How bad would it be distorted for an overhead playfield cam do you think?
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I have been successfully streaming for some time, but I have a side question that someone may be able to answer. Iām building out multiple USB streaming rigs for a project at work, and I would like to pick up some el-cheapo laptops to run each 3 cam cluster. Who here has a cheap laptop powering their setup, and what are you using? I use a beefy alienware laptop for my streams, but that doesnāt apply here. Hoping to find a laptop that can do the job for $300 - $500. Any thoughts?
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Give me a day or two and Iāll take a few shots with one to show you.
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Thanks.
Extra nonsense to reach minimum characters:)
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This ran me 600$ on special from Amazon and seems like itās been powerful enough for us so far.
ASUS F554LA 15.6 Inch Laptop (Intel Core i7, 8 GB, 1TB HDD, Black) - Free Upgrade to Windows 10 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00YR6BN7W/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_JDgCwbY8DAQ5Y
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A few weeks back I bought a Sony Handycam CX-405. It has HDMI-out and allows for USB charging at the same time. 1080p at 60fpsādoesnāt need to be recording to output to your monitor. Looks nice for the price, about $120.
*Edit:
Hereās an example video I recorded last week. It went through my capture card, that was converted to MP4, then I exported it out as a different format in my video editing software. Point is, the picture fed out to your monitor straight from the cam will look better. Low light compensation is good with this cam as well.
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Video of how the setup works easily to switch from game to game. Guide wire added to the back with a pulley to keep cables behind the games for easy sliding.
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Iāve been told that the problem with Gopros is that their live feed is not in HD. They record in HD but the signal they send out live is not HD. So if you are then going into a software video mixer you are only working with SD feeds.
I havenāt looked at it myself though so its hearsay at the moment.
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Iām not sure about that. Canāt imagine they would output at a different resolution to what they capture, as it would seem extra processing grind to do that. The GoPro site explains it like this: https://gopro.com/support/articles/hero4-hdmi-output-information
The GoPro has three settings to adjust between very wide angle, through to a more normal capture angle. (Not sure about the Chinese cams). The only thing I should mention as a downside is that the GoPro 3+ I bought as a test has fairly poor low light output - quite grainy.
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Logitech C615ās on sale for 33$ today at Amazon
Logitech HD Webcam C615 with Fold-and-Go Design and 360-Degree Swivel https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004YW7WCY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_7KRCwbX12DQR6
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Not sure we have enough screens yet 
Desktop running small monitor of general surfing and score keeping. Laptop running X split dedicated for broadcasting. Tv above computers extended monitor for desktop which is also mirrored around corner to projector to show livestream or tournament standings.
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What is everyoneās thoughts on DMD sizes? I notice some have it large, some have it small. Some (like the example in the snapshot above) donāt crop it at all and leave it tiny.
I ran a stream test last night with some new hardware (new laptop, primarily) and I currently have the DMD cropped and large. Iām not satisfied with the look thoughāitās muddy looking because the cropped image is blown up. The end result is something that feels cheap. I donāt want to make it small though because then I figure it will be hard to make out on mobile devices. Iām curious to know what other opinions are.
On a side note, my DMD is at 720p, then cropped, then blown up. I tried doing 1080p (Logitech C920, which I know is capable of it), but the picture came up blackāit would only show up at 720p or lower, and 30fps. Iām guessing it wouldnāt look as bad if I could do 1080p, then crop the DMD from that higher quality picture.
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That shot of ours is small like that because the same camera on the rig is also used for classic ballys and the like and the whole backglass needs to be displayd.
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Ah, that makes sense.
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I am not sure where the balance is on the DMD. I think having it on the smaller side is probably better for the reasons you stated. I tend to have mine on the larger side as well and the player cam on the smaller side. My reasoning being that people would probably rather see the DMD info larger on the screen than my fat ass 
Now if you are a rather dapper looking gentleman like Jack, then of course you need the player cam to be bigger
On the bandwidth note, I have a feeling that my USB hub is the source of my bandwidth issues. I can get all three cams to work but only if I have 2 cams plugged into the hub and one plugged directly into the computer on a different port. Kind of annoying as it seemed to work fine before my switch to Windows 10, so I wonder if it is some sort of driver issue with the hub.
Also, I really wish there were a MacOS version of Xsplitā¦
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Had one of my Xmas presents show up today 
Nice little LED light for the playfield. I get much better framerates with the c920 in good light and this thing works great. The diffuser really softens the light as well and gives it a good color temp. Runs on 6 AA batteries but will also accept a 12v power adapter.
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So got my cameras tonight, and tried to have a bit of a makeshift setup to get some streaming in on twitch, even had a few viewers who were nice enough to help me out a bit. I was running OBS through a 2015 macbook pro, they said picture was great but that I had some audio delayā¦
any tips or advice? Thank you.
-Tommy Skinner
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What kind of audio delay? Perhaps the sound from the machine isnāt matching up with what is happening?
Chances are you need to hit the sound settings icon in OBS and set a sound delay for your main microphone. I have to do that on my setup. Start with 1000 milliseconds and work your way down. Actually, 500ms might be a good starting point.
Are you using a USB mic?
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@akm yes Iām using usb. Snowball. After watching it a bit today itās the video lagging behind audio so I see now that the delay should match. Thanks for tip.
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I streamed yesterday for the first time and had horrible buffering, tried today and it was worthless. What do I need bit wise to create a steady stream? I ran a test and I had ā¦ 54 Mbit/s
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