More Permanent Setup for Sacrament Meeting Broadcasts

Using the Church Webcasting System, YouTube, etc. Including cameras and mixers.
swigginton
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Re: More Permanent Setup for Sacrament Meeting Broadcasts

#11

Post by swigginton »

Here's what we did for our buildings. We fabricated a webcam mount that clamps to the base of the microphone boom. There is a rubber liner to prevent scuffing the boom, and a setscrew to lock the camera boom. Cable is mounted into the pulpit under the mic mount and out the bottom through a small hole. Keeps the camera at eye level and minimally intrusive. By attaching to the mic boom, the speaker stays in frame as the mic is raised or lowered for taller/shorter folks.
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Wattsuk
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Joined: Sun Apr 04, 2021 3:53 am

Re: More Permanent Setup for Sacrament Meeting Broadcasts

#12

Post by Wattsuk »

swigginton wrote:Here's what we did for our buildings. We fabricated a webcam mount that clamps to the base of the microphone boom. There is a rubber liner to prevent scuffing the boom, and a setscrew to lock the camera boom. Cable is mounted into the pulpit under the mic mount and out the bottom through a small hole. Keeps the camera at eye level and minimally intrusive. By attaching to the mic boom, the speaker stays in frame as the mic is raised or lowered for taller/shorter folks.
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That's a neat solution. A more compact webcam could be a small improvement.
Something like a Microsoft lifecam studio which has a different form factor to the webcam you currently have.
Or use something like a Huddly go for an ultra wide angle lens. That way the camera position is more forgiving and could be more flexible?

Anyway, good to trade solutions and ideas.
johnsonjeric
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Joined: Sun Mar 07, 2021 8:08 am

Re: More Permanent Setup for Sacrament Meeting Broadcasts

#13

Post by johnsonjeric »

dbaresrc wrote:In our stake, I've received the same mandate and have been done quite a bit of research on options. I'm actually at a point where I've put together a preliminary report on options. When it's done, I'll send it to you via PM. Readers Digest version -- PTZOptics NDI camera into ?? software using ?? O/S. You need to understand what uses H/W encoding and what doesn't.
Carlton
I'd love a copy of that report, if you have it completed.

Thanks!
brad_p
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Re: More Permanent Setup for Sacrament Meeting Broadcasts

#14

Post by brad_p »

Our stake is transitioning to a permanent setup. Our stake president is fully on board with supporting the handbook change to let those who can't come view online. We've had a handful of reactivations because of our existing setup, and he wants to reach out to as many stake members as he can.

Our permanent setup is in the approval/implementation stage, and this is where it's headed:

* Moving the camera to the back corner of the chapel to keep the camera out of sight. We also prefer an ethernet jack in the back corner.
* Using our pre-existing cameras which have excellent zoom. Also using higher quality HDMI to USB converters with no latency.
* Using a small form factor computer (such as a raspberry pi) with a touch screen, 4 USB ports, ethernet jack, wifi, and an SD card. (I've got an OBS/raspberry pi 4 setup that's hitting 1280x720@30 fps.)
* Using Linux, OBS, and ffmpeg for ease of options, licensing, and copying/resetting disk images.
* Using wireless audio transmitters that guitarists use at concerts. These can be found for about $50 each, have excellent sound quality, and run long distances. (The hearing aid wireless ones have scratches and buzzes.)

The goal is enabling any ward member to hook up the camera to small computer, follow a short set of instructions, and start broadcasting. A camera assistant could choose to pan/tilt/zoom the camera and switch mics if desired. The computer itself is dedicated to broadcasting only and doesn't lend itself for general ward computer usage. We can hit our permanent solution for about $350 per ward in extra parts.
russellhltn
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Re: More Permanent Setup for Sacrament Meeting Broadcasts

#15

Post by russellhltn »

bradpeterson@gmail.com wrote:and an SD card.
It should be noted that using a SD card for a general use hard drive a bit of an abuse. SD was never designed for that. I think you'll find better long term reliability if you move to a SSD. It does take some work to get the Pi to boot off of a SSD, but it's do-able.
bradpeterson@gmail.com wrote:The hearing aid wireless ones have scratches and buzzes.
What brand receiver? If you can lay your hands on a Listen Technologies unit, that may disappear. Doing that would eliminate having to plug in the transmitter.
Have you searched the Help Center? Try doing a Google search and adding "site:churchofjesuschrist.org/help" to the search criteria.

So we can better help you, please edit your Profile to include your general location.
brad_p
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Re: More Permanent Setup for Sacrament Meeting Broadcasts

#16

Post by brad_p »

russellhltn wrote:It should be noted that using a SD card for a general use hard drive a bit of an abuse. SD was never designed for that. I think you'll find better long term reliability if you move to a SSD. It does take some work to get the Pi to boot off of a SSD, but it's do-able.
Yes, SSDs are a step up, but our plan is using it only a few hours every Sunday, and that's it. The units have enough RAM, and aren't using disk swap space, so disk I/O is relatively small. I've got a couple of Raspberry Pis in my house that get far more use and haven't had SD card problems. Worst case is that one SD card goes bad and I just flash another from a pre-existing image.
What brand receiver? If you can lay your hands on a Listen Technologies unit, that may disappear. Doing that would eliminate having to plug in the transmitter.
We have Listen Technologies units. We originally tried using them in 2020 and gave up. I went back and tried them again at our FM's request, from various locations in all 3 buildings' chapels. They all scratch and buzz. They're good enough for one person who just sticks a speaker next to their ear. But they're definitely a poor choice for broadcast audio. Our FM said we should put in a work order to try and get these improved, but I'm skeptical. I'd rather control our own audio with something that definitely works and has fewer moving parts.
Last edited by brad_p on Mon Jul 12, 2021 5:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.
russellhltn
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Re: More Permanent Setup for Sacrament Meeting Broadcasts

#17

Post by russellhltn »

bradpeterson@gmail.com wrote:We have Listen Technologies units. We originally tried using them in 2020 and gave up. I went back and tried them again at our FM's request, from various locations in the chapel. They all scratch and buzz. They're good enough for one person who just sticks a speaker next to their ear. But they're definitely a poor choice for broadcast audio. Our FM said we should put in a work order to try and get these improved, but I'm skeptical.
Probably wouldn't be a bad idea to put in the work order at requested - if nothing else, for the benefit of those who use the system. It might be the transmitter, or some interference.
Have you searched the Help Center? Try doing a Google search and adding "site:churchofjesuschrist.org/help" to the search criteria.

So we can better help you, please edit your Profile to include your general location.
CalS201
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Location: Herriman, UT

Re: More Permanent Setup for Sacrament Meeting Broadcasts

#18

Post by CalS201 »

Our long-term approach for broadcasting Sacrament Meetings is to implement a system that is fully automatic – well almost!

By using a $15 digital AC Timer the wall-mounted camera’s (PTZOptics20X) AC or POE power will be turned on and the camera will start broadcasting immediately (rtmp stream to youtube or church webcast server) 5 minutes before the meeting starts and then turn off 70 minutes later (5 minutes after scheduled end time). This timing cycle will repeat for every ward that meets in the bldg.

The camera’s power-on ptz position (preset 0) will NOT be the pulpit, it will be a small sign that says “Broadcast will begin /resume shortly”. By adding a magnetic reed switch https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YW47395 to the side of the camera, using double stick tape, and placing the switch contacts in series with the audio connection of the camera, we can “connect” or “disconnect” the audio based on the “pan” position of the camera! Audio will be ‘disconnected” whenever the camera is at the “Preset 0” (the small sign) position - audio will be “connected” when the camera is pointed anywhere else(Preset 1 – pulpit).

If the Bishop wants to broadcast the meeting he can use the camera’s handheld IR remote control and press the “Preset 1” button which will move the camera ptz postion to the pulpit and also “un-mute” the audio. When it is time for the Sacrament ordinance, he simply presses the “Preset 0” button and the camera will rotate to the small sign and disconnect the audio. When the Sacrament is over, he presses “Preset 1” and camera moves to pulpit and audio is connected. Additional Presets are provided for a wider view of the pulpit and for musical numbers near the piano.

This automation is possible because the PTZOptics camera has a line level audio input and built in RTMP streaming.
Attachments
Automated Camera Setup.pdf
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brad_p
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Re: More Permanent Setup for Sacrament Meeting Broadcasts

#19

Post by brad_p »

This automation is possible because the PTZOptics camera
Oh how I wish I could find an IP driven PTZ camera that isn't $1800...
CalS201
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Location: Herriman, UT

Re: More Permanent Setup for Sacrament Meeting Broadcasts

#20

Post by CalS201 »

bradpeterson@gmail.com wrote:
This automation is possible because the PTZOptics camera
Oh how I wish I could find an IP driven PTZ camera that isn't $1800...
You can always buy used from ebay or one of the PTZOptics clones for a lot less !

PTZOptics Clone
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B097CF8482

Used PTZOptics
https://www.ebay.com/itm/284341679420
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