A Cheap(ish) Multi-Camera Streaming Setup

Yesterday I mentioned that I wanted to use the Hackintosh I planned to stream. Well, today I thought I give you a peak into my brain (scary I know) and show you what I’m thinking of.

The Idea

So the idea behind the streaming setup is to have as little to move from venue to venue as possible. The easiest way to do this, in my opinion, is to put as much of the setup as feasibly possible in to a relatively powerful computer. That would include the Vision Mixer (Switcher), Graphics Generation, Streaming & Media server at least.

The computer would have 8 SDI Inputs/Outputs via 2 Blackmagic Design 8K Pro Interface PCI-E Cards. As the Graphics Generation and Media Server are on the computer already, this reduces the number of inputs needed.

Software

When it comes to software, my plan is to use Boinx Software’s MIMOlive as it includes media playback, graphics creation and streaming capabilities as well as being able to output to the 8K Pro Interfaces too, enabling me to feed any screens in the venue. So even if I was providing video to two screens I’d still have 6 inputs left for cameras and other devices.

Cameras

Those of you who know me know that I have an eye for the more expensive toys and things are no different here. Though this time I have got a variety of options, 4 in fact, to suit a variety of budgets.

Cheap(ish) 1080p NDI PTZ Cameras

By far the cheapest option is to use PTZ Cameras, as not only do the cameras cost less but you also don’t have to pay as many staff than if you had camera operators. You can get away with having one Director and one camera operator when using PTZ Cameras, so long as you don’t have too many.

For this first setup I have chosen the PTZ Optics PT20X-NDI-GY-G. The first reason for this is that you only have to supply it with a network cable and, so long as your network switch is PoE enabled, you can send it power, movement commands and receive video. Secondly it’s over two and a half grand cheaper than the Panasonic 4K PTZ Camera up next and thirdly it has a 20x zoom that enables you to place the cameras at the back of a small to medium size venue and not worry if you’ll be able to get your target in shot. It’s avalibale at CVP for £2147.92

Panasonic AW-UN70-KEJ

Up next we have the 4K offering from Panasonic the AW-UN70-KEJ. This model also has a 20x optical xoom and can be controlled over PoE, again meaning on one cable to the camera. The one down side is the price, but this is the same fo all 4K PTZ cameras at this moment in time. It’s currently on sale for £4961.38 at CVP

Canon XF705

The Canon XF705 is the first camera on this list that isn’t a PTZ Camera. Whilst this camera has a couple of draw back compared to the PTZ (no single cable run, only 15x Optical zoom & the need for a camera operator) I chose the XF705 for a couple of reason. Firstly I’ve had the opportunity to use the 705’s little brothers (the XF305 & XF405) in live production and they are great cameras with a really nice look. Secondly the 705 can also be used as a run and gun camera and even has a Canon LOG 3 profile too for those that like to colour grade themselves. It’s currently available from CVP for £5998

Blackmagic Design URSA Broadcast & Fuji LA16 Lens Bundle

And last but by far the least I’ve chosen the Blackmagic Design URSA Broadcast & Fuji LA16 Lens Bundle. The lens has been designed for the B4 mount and especially for the URSA Broadcast and has a great look. the URSA Broadcast can be used for both live broadcast and run and gun recording. There are also some accessories that may come in handy for those that want to include this in their event streaming rig such as the BMD Studio Viewfinder, Shoulder mount kits as well as Blackmagic fibre solution. the URSA Broadcast & LA16 Lens bundles is available from CVP for £7153.92.

Networking

As I mentioned earlier the PTZ Cameras require a PoE Switch. For this I would recumbent anything from the Ubiquiti UniFi line of switches. For me personally I would be going with the Ubiquiti UniFi 16 Port PoE Gigabit Network Switch (US-16-150W) currently £290.40 at LinITx. This would give you enough ports to run your PTZ Cameras and create your own wireless network to help you control your production away from the desk.

When adding the Wifi I would use the Ubiquity AC Lite wireless Access Point (UAP-AC-Lite) £80.40 at LinITx paired with the Ubiquity UniFi Cloud Key Controller £76.80 at LinITx. This pairing would allow you to create virtual LANs so you can separate your cameras from internet traffic and a few other things that may be beneficial during a live production.

Accessories

Finally I have a few accessories that might be worth thinking about.

The first thing I would recumbent would be an Audio Interface Device. If, for example, the audio is being run by the in house crew and you need a feed for your broadcast, they are unlikely to provide you with a single 3.5mm jack that will go in the back of your computer. I would suggest the Tascam SERIES 208i USB Audio/Midi Interface (£385 at CVP).

This interface would allow you to have 4 inputs (either XLR or 1/4″ Jack). I would suggest, if doing a musical event, having a Left & Right feed of the instruments being plays and a separate Left & Right feed of any vocalist. As I have found out in the past there is noting you can do to increase the vocals in post production if the instruments are too loud and they are all in the same feed.

Next I would suggest a hardware interface of some kind. In this case I have chosen the X-Keys 80 Key Programable Keyboard from X-Keys for £214.95. I’ve chosen this because MIMOlive has built in support for X-Keys allowing you to program buttons for each camera, video or on screen graphic.

And Last but probably the most important you’ll need some kind of communications system, as there only so much you can do with hand gestures. for this I’ve chosen the relatively inexpensive Hollyland Mars T100 Wireless Intercom System for £1512.50 at CVP. Going wireless, if affordable, is a great option as it give you a lot more freedom when on location and enables the whole team to still communicate if the director is away from the desk for some reason.

So what do you guys think of my choices? Would you pick something different? which of the cameras would you choose for your setup? Let me know in the comments.