Webcasting Video Capture Cards that Work

Using the Church Webcasting System, YouTube, etc. Including cameras and mixers.
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Aczlan
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#41

Post by Aczlan »

Add the Hauppauge 1128 WinTV-HVR-1850 Internal Hybrid TV Tuner/Video Recorder to the list of cards that work out of the box.
We had a ~2 hour meeting yesterday and ran that with the S-Video input on the "Low 4x3" setting with Meetinghouse Webcast 3.0.1.101. No problems (that I am aware of) with audio sync.
I would have used a higher quality, but some of the receiving units were on Time Warner cable (one had a 10x1 connection as tested when having issues) and for some reason, couldn't watch the Medium 4x3 stream without constant buffering.
I had the HVR-1850 and a Diamond VC-600 connected (one to each camera) with the same audio source and used the "switch source" feature to go from one to the other.

Aaron Z
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Mikerowaved
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#42

Post by Mikerowaved »

I will add 2 thumbs up for the Blackmagic Design Intensity Pro PCIe card. With HDMI, Component, S-Video, and Composite video inputs AND outputs, and audio over HDMI or RCA jacks, it's flexibility is amazing. It maxes out at 1080p/24, but for what we do, 1080i/60 or 720p/60 should be more than enough.

A couple of negatives... It seems you can't just install the drivers, but instead you have to install their 90MB "installation package", that includes the drivers along with some apps and utilities. Another thing it did was install a Blackmagic Design shortcut in the system Control Panel. Only there can you reconfigure the A/V inputs and outputs from HDMI to the various RCA jacks. In other words, it does not auto-sense where the source is connected to. (Took a call to their tech support to figure that out.) Oh, and their tech support was fast, friendly, and very knowledgeable.
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michaelfish
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#43

Post by michaelfish »

I have been hesitant to purchase the Blackmagic Intensity Intensity Pro PCIe because their website states only a handful of PCs and motherboards (link) are recommended.

How can I find out if the card will work in a PC without installing one?
sammythesm
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#44

Post by sammythesm »

I think you can understand that to mean that those are they systems they have tested and qualified, especially for encoding HD video using their bundled software. I think, hardware-wise, you have a good chance of success as long as you have a true PCI-e slot and a computer less than 3 years old.
quintonrhq
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Notes relating to Intensity Pro audio setup with Webcast version 3.0

#45

Post by quintonrhq »

The Intensity Pro (IP) installation has no mixer software options. It must be fed and managed externally. This is a virtue to me.
The ouput impedence is 600 ohms and with a load of 3.1K the input and output levels are the same. WYSIWYG.
When the IP and version 3.0 are used together, the following maximum input voltage and Output Audio Gain Level combinations are at saturation:
0 - Off
1 - 2.640 V (peak to peak)
2 - 1.410
3 - 0.950
4 - 0.720
5 - 0.580
6 - 0.480
7 - 0.411
8 - 0.370
9 - 0.330
10 - 0.290
This was done with a 1Khz sine wave. The Output Audio Gain Level is basically a 20 dB gain control.

The strategy is to measure the absolute peak that will be expierenced during a broadcast and pick an Output Audio Gain level that is close to it.
Then using an external mixer, adjust the mixer gain to match the saturation point.
Finally adjust the limiter to squash any excursions over the saturation point.
This should give the greatest dynamic range and avoid overload.

Version 3.0 has a little graphic VU bar on the right side of the video image. Here is a rough calibration. Using the full green bar at the top as 0 db:
75% - 2 dB
50% - 5.6dB
33% - 9 dB
25% - 12 dB
17% - 15dB


Version 3.0 transports a stereo signal. The graphic bar shows the strongest channel.
If the speaker and music were constant the grapic bar could just be set to the top but the difference between the peak and average is about 9 dB.
That means that the graphic bar will normally hover around 1/3 to 1/2 of full scale.
Be careful when working in dB's to make sure that the proper reference values are used.
This test data was gathered with a Behringer DEQ2496, signal generator and oscilloscope.
sphester
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#46

Post by sphester »

Question am I allowed to install the video capture card into the MLS PC to use this for the webcats.

Otherwise the stake are going to need to buy a dedicated machine just for webcasts.
sammythesm
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#47

Post by sammythesm »

If you are the Stake Technology Specialist, then yes you are allowed to add hardware to the Clerk computer.

Just make sure you remember to remove it before the computer is replaced/upgraded by your facilities group.
jdlessley
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#48

Post by jdlessley »

sphester wrote:Question am I allowed to install the video capture card into the MLS PC to use this for the webcats.
sammythesm wrote:If you are the Stake Technology Specialist, then yes you are allowed to add hardware to the Clerk computer.
The STS would normally be the individual to actually perform the task. Any configuration changes to the administrative computers must be approved by the stake president. Of course the STS would council with him to provide the necessary information for him to make an informed decision.
JD Lessley
Have you tried finding your answer on the ChurchofJesusChrist.org Help Center or Tech Wiki?
sphester
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#49

Post by sphester »

I've assumed here it is going to be better to use the MLS admin machine than a laptop with a usb video capture card. Also would a 5 year old windows xp do the job with 2 gig of ram. Its due for replacement this year i hope.

What are people views on this?
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Mikerowaved
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#50

Post by Mikerowaved »

sphester wrote:I've assumed here it is going to be better to use the MLS admin machine than a laptop with a usb video capture card. Also would a 5 year old windows xp do the job with 2 gig of ram. Its due for replacement this year i hope.

What are people views on this?
The load on the PC really depends on the video quality selected (which is usually determined by the available bandwidth). At the Medium quality setting, an older PC might do fine, but each step up in quality puts a higher demand on the system. For example, just for fun I tried uploading a test stream at the highest possible HD setting and my Intel i5 quad-core system was barely up for the task.

[For those reading this thread, we are discussing the CPU load on the PC doing the uploading. Downloading is not as intensive and can be done by most modern PC's.]
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