't have access to it. This is a regular meeting house and not the stake center. I'm sorry to ask dumb questions as I'm usually very up to date on AV and technology related things. You're telling me, using NDI studio I can possibly connect to a network port in the building, launch NDI and run my zoom via that? Is NDI similiar to OBS? I am VERY famliar with OBS and use it in my professional life. Again the FM group had a 3rd party contractor install this new RL500, below it is a wall plate with a netowork port, USBc port and an HDMI. I purchased a U GREEN HDMI to usb capture card and it work perfect for the video. I'm strugglign with the audio portion of it. I am considering either plugging in a XLR to 3.5mm cable to my laptop to try and capture audio that way. Or possibly purchasing a 2.4GHz audio transmitter that would plug into the pulpit.

THanks again!!

drepouille wrote: Sun May 24, 2026 2:16 pm Wired Ethernet is the only way to go. I either sit in the library, where the A/V rack is located, or I sit in the choir seats with my wife (music leader), and run an Ethernet cable from the sound system rack in the corner of the chapel. There may be other Ethernet jacks in the meetinghouse, but I haven't looked for them.

I use NDI Studio to control the PTZ camera, and NDI Webcam as the source for Zoom. The engineer and contractor have connected the audio to the Line Input on the back of the PTZ camera, so NDI Tools can grab synchronized A/V from the camera.

davemoore99 wrote: Sun May 24, 2026 8:48 pm I'm strugglign with the audio portion of it. I am considering either plugging in a XLR to 3.5mm cable to my laptop to try and capture audio that way. Or possibly purchasing a 2.4GHz audio transmitter that would plug into the pulpit.

Have the FM contractors wire the building's sound system output to the 3.5mm audio input jack on the camera. This will synchronize the audio/video to the desired A/V output; be it NDI or the HDMI output you're currently using.

Let me tell about the adventures in for ours. The general path to it started a couple of years ago with our area FM who was also our HC seeing our rigging using a mic stand with a custom paddle that a cell phone strapped to and an aux mic strapped to the main mic feeding a computer up front. Not pretty but main audience missed it. The area FM became the regional FM during this time. He had said during a WC or bishopric meeting last fall sometime they were looking at doing ward cameras but sounded like it was years out. Guessing this is why we got one of the first ones here.

It really started about 8 weeks ago when with no ward level notice the camera suddenly appeared one week. At the same time the whole middle of the satellite cabinet in the library disappeared and was left with a bunch of wires hanging out.

2 weeks after that I got a note for the now regional FM asking if I had tried the camera? and gave me user name and password with no other information. Okay natural assumption was the wires at the satellite cabinet were somehow involved since they were still hanging out. So I started there. No new addresses on the local network and no other signals I could detect on the other wires. Lost about an hour and half there. Then went looking for other jacks. Started looking at all the jacks up by the podium. Found nothing new but but find the camera remote in a cubby on one side podium. Missed the install on the wall just up from where the camera was located. Googled the camera. They are so busy selling cameras they forgot to provide a path to a manual in a straight search and you can't directly search it on their web site. About that time visited with the bishop and he happened to have cleaned the chapel that week and had seen the new jacks.

Okay. Our install down low is a usb C port and an ethernet port. Hooked in and nothing. Hunted a bit and thru some online search found a generic IP address that was supposed to apply but didn't. No sign of the usb on the computer. Finally searching here found the link someone had left for the manual download. Progress. Learned how to use the remote to tell the camera to give me the IP address. Read and it sounded like the USB should be working.

Fast forward 2 weeks until I can arrange to get a ladder out to the church. Test at the camera and I can get the laptop to connect there if I power cycle the camera. Try various combinations of cables but using the usb A port on the laptop.(we didn't have any other cables in the church stuff) Test below and nothing. Turn in the FIR report thinking there is a problem with the wiring down to the jack.

Tech who did the install calls me. Learn during the course of that conversation that USB C to USB A are not rated for this and that I need a Thunderbolt 3 rated or better C to C cable. Also learn that in spite of the standard being supposed to work both ways that it doesn't and a cable connection may need to be turned over for everything to work properly. Another adventure getting cables here and another 2 week delay. During this for the 3rd year in a row we have had bats in the chapel 2 years ago they spent big bucks theoretically blocking the bats out of the entire building. This year following it they spray foamed any possible entry into the chapel inside. In the process the USB and line in mic cords were unhooked and spray foamed too short to reach the camera so had to dig that out, so I could pull enough cable in to hook the camera up for the next step.

