Live Stream Overview

In this week’s live stream, we reviewed how to use NDI the IP video production standard for an Esports tournament. We are hosting a Rocket League Esports tournament in NYC at the StreamGeeks Summit. Esports tournaments can be complicated regarding audiovisuals, especially when planning to live-stream the tournament to a content delivery network like Twitch. At the StreamGeeks Summit, we will have multiple live streams during our Esports tournament, and thus, the NewTek NDI is crucial.

Live RTMP Streams:

1. The Main Stage (Produced by a TriCaster TC1)
2. An IRL (In Real Life) stream with a LiveU Solo
3. The Esports Tournament (Student Run with Wirecast and OBS)

The Main Live Stream

Check out this 3D Google Sketchup drawing of the space to understand the venue layout. The main stage features microphones and a projector, with a dedicated live streaming setup using PTZOptics NDI cameras connected to a NewTek Tricaster TC1 with SDI camera connections and NDI HX video outputs for backup. The Ubiquiti gigabit networking equipment provides PoE (Power over Ethernet) to each camera, supporting pan, tilt, and zoom control. This TriCaster system will stream to Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn using the cloud-based restreaming service, EasyLive. An IRL perspective via a LiveU Solo will also be incorporated as needed during the presentation.

The Esports Live Stream

The Student-run broadcast will specifically cover the Esports tournament, which features a 3 vs 3 Rocket League game. This includes an observer PC and an OBS (Open Broadcaster Software) production machine. Students will utilize a new Wirecast Gear connected to multiple PTZOptics cameras via SDI and NDI. The OBS production computer will focus on game capture. Each Esports computer will run OBS to capture gameplay and a PTZOptics Webcam. OBS will combine these two video sources (Gameplay + Webcam) into an NDI video stream available in 720p on our local area network, while the observer PC displays in-depth gameplay in 1080p and captures via a Magewell Pro Capture HDMI to USB dongle.

Note: NDI may also be used to capture the observer PC. The Magewell capture device aids in managing network traffic, ensuring that each computer utilizes bandwidth efficiently.

The Play by Play Announcers

Play by play announcers enhance the live stream experience. Students from Hofstra University will provide commentary, using an audio interface to mix the gameplay audio and team microphones. Each team has a Local Area Network setup on TeamSpeak, with headsets for strategizing. Microphones are also available for team banter. NDI video can include audio, utilized as optional inputs for our streaming systems. Each PTZOptics Webcam delivers 1080p video and audio into our NDI streams.

The audio setup involves a Behringer USB audio mixer with six inputs: two microphones for play by play, one for each team, and two inputs from the main house audio system. As the tournament concludes, we can switch to the main audio feed for the presenters.

Wirecast and OBS Working with LiveU

We designed a dual video production system for a single Twitch stream using a LiveU streaming setup and a Roland video switcher. The LiveU LU600 cellular bonding system allows for high-quality RTMP video streams in remote locations. The LiveU LU600, being more reliable than the event venue (Dream Downtown Hotel in NYC), enables our students to focus on producing real-life content and OBS for gameplay, like a DJ mixing tracks.

NDI IP Address Table Management

It's essential to manage NDI connections efficiently. All computers will have the latest NDI 4.0 drivers. Creating an IP management table listing all NDI devices in use on the network is advisable. Below is the table of our PTZOptics NDI cameras with static IP addresses: