C300: Designing a Live Streaming TV Studio

J

jcs

Veteran
We're designing a compact TV studio for a corporate office space. We'll be streaming live content over RTMP (HD); tech startup. While the office is large, the studio is small- perhaps 14x12'. We're thinking green screen hung from ceiling (retractable). The desk will be height-adjustable, so the broadcaster can sit or stand. The fun parts are lighting and acoustics (3 walls are glass). It also needs to look really, really nice, and clean. Office space is custom, all white, very clean, minimalist. I have a green screen studio in my home, use the C300 II etc. I'm familiar with the basics. I'm thinking perhaps a C100 II will be sufficient for this client, since the core product is SD on mobile devices. Thinking iPad-based teleprompter (when used), DMX controlled lighting would be nice (ceiling spots etc). Perhaps movable/stylish custom acoustic panels. This is my first time helping design a public-facing high-end minimalist/efficient-cost TV studio- open to suggestions! (we have a designer able to create 3D mockups)
 
I assume you've seen similar studios, something that is used by Artie Lange or Joe Rogan?

(I checked out the NewsMax's setup last night too. The Steve Pags Show is basically him looking into the camera, with a mic on the side. It looks like it's done in a basement)
 
I would suggest finding someone you can talk to who has some experience designing sets. And I'd be careful about a white background. We had some people design a set for us, and they chose beige wallpaper! I didn't really put two and two together until I saw it completed. The walls are the same color and brightness as caucasian skin. It's a beige on beige on beige crime.
 
Whatever camera you use, make sure you can get a true progressive signal out of the camera's HDMI or SDI at the frame rate you desire, to go to your live streaming hardware. For example, the 5D3 is much better for live streaming than the C100, because (at 24p only) you can get a progressive signal out of the HDMI port. The C100 never outputs progressive over HDMI. Interlaced video live to the Internet looks like ****. One of my big disappointments, (along with the way progressive is recorded) in the C100.
 
Also make sure you have sufficient Internet upload speed. You want to live stream at the highest quality you can and the content provider will make lower quality streams for those bandwidth challenged and mobile viewers. For 1080p 60 on youtube that is 9 megabits per second. Figure in overhead and safety margin, triple that, so 27 megabits per second.
 
Thanks for the feedback!

This is for a high-end client, can't look like a basement :)

We'll be using a backdrop- green screen or white/grey/black, etc.

I used NewTek products years ago on the Amiga, and remembered that they still make interesting hardware for live production: http://newtek.com/tricaster . The Tricaster series and virtual 3D sets look compelling. Any feedback?

Thanks for the tips on the C100 II and progressive HDMI output. Might up the spec to the C300 II for SDI output. Goal is great skintones and excellent AF.

I found these guys nearby: http://www.keycodemedia.com/ . Any experience with them?
 
jcs said:
Thanks for the feedback!

This is for a high-end client, can't look like a basement :)

We'll be using a backdrop- green screen or white/grey/black, etc...
Click to expand...

Not all basements are created equal. Some are more equal than others.

In any case, there's a Russian online TV channel called "onlineTV" (don't you dare copy that name). From what I have seen, their studio has enough room for two chairs, with an occasional coffee size table in between them. With the small size sensor camera, they are rarely capable of getting any shot below the knees. They also appear to have a flat screen TV in the background in the space between the host and the guest. That way, when the host says something like, "Let's look at the summary of our guest's career", they can zoom onto that TV (with the viewer then getting a direct feed).

PS. A few years ago, they had a guest with a striped shirt and the moire was making him look like a complete clown. One of their more popular hosts happens to be bald and the top of his head often serves as a bounce from the overhead lights. On the plus side, that host has two-three solid color shirts that he has worn for the last several years.
 
I believe you can get an actual 24p stream out of the C100's HDMI port. Both the Ninja Blade and the Atomos HDMI-to-SDI converter seem to do it well. Of course it would be easier with a built-in SDI port, like on the C300. A few less pieces in the chain to go wrong.
 
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