Live streaming assemblies

[Guest Guest]

We're looking to start live streaming our assemblies to our classrooms with a select few classes watching from the hall. We currently have a decent sound system and ideally would like to feed the stream audio from this. I'm thinking of using a decent quality IP dome CCTV camera and somehow matching up the audio with the video.

 

SLT are keen to keep assemblies "live" so prerecording isn't an option

Has anyone done anything like this?

Would you recommend any hardware?

 

Any advice is greatly appreciated

[dhicks]

We're looking to start live streaming our assemblies to our classrooms with a select few classes watching from the hall. We currently have a decent sound system and ideally would like to feed the stream audio from this. I'm thinking of using a decent quality IP dome CCTV camera and somehow matching up the audio with the video.

 

It's probably easier and cheaper to use a camcorder. This thread from a couple of weeks ago might come in handy:

 

http://www.edugeek.net/forums/av-multimedia-related/217200-video-camera-recommendations-please.html

 

For a decent, cheaper option, a camcorder should do nicely - we use the Panasonic HDC-SD90, which has lasted for years. Newest equivalent, I think, is the HC-V180EB-K (£170):

 

https://www.panasonic.com/uk/consumer/cameras-camcorders/camcorders/hd-camcorders/hc-v180eb-k.html

 

The above should give you a clean HDMI out and be power-able via a USB battery pack, so you can power the whole lot without having to run cables to it and leave it to run for several hours if needed. Connect the HDMI out to a USB adaptor cable - I tried this one, worked nicely (£17):

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0888PBG1D/ref=as_li_tl

 

and connect it up to a laptop running the streaming system of your choice (Meet, Zoom, etc).

 

If you want to take an input directly from your audio mixer you should be able to connect to the mic input of the camcorder. Not tried it yet, I need to find an appropriate way to connect XLR out to mic jack in. Also bear in mind that you'll need everyone to be speaking / making sound into something that feeds into your mixer for that audio to be heard - you probably want some combination of sound output from your mixer and the camcorders mic to be on the safe side.

[gh5000]

We just use Google meet and the year group classroom code. Our assemblies are typically presentation and talking though

[Guest Guest]

Looks like a good option, however, we're a special school and a camera left on a tripod (even just for assembly and events) isn't likely to last very long, we'd prefer more of a permanent installation

[Steve21]

We just use a decent webcam on tripod, that's put up for assembly, and taken down afterwards.

 

Yes it's a pain, but it's cheap and works!

 

Steve

[dhicks]

we'd prefer more of a permanent installation

 

As in something you can ceiling mount? We use Ubiquiti cameras for CCTV, which have okay mics built-in - not sure if that would be suitible. As suggested, you could use a simple webcam - we've got on okay with these, which can be mounted to a standard tripod thread:

 

http://www.edugeek.net/forums/hardware/217689-webcams-remote-teaching.html#post1864026

 

If you're using the above with a PC of some sort to do the actual streaming you could add a USB audio interface to take input directly from your audio mixer. I've found the Behringer UM2 to be nice and simple:

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Behringer-U-PHORIA-UM2-Computer-Interface/dp/B00EK1OTZC/ref=sr_1_1

 

It can provide 48v phantom power for a condenser mic, with a physical on/off switch, so no-one has to press anything on the device itself to get it working, you just need to turn the power on - ideal if you're mounting this somewhere inaccesible.

[Guest Guest]

We're also hoping to use this at Christmas etc if we can't allow parents in for obvious reasons. So ideally we'd like something better than the webcams. What's the video quality of the Ubiquiti's like? We don't care about audio as we have a decent set of cordless mics. We just a reasonable FPS and resolution

 

I'm thinking of combining the audio from our Mics via an audio interface with the feed from a decentish cctv camera via OBS

[elsiegee40]

I’m surprised nobody has raised the spectre of Permission. GDPR!!!

 

You WILL need specific permission of every participant (adult and child) before they can be filmed and broadcast in this way.

 

 

@GrumbleDook will tell you that, for example, parents of adopted children may not give consent for this. And staff may not wish to be filmed either.

Edited October 22, 2020 by elsiegee40

[witch]

I’m surprised nobody has raised the spectre of Permission. GDPR!!!

 

You WILL need specific permission of every participant (adult and child) before they can be filmed and broadcast in this way.

 

 

@GrumbleDook will tell you that, for example, parents of adopted children may not give consent for this. And staff may not wish to be filmed either.

 

The OP was only talking about streaming the assembly to other classrooms though?

 

I agree if the assembly is to be shown outside school then GDPR does come into play

[SamanthaD]

Hardware

My approach is the experience for the remote viewer should be as good, or better, than being there in person. Not a compromise.

 

 

If you can use a fixed camcorder which is wall mounted and the shot framed then this removes a lot of headaches you would get with PTZ cameras such as resetting everything after a power outage.

 

 

If you can feed the camera the audio from the desk as opposed to bringing them into the PC as separate units then the audio delay will be sorted - A/D latency will be the same for both audio and video. If you're brining audio and video in independently then you will need to delay the audio so lip sync is correct (you may be able to do this from the audio desk if it's digital - simply send a matrix feed and delay accordingly).

 

You may need to do a different mix for the feed - the mics will probably sound a little different online than in the room.

 

 

Consider a second camera, a wide shot of your "stage" will be good for general use but a lectern close up will help keep attention and interest.

 

 

Will they be showing PPT's in the hall? Is the contrast of your camera good enough to account for capturing a bright projected image well enough and still see the presenter, or do you want to grab the PPT's from the PC and bring it into OBS as another source? Maybe picture in picture so that the presenter can still engage the remote audience as well as those in the hall?

 

 

For capture units have a look at the Elgato range. Good enough for gaming streamers who seem to be the leaders in this field, and relatively cheap.

