Broadcasting

Configuration and scripts for the live video broadcast rig.

Video Tour from September 2017:

• Tour of the filming setup starts at 17:35
• I open up the rack for a tour at 57:57

Not sure if anyone else will find this stuff useful, it's here mostly as a backup / archive for my own use. The repository is organized by physical machine:

• colorburst is the main broadcast and sound machine

  • Local storage for recording only, shared with smb
  • Quad Intel i7, NVidia, Windows 10
  • Main Video
    • Black Magic Decklink 4x SDI card (Microscope, DSLR viewfinder, Cat camera, Oscilloscope)
    • Magewell USB 3.0 HDMI capture dongle (to 4x1 switcher for demos)
    • AVermedia USB analog video capture dongle (analog wireless rx)
    • Logitech C920 webcam (desk cam)
    • Runs obs-studio and airserver
    • Encodes 12000kbit h.264 in hardware, streams to spacer
  • Tuco Flyer Video
    • Black Magic Mini Recorder PCI card, 1x SDI input
    • Additional copy of obs-studio
    • Encoding 1080p30 at 2500kBps in software with x264
  • Local Audio
    • On-board sound playback (general shop utility, playing music)
    • Line-In is the broadcast audio, via OBS.
    • This could all be replaced by software, but I had problems with both VB-Cable and Virtual Audio Cable
  • Multi-channel Audio
    • Ableton Live for mixing, filtering, and recording
    • ASIO drivers, small buffer size for low latency
    • Generates a rough audio mix in real-time for the stream and video recorders
    • Unprocessed multi-channel recordings for later edits
    • All connections to other computer inputs/outputs made via audio transformers, to avoid hearing ground loop currents caused by digital communications between the same computers.
    • Shotgun microphone: Rode NTG-1
    • Portable headset microphone: Shure WH20XLR
    • 4-channel headphone amp for distributing the rough mix to video recorders
    • 4-channel passive mixer for combining the various shop computers (except for fishbowl) into a single Aux input for recording

• spacer is a Linux transcode server

  • Dual Intel, NVidia, Ubuntu
  • Nginx rtmp server relays video from colorburst to YouTube and Twitch
  • Runs real-time transcode for Twitch
  • Off-line transcodes for time lapses
  • Also a good place to run the status display.

• fishbowl is the demo machine

  • It's a Mac Mini. No special software needed for broadcast there.
  • 4x HDMI switch for sharing this input with other demo objects is fishplex.
  • This HDMI input is split to a monitor, HD60 recorder on cylindroid, and a USB3.0 HDMI grabber on colorburst.

• cylindroid is the editing and file management workstation

  • Mac Pro, local thunderbolt RAID for editing and recording
  • Final Cut Pro X (blah)
  • Direct recording for oscilloscope (BlackMagic+OBS) and fishplex (HD60).

• brassica is the CAD workstation

  • Rhino license is stuck on this box
  • Nice GPU here
  • Direct recording for the microscope (HD60+OBS).

• Other Hardware

  • LED panel lights: Fovitec dual temperature
  • Light C stands (for mounting of various stuff)
  • SLR mounted on a variable friction arm