Brandon Johnson and I have been working to develop a streaming “kit” that can be checked out as one possible way of filling the gap of the lack of internal live streaming services at Duke. The goal is for something super simple that could steam to YouTube and/or Facebook while simultaneously record. One camera, one speaker plus the ability to do picture in picture for slide presentations.
At this point, the kit will offer two options – and HDMI to USB-C Capture Dongle to take a split of the feed from what ever is going to the projector/screen if one is available, as well as this really cool HDMI wireless transmitter/receiver system with a passthrough if no split is available in house. It’s only $160 for the pair and we tested it at a good distance and it even played video completely smoothly. You can transmit audio from the laptop as well (either embedded in the HDMI or as a separate input.
For audio, we’ll include an audio interface to take in house audio, as well as a Røde Wireless Go II, 2 microphone wireless system if there is no in house audio feed.
Right now, it is a BYOD system where you can install OBS on your own laptop, connect everything up and stream/record. We’re also testing the YoloBox Pro streaming appliance. We’re concerned in the BYOD solution we don’t what shape the laptop will be in with regard to operating system, free drive space, RAM, etc. The downside to the YoloBox is the training and configuration required for each use. Doesn’t seem terrible, but also concerned that the company’s name is “YOLO”… LOL – This is a great overview of the box if you’re interested. The reviewer did mention the company was very responsive but reliability and support remains a concern.
We did consider the Blackmagic ATEM Mini Pro, but that still requires a computer to do the streaming so we think OBS is a better solution since we’re only “mixing” two inputs.
The kit will provide an easy to use camcorder with at least 20x optical zoom and HDMI out and microphone in with the ability to record and stream simultaneously. A tripod and all cables will be supplied as well.
One of the cool things I discovered while researching the kit was this power strip that rolls up the cable and has USB and USB-C adapters.
What do you think of this approach? The kit would be offered to the same folks that have access to Studio 1 at the Bryan Center Studios – media professionals at Duke University and Duke Health at no charge.
VPM has used the Blackmagic ATEM Mini and the Blackmagic Television Studio models. Both are very functional and user friendly. Uncertain which ones, but some of the ATEM and TV Studio platforms are capable of serving as encoders via the onboard network port directly without needing to push to a computer or streaming software.
For capture if not using the ATEM or the TV Studio, we use the Blackmagic SDI/HDMI mini recorder capture boxes in portable scenarios. For our fixed platform in Page Auditorium, we use one of the Blackmagic Decklink cards PCI mounted in a rack enclosure for our MacMini.
Regardless, we opted not to use OBS. Sure, it’s functional – but we weren’t able to find a rhythm to our workflow. VPM has been livestreaming our events since the early days of the pandemic, so we’ve had a chance to refine our process. We’re streaming to our own Vimeo account, and with the Vimeo license we’re afforded 2 seats of their Livestream Studio 6 switcher software/encoder. We host the stream for our clients and give them an unlisted link, which they publicize to their audience base. Vimeo retains the broadcast copy when we’re finished, which we convey to the client. In other instances, we’ve utilized Studio 6 to stream to different Duke Departmental Youtube channels, and in once instance the main Duke Youtube channel.
In Page, our fixed platform connects to a MacMini M3. It doesn’t even have to blink to adequately host the stream and several layers of graphics, while also serving as our in-house playback machine for audio and projection. In Reynolds Theater, we typically connect via our iMac 27″ Pro. But I bring that up because our iMac was recently down for about a month, and we tried streaming using one of our MacBook Pro Intel models. Unlike the MacMini and the iMac, the MacBook struggled handling the capture, switching, and stream. There was a lot of resource drain in the form of background processes: an OIT backup function, and lots of polling from Bluetooth being active and the venue full of patrons each with devices. The primary symptom of the struggle was audio drop/loss. All that to say – you’re right to be concerned about what shape the BYOD solution’s computer might be in.
As I said, VPM has been livestreaming our events since the early days of the pandemic. From just streaming playback, streaming remote presenters/panelists (a la Zoom), capturing and streaming video portably or in our fixed setup, and even doing some two way streaming for DKU’s inaugural commencement a few years ago – we’ve tried (and occasionally failed) at many iterations and attempts. I’m happy to talk with anybody who’s wanting to venture livestreaming their own events. Likewise, VPM does offer livestreaming as a service for any events that happen within our venues on campus. We also still offer production and livestreaming of virtual events in some cases.