Where to go from here...

[JoshGuerette]

Originally Posted by stefanwlsn

Hmmm.... well, in the mean time then, is there any way to get a firewire feed into 2 computers simultaneously? (I know cable length would likely become an issue at that point) My church likes to put video up on the screen for baptisms and baby dedications, even though it does lag pretty bad. Though we don't have the money for the switcher and new cameras yet, I am trying to find a temporary solution to appease the pastors who want the video up on the screen, while also being able to record the sermon video.

I'm not 100% certain, but I believe video devices connected via Firewire can only be used by one device at a time.

[erckgillis]

You can share video or display multiple cameras using firewire without delays even stream to sites like livestream with a free account. If distance is an issue then co-locate a laptop worth each camera then stream those to one server. Use a central system to pick shots or add graphics or overlays

[petereit]

Originally Posted by erckgillis

You can share video or display multiple cameras using firewire without delays even stream to sites like livestream with a free account. If distance is an issue then co-locate a laptop worth each camera then stream those to one server. Use a central system to pick shots or add graphics or overlays

Since FireWire video is delayed before it even leaves the camera, delayed as the computer compresses it for streaming, and even further delayed as the stream is uploaded to Wirecast, I'm not sure what is meant by "without delays" in that statement.

[stefanwlsn]

So I am gathering that firewire is like trying to set the land speed record on a tricycle.

Just to clarify... right now live video will be kept in house and will not be streamed, yet. This is a means of putting the video up on the projector screens.

With that in mind, how would I get the feed from a switcher to the computer that is sending the live video to the projectors? That computer is an iMac with USB and Firewire inputs. We are looking at a BlackMagic Design Television Studio, which does have a USB 3.0 output, but I don't know how efficient that is at video data transfer speeds...

[petereit]

Your switcher becomes the central hub of all of your video signals. Everything that produces video (cameras, computers, DVD players) feed into the switcher's input channels. The output of your switcher then goes to your projectors. So the switcher controls which video input is displayed on your projectors. And most switchers have the capability to combine or "key" one input over another, for example "keying" song lyrics from your computer over live video from your cameras.

[stefanwlsn]

I'm confused... So can pro presenter somehow still put song lyrics and such over live video that is being sent from the switcher to the projector? It seems like at that point the computer with pro presenter is being bypassed and is obsolete.

[JoshGuerette]

Originally Posted by stefanwlsn

I'm confused... So can pro presenter somehow still put song lyrics and such over live video that is being sent from the switcher to the projector? It seems like at that point the computer with pro presenter is being bypassed and is obsolete.

It still can be done all through ProPresenter, this is called a downstream key. It works with less components, but that comes with more risk. If the computer goes down while acting as a downstream keyer you will lose your entire video feed, as opposed to just losing the text when using a key/fill setup.

[petereit]

You still use ProPresenter. Your computer becomes one of your switcher's video sources.

For example, we have three cameras in our sanctuary all connected to our switcher. Our ProPresenter computer is also connected to our switcher.

When we do praise and worship, I use the switcher to overlay (or key) the lyrics coming from our ProPresenter computer on top of video from any of our three cameras. When pastor comes up to preach, we "drop the key" which means the ProPresenter output no longer overlays the video. But if Pastor preaches from a particular verse, we pull that verse up with a nice background in ProPresenter, then I fade the switcher from a live shot of Pastor over to the computer. The screens in the sanctuary now show the verse over the nice background.

When Pastor moves on from the verse, I fade the switcher back to live video. The screens in the sanctuary fade from the ProPresenter screen back to live video of Pastor.

If we have a nursery announcement, we enter the number in ProPresenter, then I "fade the key" which makes the nursery announcement fade onto the bottom of the screens in the sanctuary. You still see live video of Pastor preaching but the nursery message is superimposed over the bottom third of the image.