Hi, so I’m hosting a VEX IQ Competition coming up soon. For the past few years I’ve always wanted to try livestreaming an event. I’ve got the nice cameras for it, I have a really good video mixer.
One of the streaming software of choice is OBS Studio, which is what I plan to use. How would I go about setting this up for my upcoming event, to livestream an event with 3 competition fields?
We used OBS Studio last year and will do so again at our event this coming Saturday. If you’re using an external video mixer, you will probably want just a single source in a single scene that captures and outputs exactly the output of your video mixer.
If this is not what you had in mind, please explain what exactly you have in mind.
PM me and I will get you in contact with the person who set up OBS Studio for our livestreaming. We use it to livestream all (or almost all) events here in Wisconsin.
So basically single source and use the mixer to switch between the cameras on each of the different fields, if I have that right?
I would talk to @Eric_J, as he has been a great help to me with my PoE cameras.
That said, if all you need help with is USB cameras and overlays with tournament manager, feel free to PM me and I can help you out.
I would start by looking at this video about our setup at the state championship: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-p2BSMdxE0
For our cameras we use Amcrest PoE cameras. (https://www.amazon.com/Amcrest-Ethernet-Optional-Recording-IP2M-841EB/dp/B01H2JFE5W/)
These are each given a static IP address and connected to a PoE switch. This switch is then also connected to the streaming computer to form a local network for the cameras.
Cameras are positioned on home made stands comprised of a speaker stand and electrical conduit.
Camera position can be adjusted via this tool I wrote: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1kms-Phnf3sSVtVGNnM7olTJV7TGej5Jm
We use OBS to stream the event (https://obsproject.com/). The cameras can be added by adding a media source and having the source be rtsp://username:password@cameraip
Overlays can be added by doing a window capture of the tournament manager system overlay and applying a key to remove the green, or with the following add on created by Dave Flowerday (https://drive.google.com/open?id=1mGK4JwrSwrS7BZOQLAnDNRGuHhdCzypA)
You place this in your add on’s folder, launch OBS in 32 bit mode (64 bit will not work) and add the vextm source.
For streaming create a live event in youtube, copy the stream key, paste it in the obs settings under streaming, and you should be able to stream.
Hope this helps. Let me know if you have more questions.
It is good to see that Eric has helped you out as well. He is an alumni of my robotics program. I have already put Oscar in contact with him. Eric set up the livestreaming that we use for almost all of our events here in Wisconsin.
Yeah our PoE setup has been amazing. We haven’t gotten the chance to run it at an event yet (it got cancelled), but it looks great in our tests so we’re very excited. He’s done a great job with the Wisconsin streams. They look great.
Eric’s setup looks great, but more complicated than most events need. I’ve wanted to do a writeup for a while now of doing webcasting of VEX events with OBS but just haven’t found the time.
Anyway, we’ve done our own event for the past few years with just a single laptop and 2 Logitech C920 USB cameras, plus some long USB extension cables. Add a low-cost mixer (~$60) and you can even do another nice feature - getting the announcer audio out to the webcast without broadcasting copyrighted music accidentally (which will get your account flagged). In our case I replaced the venue music with some royalty-free music that Google makes available to use on Youtube because it sounds weird without anything playing (plus it helps cover up any accidental hot-mic comments which otherwise can be heard on the webcast but not in the venue).
This was our webcast, with all mixing done in OBS. We even had instant replay (though only for the elims since there wasn’t enough time between qual matches).
Yes, if that’s how you want to do it. Make sure you also get audio into OBS – likely via your computer’s line-in jack. Less expensive setups, like ours, use OBS itself as the video mixer.
If you want, post the exact model of video mixer you have and the way it’s connected to the OBS computer (network, USB, etc.), and I’ll probably be able to tell you exactly how to add the video to OBS from it.
I also intend to document a few different livestreaming setup options, likely in video form, but, like @Dave Flowerday, also haven’t had time to get around to it.
Currently have a Roland VR-3EX that we use for the camera feeds.
I just looked it up on the Roland website.
It seems that video mixer can handle 1080p/HD, but you should be aware that streaming via its built-in USB connection will be limited to 480i.
You’d probably get better results with an HDMI capture card/USB device from a known company, such as the following:
we use these cameras, we haven’t started live streaming, but their video quality is fantastic.
Do you have a suggestion?
480i for this initial tournament doesn’t bother me too much, this will be my state’s first foray into it. So if I have a successful trial here and can report the results back to the EP who runs the State Championship. We might be able to get it happening for States.
If not, I definitely want to try this because in future years, we’ll be able to get the equipment for 1080P streaming shortly.
In that case, here is the requisite setup for OBS:
1 scene with the following sources:
Another option would be to use NDI. I have not used it personally, but from the looks of it, it seems very useful. You connect your NDI cameras to a local network. Then you can either use a NDI switcher, or import all the sources into OBS for switching. Thus, you would not need a capture card.
They also have a camera app that lets you stream NDI from your phone which would be cool.
Well, it depends on exactly what your needs are, but you could get a basic setup going with something like this:
2 microphones for announcers, a stereo line input for TM sound effects, another stereo line input for webcast background music (royalty-free), and use the 2-track input for house music (from your DJ or whatever). Use the FX Send to create a submix for your webcast that has the mics, TM sounds, and webcast music, and put the mics, TM sounds, and house music on the main mix bus and use that to drive your in-house PA.
The gym we host in has a sound board a little bigger than that, which runs the audio in the gym.
Thanks for the tips
nice to learn