Streaming Video to the homebound?
by Andrew Abrams
on
Jul 29, 2009 at 2:42:13 am
Hi All,
I have been looking in the forums here, and while I have found some really good stuff, I haven't found exactly what I'm looking for.
I have been tasked at our synagogue to take over a streaming video project that someone started and was unable to complete (it was just in the beginning stages).
What we are trying to do two fold. We want to setup a camera in our main sanctuary to stream video on our regular Friday and Saturday night services. In the sanctuary we would like to start with one camera, and maybe do another one down the road for a different perspective. Additionally, we want to be able to have a mobile "cart" solution that we could stream live, and then make available on demand various lectures. W
We have a few simple requirements
1) We need something that we could schedule to automatically come on at a set time on Friday and Saturday. On our Sabbath there isn't supposed to be any "work". So far, I am finding this one to be just about impossible to get around.
2) We would like to have some user/password protection for the streams / on demand video.
Questions
1) What kind of cameras/equipment do I need to be able to product a pleasing video, but not go overboard and buy a 5000.00 camera. Additionally, could an IP camera be used, or would the quality be insufficient? I think it would make the most sense to be able to pipe in our audio system to whatever camera we get.
2) What kind of software do I need to make available the live stream, as well as the on demand lectures?
3) Are there any web services that do this sort of thing? I have a feeling that even if there are it may be out of our budget. I am sort of marching down the road of doing it ourselves.
4) What is the bitrate I am looking at for decent video for something like this?
Obviously, I would like the most comprehensive solution possible so we don't have to do one thing for one type of video, and something else for another type of video.
Re: Streaming Video to the homebound? by Brett Mertens on Sep 9, 2009 at 3:32:52 am
Can someone else do the work for you on the Sabbath? The company I work for has a full service businesses model. We provide the encoding equipment. We remotely and start the encoders at the scheduled time. We also provide a video player that has a countdown that may make it easier for those watching at home. The could pull the page up the day before.
Re: Streaming Video to the homebound? by John Johns on Sep 16, 2009 at 6:13:48 pm
I'm working on almost the exact same project for my church, but without the requirements of automation or password protection.
Most importantly, there is very little budget, so I'm hoping I can pull most of this off myself.
I was hoping to use IP cameras, as the wireless technology makes the project seem more possible. We are using ustream.tv to broadcast our adult education with a single web-cam in another location, but this technology is not as conducive to multiple cameras. So my questions are:
Is there software from which we can mix IP cameras into a single output (switching from one camera to another)?
Does that software output to a stream which I can encode to the .flv format required by ustream? Right now I use Adobe Live Flash Encoder, which streams to the ustream broadcaster. What I would need is for the encoder to see the mixed output as a selectable video device. Does that make any sense?
Re: Streaming Video to the homebound? by Tom Sinclair on Sep 17, 2009 at 5:03:56 am
So far as using more than one camera, you might look at a software version of a video switcher. That would allow you to use multiple cameras: auto switched or manually switched. It could also allow you to overlay graphics and use lower thirds (like captions or titles).
The system I use is Vidblaster. You can download a trial version at http://www.vidblaster.com and test it against you needs.
