Suggestion: Wan Show Setup

[TechFanboy]

Hello Guys.

 

Earlier Linus Posted the New Wan show Setup and It Looks like we will never have trouble watching Again.  Well.. Hopefully xD. Anyways I'm here to give a suggestion to Linus Media Group, especially the Wan Show.  Don't get me wrong the setup is Great and if it's suite them along the way then you can just appreciate my Suggestion LoL.

 

So First I will explain what will i add that will benefit the current setup, then next i will explain what needs to be removed.

Okay So the first Item that i will suggest is a Production Switcher. Now "What is a Production Switcher?" You Might Ask.

 

 

According to Wiki: 
 

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Production Switcher: is a device used to select between several different video sources and in some cases compositing (mix) video sources together to create special effects. This is similar to what a mixing console does for audio.

So basically in a nutshell.. it is a kind of device that is used to switch between different sources, (in our case it's Video). Same functionality goes for Audio thus it's called (Audio Mixer).

Now there are 2 types of Production Switcher:

1. Software Based Production Switcher - this is one of the most popular choice for Gamers and Streamers as it is cheap,effective and easy to use. All you need is a source (camera), a device that will accept the source i.e Capture Cards, Usb Capture Device,Elgato,Avermedia...etc. and a software that will enable you to switch between the sources. (OBS,Wirecasts,Xsplit and so on.) of course since it's software then you need something where you can operate it, in our case it's a PC or a Laptop. Now the Wan Show Setup is based on a software that Linus use To switch between sources, (xSplit) he then used their capture device which is the Amazing Epiphan, it can be found here: http://geni.us/XI8jN5 and here https://www.epiphan.com/avio/wan/  to accepts inputs and then send the information to the wan show PC. This type of switchers requires a lot of processing power thus most Streamers used an i7 and above configuration to encode the stream and send it to the internet.
   
   
    
2.  Hardware Based Production Switcher- this is the kind of Product that most Media & TV networks use in their setup, as it provides Professional grade hardware that the consumers don't have such as mix effects, professional SDI Inputs & outputs and so on. Oh, I forgot to say that these products are no joke and costs a lot of $$$$... Popular Brands in these Category are Black Magic Design, Data Video, Grass Valley,Roland, For A., Sony, Panasonic and so on.

          Recently BMD (BlackMagicDesign) Recently released a new and Improve switcher, if you're following the AV industry You know that BMD has a lot of products, one of those is the infamous Atem brand. Atem is the name of their
          Production Switchers. These switchers are the Atem Television Studio, Atem Production Studio 4K, Atem 1 ME 4K Production Studio, Atem 2 ME 4K Production Studio and the new and improve ATEM TVS HD.

 

Furthermore: 
These Products do the same job, but one does the job better and with a lot of features.

 

The setup that i am suggesting is the ATEM TVS HD. that retails for around $945 (which is not cheap but affordable.. Well it's LMG.. they can afford lots of this.) Basically this will replace the Wan Show PC and most of the Hardware in it. All you need is this switcher, the cameras, laptops or computer for the Screen Cast, the Audio Gear and the streaming hardware.. Which i will talk about later.

Now in this section i will explain what needs to be removed if you pursue this option, because the Atem has most of the features you will ever need.
 

1. The capture cards can now be removed because the Atem has 8 Inputs, 4 are HDMI's 1.3? (Not Sure) and 4 are SDI's. You can use All of them Simultaneously.
2. The Scarlet Studio Audio Inferace Can Also be removed, as you can just use the output from your Soundcraft mixer to the Audio Input of the Atem. (take note: you just need to remove the 6 channel audio interface, i'm not sure why do you have the 18i20, for expansion maybe?. What i understand from the Audio Setup of the Wan Show is the Mic's are inputted in the Soundcraft Mixer, then the output of the mixer will go to the compressor then its output will be inputted in the 18i20.. Or the other way around. (I'm just guessing by the looks of it). Anyways that whole deal yo is complex. Simple solution is Soundcraft Mixer to the Compressor & Limiter then to the Atem. I'm sure that compressor is 2 channel and so is the atem. 

 

That's it.. We are almost Done. 

 

Almost.

 

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Okay, Now you've understand most of it and you're thinking how can i monitor the stream?, where will the output of the Atem goes to?.

Well. You need a streaming hardware- it is a device that will encode the stream to the internet... in Linus case it's their PC. 
Here i present to you the following.

 

They can asked their contacts at Epiphan to try this out LoL   1. Epiphan broadcaster

2. AJA H264 Streamer

3.Blackmagic Web Presenter - I would not recommend this if you need to stream 1080p videos at it will stream at only 720p. (I'm not sure if they will upgrade it to stream 1080p in the future.) 

By the way these are stand alone Hardware that needs configuring via it's WEB UI. 

 

Or Other Alternative is Linus and Jake can build a streaming Server Lels... Which is Fun To Watch.. Also Remember luke trying the Float Pane? Club? (I dunno what it's called) Well they can used this to stream specifically to that =)) 

 

Now you're thinking, Dang! This Costs A Lot. Well yes it is... really  

 

Anyways... I'm not a Professional AV Head, I'm just a AV Gear Geek and would love to try these stuff in the future if i can,My Dream would become a TD (Technical Director), BMD does not support me in any way, this is just the most affordable production switcher brand that i can suggest especially if you are in a budget. On the other hand, I do have a switcher here in my possession but it's only in SD ( Standard Definition) Which is a bit nostalgic hahahah. =D .