 

 

Software

 

 

OBS is great but make sure your machine is up to the task. Maybe a hardware mixer might be a better option?

 

 

Which streaming service are you planning on using? As soon as you touch anything external I'd be thinking of GDPR immediately - even if it's a private, not advertised, only veiw with the link YouTube style video. Still being hosted offsite so I would definitely err on the side of caution.

 

Sorry this is more food for thought than recommendations!

Edited October 22, 2020 by SamDavis

[localzuk]

I’m surprised nobody has raised the spectre of Permission. GDPR!!!

 

You WILL need specific permission of every participant (adult and child) before they can be filmed and broadcast in this way.

 

This wouldn't be true for an internally streamed assembly during the pandemic. It would be part of their normal day to day operations, so you would not need permissions to broadcast to within the school. If you were broadcasting externally, then you may need to look at this question though.

 

I am in the process of building a system for one school for their house assemblies. A little more complicated than most due to how they want to do them, but this is how we're doing it:

 

Cameras - Kindle Fire HD tablets on tripods running IVCam.

Microphones - existing wireless mics, adapted down and input into the broadcast PC as the sound source

Powerpoint/video etc - a second PC to run this, and fed into the broadcast PC via a USB HDMI adapter

 

Then OBS Studio tying it all together. Broadcast will be to an unlisted Youtube page or to VLC via an internal link (depending on the event). For us, we won't be recording these assemblies. They'll be live streamed only. So no long term storage to worry about.

Edited October 22, 2020 by localzuk

[GrumbleDook]

The OP was only talking about streaming the assembly to other classrooms though?

 

I agree if the assembly is to be shown outside school then GDPR does come into play

 

Yes and no.

 

Where a recording is done as part of a broadcast, rather than CCTV, it has a different purpose. It will need a DPIA.

That will include an understanding of what the expectation of staff and students would be, being clear about what is being processed and so on ...

This is essential to ensure that people don't change their minds about what it is going to be used for without thinking of the impact.

A common area where people change their minds about what is done will be recording. The idea that you can record a particularly good assembly to reshare is very popular.

Then you have what will happen during lockdown or self-isolating learners? At that point we are looking at broadcast over the internet and that needs to be secured, both for transport and access.

 

You also have to remember that although Consent may not be the lawful basis, you still have to be transparent and give the opportunity for parents to object. They may have very valid reasons (children who are vulnerable off-line have a tendency to be vulnerable and risk taking online, and normalisation of being on video could be a problem).

[dhicks]

So ideally we'd like something better than the webcams. What's the video quality of the Ubiquiti's like?

 

The quality, especially for a CCTV camera, is quite good, although probably not any better than a webcam (probably the same sensor and similar lense in both). If anything, CCTV cameras will be adjusted to give clarity of image when lit by low light / infrared lighting and might look a bit on the blue / washed out side. I'd have thought you'd get better results with any camera directly attached to the same PC as your audio interface and streamed from there. If you have a DSLR or camcorder anywhere you can connect via an HDMI / USB adaptor you'll get a nicer result - larger sensor, probably a zoom lens that you can use to frame the scene better. I think in another thread someone mentioned trying a GoPro, which might be an idea - I've been wanting to try their new 360-degree camera for a while, it would be nice to be able to stream an assembly as a 360 degree video.

 

As pointed out already, streaming to parents at home brings up various complications, hence why we're planning to do nativities and so forth this year as pre-filmed pieces we can edit together and better control which children appear. For that sort of thing, a DSLR in video mode is probably best.

[localzuk]

Oh, and also, the issue with using CCTV cameras is frame rate - most of the cameras I looked at were capped at 15fps. Something to keep an eye out for.

[psydii]

While a well implemented and manged dedicated hardware and software setup should produce *great* resuts, we've had supprisingly good results with modern laptops and Teams (substitute Zoom or Google Meet if prefered). They have 1080p Web cameras and an array of mics that do a reasonable job of picking up the voice of presenters up to 20' from the device.

 

Any use of decoupled audio and video hardware feeds, through a programme like OBS, requires careful management to keep everytihgn in sync, and introduces additional delay between presentation and what is seen by attendees.

 

We discovered the laptops were good enough by trying it out. YMMV.

[mthomas08]

Maybe I'm talking simple Simon here but, what about a simple Virtual Meeting like Teams?

The question popped up for us about something similar - with a public speaker to our main hall and restaurant (two large spaces) for staff.

 

I simply said, stick a webcam with a mic in the hall and that should work with Teams to our restaurant. Nice and simple.

 

In fact we could setup that system right now, create the meeting and send out the link. That can run non stop to make sure everyone knows what they are doing. And if you schedule it through Outlook, I believe the link won't change so it will just work.

[dhicks]

I simply said, stick a webcam with a mic in the hall and that should work with Teams to our restaurant.

 

I get the impression the original poster is wanting something they can ceiling-mount out of the way of interfering fingers. My guess is that, as you suggest, a decent webcam mounted in a suitible location connected somehow to a wall-mounted PC (NUC or similar) would do nicely - have the PC load up your streaming application of choice on boot so all staff need to do is turn the PC on and log in (via a wireless keyboard kept locked away in a drawer?), or as you suggest even have it auto-boot straight into a known streaming session ("Main Hall Assembly", or whatever). That would probably mosetly sound okay, too, although the original poster was hoping to get the output from their mixer as an input too.

[Chockster]

Any idea on budget? We use vmix to do this sort of thing, currently with an usb hdmi capture dongle attached to a c£300 Canon camcorder, but if you could afford to throw one of these you'd be much better off.

 

We've held off on buying the extra hardware so far because we're not doing assemblies in any form at the moment.

 

Have a look for things that can use NDI to stream and you can pipe video around your lan with ease.