Just Sunday got the new cable and tried and USB works with a thunderbolt rated cable connected at the wall jacks down by the benches.. Did plug it in the wrong way first so proved that one too as it didn't work till I turned the end in the wall jack over. Manage a zoom record yesterday testing.

Here is part of the note I sent to FM after the first part above.

Step 1: download manual link here https://www.getcleartouch.com/download/ ... l_0110.pdf You cannot just search for the camera, go there and download the manual as they are too busy selling cameras to bother to link to the manual. You have to specifically search for how to download the manual.
Step 2: get IP address using method 1 from page 10 section 6.4.1 using remote
Step 3: View/visit camera online via directions on page 11 section 6.4.2 using the newly found IP address.

Other things learned. While doing all the plugging and unplugging stuff at the camera I happened to just brush the camera(it has big letter warnings in the manual not to) and in the process screwed up the presets. Even after power cycling the camera with its manual switch they are messed up. So be aware even someone with a feather duster can potentially mess up your presets.

Hope this helps someone

Audio problems for one of the new installs in our stake.

There is no sound coming from the line in port on the camera. We have 3 buildings in the stake, and the 2 that are working are using an (Extron ASA 111 Passive Audio Summing Adapter with Stereo Mini Plug Input and Unbalanced Output). The building that is not working is using a generic adapter.
For the Extron adapters, ground is going to ground and red (+) is going to positive. The black (-) wire is going to NC (no connection) in the adapter.

The generic adapter appears to be wired backwards, but when I wired it the way I thought it should be, it made no difference.
For the generic adapter is hard to identify the connection points so I had to use an ohm meter.
There is jumper wire going from ground to R.
The Red (+) wire from the rack is going to R.
The black (-) and ground wire are going to L.

What I changed that made no difference: Red (+) to R on the adapter, jumper wire between R and L, ground and black (-) to ground.
I also tried not having the ground wire connected and only the black (-) wire connected to ground with Red (+) connect to R & L.
I also tried not having the black (-) wire connected and only the ground wire connected to ground with Red (+) connect to R & L.

I have sent a request (ticket) into the FM group over a month ago with no response.

Any suggestions on how to solve this? I understand electronics.
I doubt the generic adapter is an audio summing adapter since I am not reading any resistance.
It looks like it is a straight connection.
The signal coming from the rack is mono since it only has ground / (-) / (+).
The input on the RL500 is stereo, so the mono signal needs to be split between the L & R contacts.
I don't know if there is a setting in the rack or if I just need a Passive Audio Summing Adapter or if I can get away something else.

Thanks
Doug

Amadiod wrote: Sat Nov 07, 2026 5:22 pm Audio problems for one of the new installs in our stake.

...

If you sent the request to your FM group by email, did you copy your stake president? Sometimes, FM groups need the right names on the list in order to get their attention.

Don't tell anyone I said this , but unless the price of the Extron ASA 111 Audio Summing Adapter is a burden, you could likely save yourself a lot of grief and simply buy one to duplicate the setup from the two working buildings.

I might be mistaken, but it sounds like the cable you describe is supplying a balanced monaural feed, with signal on black and red wires and ground on the shield/ground. If that is correct, and if the signal source has a transformer output, your attempt to connect the red wire to R and L on the adapter (using a jumper wire) and connect the ground and black wire on the adapter to ground should be correct. However, it's more likely the signal source does not have a transformer on the output. For that case, leaving the black wire not-connected would probably be the best.

There might be a setting in the DSP equipment that only the FM group or the audio contractor can fix.

I would wire it the same way as the Extron adapters. Red to left and right, ground to ground.

russellhltn wrote: Sat Nov 07, 2026 8:36 pm I would wire it the same way as the Extron adapters. Red to left and right, ground to ground.

I agree. Most likely, leaving the black wire not connected is the best option.

If that does not work and you need to prove there's no signal coming out of the cable with the black and red wires, get an audio isolation transformer (600 ohm, 1:1 if you can find one), connect the transformer's primary to the black and red wires, and connect the transformer's secondary to a line input of an amplifier that can drive speakers or headphones. That setup can also help you trace the signal downstream if needed.