r/videoproduction • u/hgriffin83 • 1d ago

Multi camera feed production where users can choose which camera feed to watch

I've tried searching for this and all the search engines keep turning up multi-cam/video switcher results.

I'd like to create a multi camera feed where users can choose which camera to watch for high school tennis this spring. Ideally, I'd have a webpage that listed the match times and the court the matches will be on with links the that courts camera's live feed. I've seen this done for the World Horseshoe tournament where people could choose which game to watch. I know this is technically possible, but I don't know what exactly to search for to learn how to do this. I imagine this can be done with webcams on a network, but I'm not sure how to even go about doing this. I was hoping to be able to use something like Mevo cameras or maybe lower cost PTZs that could be semi-permanently mounted for the full tennis season. Any ideas on where to start or website/tutorials I can look at to learn how to make this a reality?

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u/Drewbacca 1d ago

Do the cameras stream directly via RTMP?

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u/hgriffin83 20h ago

The cameras I have are standard camcorders - they are not internet capable. But I’m looking for any solution regardless of what would be needed.

I figure if I can understand how to approach the problem, I can likely find a solution that fits within our budget/constraints. My issue is that I don’t know where to begin.

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u/Drewbacca 18h ago

You'll need a device that can send each camcorder signal via RTMP to a streaming service like YouTube, such as an ATEM Mini (there are probably better devices, but I don't know a lot about single-source RTMP devices.) Then you can create unique stream keys to allow multiple streams on one YouTube channel (this is important), and plug the stream keys into the RTMP devices. The streams will show up on your YouTube channel once you go live, and/or you can create a link to each one to share on a website.

Another option would be to use a birddog device to send each feed via NDI to a computer with VMix installed, and configure/monitor/control the feed from there.

For either of these solutions you'll need an Ethernet connection at each camera. WiFi won't cut it.

YouTube isn't your only option, but it'll probably be the simplest. Just know that with YouTube if there is any copyrighted music played during the event, your stream may get taken down automatically.

I used to be a high school broadcast teacher and set up a similar thing at our high school, and have since moved into broadcast and streaming work, with a focus on A/V networking. Feel free to reach out if you'd like to chat about consultation on this project!

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u/hgriffin83 16h ago

Didn’t think about the multi key option on youtube. Might look into that. I’ll also check out the birddog device option- haven’t heard of that before. I think the birddog/VMix option would be the better solution from a management perspective and ease of control from my end. Thanks!