Streaming sessions

Tue Jul 9 18:35:37 UTC 2013

Just to follow up on my previous note, it looks like we can rent a Teradek
Cube for about $175 per day each. If we rent a few units, we could possibly
negotiate a better deal. Here is one of the companies I've found that will
rent to unit:

http://www.radiantimages.com/index.php/monitors/wireless/hd-tx-rx/166-teradek-cube-video-encoder

Wilbur

On Tue, Jul 9, 2013 at 12:21 PM, Wilbur K Smith <wilbur.k.smith at gmail.com>wrote:

> Hello Folks,
>
> Sorry for taking a bit to write back, but I've learned a lot while
> researching possible video options.
>
> *Finding the best camera solution that is also affordable is challenging:
> *
>
> 1)     We may be able to use digital SLR cameras to record and stream
> some of the sessions, but their are limitations
>
> o   DLSRs have limitations on the amount they can record.
>
> §  This is partially because of heat issues when running the sensor for
> long periods
>
> §  The max size of the flash cards are also a problem; 16Gig will only
> give you an hour or so of recording
>
> §  Some DSLRs sold in Europe limit the recording to 30 min per file. This
> is to avoid paying an extra tax if it is considered a “film camera” (this
> one surprised me!)
>
> o   There are also limitations on using the Camera’s USB connection to
> grab video; it does not act like a standard USB webcam, so you need to jump
> though some hoops
>
> o   If the camera supports it, you can stream to the camera’s micro-HDMI
> port, but you still need to capture that video and re-encode it before
> streaming
>
> 2)     Using standard camcorders have some advantages over a DLSR
>
> o   Some camcorders support capturing video live over the a FireWire port
>
> §  This method uses a standard, similar to USB, so lots of encoders
> support it
>
> ·       Not every camcorder supports this though
>
> §  You will also need a firewire port on the encoding device
>
> ·       Even if we ask to borrow hardware, it would need to have Firewire
> ports.  Since USD3.0, not many modern laptops still ship with this
>
> o   If we can’t rely on native Firewire capture, we still need to use an
> external capture device for encoding. More on this below.
>
> 3)     Using USB webcams will give us the most flexibility, but at the
> cost of quality
>
> o   USB cams will work with any PC, but most wont have the audio and
> video quality of a real camera
>
> o   You’ll have to use computers for capture and a separate program may
> be needed to store a local copy
>
> §  Disk space may be a problem based on the settings we choose
>
>
>
> *About the encoding problem*
>
> * *
>
> In all cases, we need to capture to video from the camera, encode it into
> a format supported by our streaming partner (on this point, Ooyala is
> actually pretty flexible), and stream it to the Internet. The three options
> we seem to have are:
>
>
>
> ·       A dedicated hardware encoder
>
> o   Teradek’s Cube is an example of this. It supports all the common
> streaming and encoding standards. Depending on the model, it supports
> wireless and/or RJ-45 for network
>
> §  It can only capture video from HDMI, SD-SDI, or HD-SDI. We can only
> use a camera that outputs video in one of these standards
>
> §  The cheapest model is around $1,700 and you still need the camera, so
> it is a pricy solution.
>
> §  Could we rent some of these vs. buying?
>
> ·       A combo Hardware/PC solution
>
> o   This solution would use a PC with a video capture device to grab the
> video from the camera
>
> o   Video capture cards are a popular way to do this, but needs a PCIe
> card, so Laptops are out.
>
> o   Companies like Black Magic make external USB3.0 and Thunderbolt
> capture devices
>
> §  On the up side, these usually support HDMI, component, and S-Video so
> it gives us the most flexibility with the cameras we choose.
>
> §  You’ll need a PC with USB 3.0 to use this particular brand, so again
> we’ll be limited on what laptops or PCs we can use
>
> §  They run about $200, so it is a more affordable option
>
> §  You still need to run a software encoder program on the PC
>
> ·       A software only solution
>
> o   This is really only an option if we only use USB webcams
>
> o   The software encoder will just grab the video from the USB cam and
> upload to our streaming provider
>
> o   We will have to also save the video locally if we want a hard copy,
> so disk space is a concern
>
> o   Quality of the webcam will be the main limiting factor.
>
> o   This is the cheapest option since we could probably borrow enough
> laptops and webcams, but quality will suffer
>
>
>
>
>
> With the exception of the Teradek solution, we will need a software
> encoder running on a PC. The simplest method that will work with Ooyala is
> Adobe Media Encoder. This is a free program and very strait forward, but it
> is not open-source and is PC and Mac only.  The only FLOSS option I know
> of is VLC, but this is a bit complex to set up; we would need to test with
> it after we decide on a camera and capture solution.
>
>
>
>
>
> *Some other thoughts:*
>
> ·       Our best option may be to rent the equipment. Many online camera
> outfits rent this type of gear and it would help keep costs down.
>
