Where to go from here...

[stefanwlsn]

Currently, our church has a Mac Pro with a 2.8 ghz quad-core and and iMac with a 2.6 ghz i5. We have Final Cut X and Pro-Presenter on both. One will be running pro presenter and the other will be dedicated to recording and editing sermon video (we haven't decided which will do what, yet). We also have a Sony HDR-FX1 that we import to the hard drive of the iMac via firewire. We want to record sermons with at least 2 cameras, as well as put a live video feed on the screen through Pro presenter. I know we will need a switcher, but we also need to pick up some cameras that are at least the quality of our current Sony, if not a step up from that. My questions are:
- What would be a good switcher for multi-camera shooting?
- Could we use the switcher to send the video feed to both computers for recording on one and projecting the live-feed on the other?
- Will we need a video card for the mac pro?

Long term we want to be able to stream online and operate a separate venue location. Anything we can do now to prepare for the long-term goal would be good, but we also have to work within a budget.

Let's say our budget is $10k.

Any thoughts? Thanks!

[stefanwlsn]

I was looking into the BlackMagic ATEM Television Studio as a switcher. Might that be a good option?

[erckgillis]

Several new solutions in hardware and software are now on the market for very cheap.

Consider using a software only switcher and stream tool like Wirecast from telestream. Here you can use any Mac and a Video camera with Fire-wire or a webcam like the iSight an select and switch any video feed to a recorded or streaming video.

Also new sites like Livestream.com have dedicated wireless broadcaster hardware ($495) that is cheaper than the traditional $2k Teradek cube.

So with any Mac, fire-wire camera and a wireless internet connection (WiFi or 4G) you can now record, switch and stream video just using software.

have fun.

ed

[stefanwlsn]

We are using firewire right now, but only with one camera and we cant record sermon video and send the live feed through pro-presenter at the same time. That is the dilema. How do I make the most of the equipment we have in order to accomplish both of these things? What else do we need to send the video to the projectors through pro-presenter and record the video at the same time?

[petereit]

My first thought is: get a video switcher. Use the switcher to send your live video to your screens. Run ProPresenter on your iMac and use the switcher to superimpose your lyrics over your live feed.

Run the live feed out of your switcher to your Mac Pro for recording. If you plan on recording HD, you'll have to do this on the Mac Pro since you'll have to have multiple hard drives in at least a RAID0 configuration to give you the write speed necessary to capture live HD video.

I would suggest adding a BlackMagic Decklink or AJA Kona card to the Mac Pro to use as a video capture card. This gives you the benefit of combining clean audio from your sound board along with the video for recording. Both cards will also provide a downsampled SD output that you can run to the computer that does your live streaming.

[stefanwlsn]

^^^ Exactly what I needed! Thank you!

[stefanwlsn]

Which Decklink card would be the best then for that set-up?

[petereit]

Decklink Studio

[stefanwlsn]

Another thing... The cameras we currently have only have firewire (one also has s-video). Neither has HDMI. We are planning on getting camera that have HDMI outputs, but the is not in the budget yet. We were originally looking at getting a BlackMagic Design Television Studio, but I don't know if that would do us any good right now with only having firewire as an option for capturing right now...

Any thoughts?

[petereit]

You really can't use a switcher with Firewire cameras, since Firewire isn't exactly "live". There is usually a 1-to-2 second delay (sometimes longer) as the raw video is compressed for transmission through Firewire. It can work for web streaming, as your viewers are completely separated from your venue and wouldn't have any idea that the video is delayed. But Firewire will make you want to slap your mother if you try to put live video up on your screens in your sanctuary.

[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.

[petereit]

Sorry, I don't know. I have only used FireWire for simple capture.