 

Alright that concludes my suggestion guys. Feel Free To Comment What you think. I'm just a concern LMG Fan out here and i would never dictate what is good or bad, If the Current Setup Works for them in the long run then Great.

 

Thanks for checking this out.

                                        

[ImperialSteele]

Thumbs up for formatting, some good ideas as well.

[BlueChinchillaEatingDorito]

14 minutes ago, ImperialSteele said:

Thumbs up for formatting, some good ideas as well.

I know, it really looks like he spent a lot of time on it hahahaa

[Guest]

Well that was a lot of scrolling.. How long did that take you to write?...

[TechFanboy]

 

I'm Wishing The LMG Will see this =D  

[TechFanboy]

5 hours ago, ImperialSteele said:

Thumbs up for formatting, some good ideas as well.

 

5 hours ago, BlueChinchillaEatingDorito said:

I know, it really looks like he spent a lot of time on it hahahaa

 

2 hours ago, awakesquare said:

Well that was a lot of scrolling.. How long did that take you to write?...

Hahaha Oh Thanks Guys, I spent 1 hour and 3 mins to compose and format it. I can improve my writing skills next time  

[LogicalDrm]

I'm still for hiring actual producer who knows to operate things.

[TechFanboy]

On 2/20/2017 at 1:05 PM, LoGiCalDrm said:

I'm still for hiring actual producer who knows to operate things.

Cool.. For What Reason Mate?..  

[LogicalDrm]

On 25.2.2017 at 5:38 AM, TechFanboy said:

Cool.. For What Reason Mate?..  

Monitoring sound levels and overall, doing screenshares on cue, checking that everything is working before show starts so that hosts can just sit down and start. The last WAN show is clear example where they were 3-4 mins offline and nobody told them.

[TechFanboy]

4 hours ago, LoGiCalDrm said:

Monitoring sound levels and overall, doing screenshares on cue, checking that everything is working before show starts so that hosts can just sit down and start. The last WAN show is clear example where they were 3-4 mins offline and nobody told them.

Oh Nice.. But I'm afraid i can't help you with that since i'm not physically near your area.. i think you can train someone who is interested with this stuff.  

[LogicalDrm]

1 hour ago, TechFanboy said:

Oh Nice.. But I'm afraid i can't help you with that since i'm not physically near your area.. i think you can train someone who is interested with this stuff.  

I'm not part of LMG. Not by far. I've watched my share of different live-streamed shows, and VODs of such, to know how its done right. If LMG would hire producer, they should look for someone who could do audio reviews also. Like now it's Linus with sheet of paper switching knobs.

 

I'm just bit closer to Vancouver than you. And have even less experience of even setting such things.

[TechFanboy]

11 hours ago, LoGiCalDrm said:

I'm not part of LMG. Not by far. I've watched my share of different live-streamed shows, and VODs of such, to know how its done right. If LMG would hire producer, they should look for someone who could do audio reviews also. Like now it's Linus with sheet of paper switching knobs.

 

I'm just bit closer to Vancouver than you. And have even less experience of even setting such things.

Yap.. Since the only thing they don't have is the Audio Reviews..I'm Sure He will Hire Someone who has a degree in Audio Engineering or something. Well Honestly this is not my Job. I'm just interested in doing it.. Or Dreaming of Having A Production Company.. =) 

[SilentXer0]

On 2/20/2017 at 5:05 AM, LoGiCalDrm said:

I'm still for hiring actual producer who knows to operate things.

yes,having someone to monitor the stream ,adjust audio levels and switch video streams would raise the production quality of the stream.

 

I don't feel like a full fledged engineer would be needed, just someone familiar with the hardware/software they have in use.

[LinusTech]

It's unlikely that we'll change much in the near future for a show that runs only once per week, but having someone have an eye on the stream is probably worth looking into  

[LogicalDrm]

2 hours ago, LinusTech said:

It's unlikely that we'll change much in the near future for a show that runs only once per week, but having someone have an eye on the stream is probably worth looking into  

Or if someone is checking it, tell them to say immediately when something happens. And not after its been 5mins. I know YT doesn't see these mistakes, which is why I watch it from Twitch archives.

[TechFanboy]

4 hours ago, LinusTech said:

It's unlikely that we'll change much in the near future for a show that runs only once per week, but having someone have an eye on the stream is probably worth looking into  

Agreed

[Pingu96]

On 27/02/2017 at 5:54 AM, LinusTech said:

It's unlikely that we'll change much in the near future for a show that runs only once per week, but having someone have an eye on the stream is probably worth looking into  

So you said this in February, but on the WAN show a couple of weeks ago you said about having issues with xsplit and that you needed to look into alternatives.

Honestly, I don't think that xsplit is the issue, I think it's driver and update support for all of the input devices you're mashing together to get the WAN show to work. Windows constantly breaks stuff accidentally and it's just not reliable for broadcasting.

Moving to a hardware solution like the BM Television Studio HD like @TechFanboy suggested is the most 'professional' way to do things as it's been created for an industry that does this regularly and can't have it fail on them.

I do think that this will save you lots of time in the future. especially if you want to do more live streams like you did for the Apple Keynote. Maybe it's worth looking at while you are talking about investing time in learning OBS?