> ·       Alternately, we could pay a service to do this all for us. The
> mainstream outfits are costly for this, but some cheaper “stringer”
> services may be cheaper. The PixelCorps (pixelcorps.com) is an example
>
> ·       Does our host university, the College of Charleston, have a media
> or productions program that we could ask to help? What are the changes the
> theater department has folks that can give us advice or lend a hand?
>
> ·       Are their any local area photography clubs that may would be
> interested in helping
>
>
>
>
>
> I’m eager to help out on all of this, but I’m an amateur photographer and
> most of this is a bit outside my wheelhouse. I’m also a bit swamped with
> work, so it’s a bit challenging for me to take on pulling all this
> together. What do others think about my write-up; did I miss anything that
> could help?
>
>
>
> Thanks,
>
> Wilbur
>
>
> On Wed, Jul 3, 2013 at 10:01 PM, Chad Hobbs <chaddhobbs at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Alright, here is the deal on the classrooms. They have presentation
>> kiosks but do not have web cams for recording. They haven't gotten the
>> latest technology upgrade like what Garrett mentioned. They all do have
>> Windows machines with dedicated LAN lines and we can use the USB ports on
>> them if we want to hook cameras up to them and use them as a point to
>> stream from. That can be set up the night before in the IT walkthrough.
>>
>>
>> On Wed, Jul 3, 2013 at 11:54 PM, Ilan Rabinovitch <ilan at fonz.net> wrote:
>>
>>> Hi Wilbur,
>>>
>>> Lets connect on IRC at some point and I'd be happy to get a test
>>> environment setup.
>>>
>>> Ilan
>>>
>>> On Wed, Jul 3, 2013 at 2:20 PM, Wilbur K Smith <wilbur.k.smith at gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>> > Hi Folks,
>>> > I have not live-streamed video from it, but I have a Canon 7D SLR than
>>> can
>>> > do 1080p and I can bring it along to help out. Most of the mid-level
>>> DSLRs
>>> > on the market can output through a standard HDMI or Mini-HDMI port, so
>>> it
>>> > may be easy to borrow a few from others. I've worked with VLC for
>>> streaming,
>>> > but this was for multicast projects.I'll need to play with it and come
>>> up
>>> > with a good config; I'll take a look at this over the holiday. The key
>>> > question will be what formats Ooyala servers in can can handle.
>>> >
>>> > If anyone has a link to Ooyala's technical info and support, I'll put
>>> some
>>> > time into this and see what I can come up with.
>>> >
>>> > Happy to help,
>>> > Wilbur
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > On Tue, Jul 2, 2013 at 2:27 PM, Ruth Suehle <rsuehle at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> >>
>>> >> Ooyala is going to help us with streaming Flock sessions. We just need
>>> >> equipment. "Just." I'm trying to stretch budgets from everywhere just
>>> to get
>>> >> all of Flock happening, so there's not a lot leftover for buying
>>> camera
>>> >> equipment! Possibly some, but I don't think I can swing enough for
>>> nine
>>> >> rooms.
>>> >>
>>> >> Thus, two questions:
>>> >>
>>> >> - Can anyone suggest reasonably inexpensive cameras I should look at
>>> >> purchasing? Whatever is the least expensive that isn't going to be so
>>> low
>>> >> quality, it's useless.
>>> >>
>>> >> - Does anyone have a video camera suitable that you'd be willing to
>>> lend
>>> >> to the cause? We'd have it set up in the rooms all day, but of course
>>> you're
>>> >> welcome to take it back to your hotel for safekeeping at night.
>>> >>
>>> >> Here's the information from Ooyala about how we can do the streaming.
>>> >> There are two options:
>>> >>
>>> >> 1) Hook up a camera to a computer running a software encoder via USB
>>> >> or Firewire.  Many of our customers use Flash Media Live Encoder,
>>> >> which is not open source.  VLC might be an open source option here as
>>> >> well, but I haven't personally used it in this setup.
>>> >>
>>> >> 2) Use a hardware encoder such as a Terradeck cube
>>> >> (http://www.teradek.com/pages/cube). These can take input from SDI or
>>> >> HDMI output on any camera and then re-encode them to push to a
>>> >> streaming server at whichever provider you select.
>>> >>
>>> >>
>>> >>
>>> >> Does anyone know whether VLC or something else is an option for #1? I
>>> >> think the Teradek is prohibitively expensive, especially if we also
>>> have to
>>> >> buy cameras.
>>> >>
>>> >> Thanks!
>>> >> Ruth
>>> >>
>>> >> _______________________________________________
>>> >> flock-planning mailing list
>>> >> flock-planning at lists.fedoraproject.org
>>> >> https://admin.fedoraproject.org/mailman/listinfo/flock-planning
>>> >>
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > --
>>> > Wilbur K. Smith
>>> > wilbur.k.smith at gmail.com
>>> >
>>> > _______________________________________________
>>> > flock-planning mailing list
>>> > flock-planning at lists.fedoraproject.org
>>> > https://admin.fedoraproject.org/mailman/listinfo/flock-planning
>>> >
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>>>
>>
>>
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>>
>>
>
>
> --
> Wilbur K. Smith
> wilbur.k.smith at gmail.com
>

-- 
Wilbur K. Smith
wilbur.k.smith at gmail.com
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