TomHoward

Interesting point, but it is analogue line level. It's only the last 8mm or so that would be unscreened which seems better than the whole length. It's Phoenix inputs to a Motu 24ai from analogue pres. There are a mixture of pres, so some are proper connectors but some are D-Sub.

Interesting but I needed to tail from D-Sub output to bare ends, it's connecting the D-Sub analogue output from preamps into Phoenix connector line level inputs. I don't mind soldering D-Sub as long as it's Tascam style where the connectors are at least together. Surprisingly I managed to get 8 small patch cords into a D-Sub backshell as well.. I'd thought about cutting an old D-Sub printer cable off but the lack of shielding made me think it was a bit of a bodge.

Thanks. I found CPC and Farnell sell DB25 "kits" which was a relief as I was first thinking I had to order the shell, contact, backshell, screws etc all separately. I had thought of buying the ready made cables but I needed bare ends for screw terminals at the other end so it seemed a bit of a waste to chop all the connectors off.

Ta, the building isn't within wifi range at the moment but it might be viable. We have a good 150M+ internet connection, it just doesn't reach that playing field yet. If we can get reliable internet down to that building I'm thinking of just encoding direct to Youtube and letting that do the recording. I see the first box also does local recording so that could be an option too to avoid having to install a PC pitch side.

The Veo system is subscription based I believe, as the unit uploads footage to their servers, where you can login and review your footage, which is what makes me think the automated tracking is something done in post-processing and not done in the camera. We have Atem minis already, so with that, if you had a camera atop a 25ft tall goal post, so the camera was essentially inaccessible for 3 months, powered by 12V or POE, and you had to get HDMI down from that pole and power up it, what cameras and cabling would be your first thought? The goal posts is the preferred angle but with them being removed with the seasons I can’t even tell if they’re in the same place every year. Will the TBS devices go directly to Youtube? I wonder if an HD-SDI camera atop a telegraph pole and a stream direct to Youtube and relying on Youtube for the recording / playback might be a quick and easy solution. If I can convince them to have the cameras on the sideline where they can stay all year and closer to power, and try put the goal post idea to bed. Thinking about their idea of replaying pitch side, I'm not sure they've thought that one through, as with only 12V & solar power I don't think they actually have anything like a big TV to review on. At best they might get away with an iPad, if we extend Wifi down to that area.

It’s not regularly used at all it’s installed on the back of preamps for outputs to patchbay. I didn’t know if there was a respectable main brand before I went digging through catalogues - the Neutrik of D-Sub. I’ll have a look at data sheets etc for turned contacts. Thanks for the pointers

You're just not going to manage that in any meaningful way without shelling out a fortune... Can I make sure you had a quick look at the example of the kind of angles from a commercial system - it’s literally a fixed camera from one wide angle , if you’re lucky it changes to an angle at the other end when the ball changes halves - I can’t post a link to one of our own commercial system videos for CP as they aren’t public My main concern is the recording method & cable runs. If it’s not easily viable they’ll just defer to another commercial solution Say if you were trying to replicate the security style footage as a starting point, were would you start with IP cameras? Are they all of a standard that means they could all be integrated into OBS or vMix? Else I could use an SDI capture and recording device. If I can get an internet connection reliably down there and stream to YouTube I may be able to sack the recording element and just use YouTube to replay. It’s about 300-400m from our nearest building so would need a point to point link.

Thanks, We've seen some of those auto systems including the linked green one, and they have a couple of problems in terms of ongoing cost, and time for footage to be available - I don't think the camera is auto-tracking, I think it films a 4k panoramic and it is then post-processed on the manufacturer's servers to pan & scan according to the image, which means it sometimes isn't available for days to review is my understanding. I believe the hockey one above does track In real time, though I'm not sure if it's automatic, I know the recording system is generally used in conjunction with the manufacturer's iPad app which may have something to do with the tracking or it may be automatic. Just to clarify though, we have commercial solutions on some of the pitches, but not all of them, but what we're mainly trying to replicate is some of the basic functionality in-house. GoPro on a pole would be great if it weren't for the HDMI output. I might look at SDI if we can put it permanently on the sideline - putting SDI up a goal post that gets removed and replaced each year is likely to be a nightmare. I was also considering GoPro on top of the pole if I can get the signal out via Wifi as you can for the app, but it seems low res and pretty rough. You can get the footage off afterwards but the camera is quite tricking with being turned on/off and isn't as remotely controllable as some.

People don't pay to watch it, it's mainly for post-match analysis for team training. If it's even broadcast at all, it's college / school sports so parents might watch it as much as they might watch from the sidelines usually. We have one of those commercial systems on site on one pitch and we are looking to replicate it in-house for another. Let's say if that were acceptable to you, how would you go about replicating it? I'm thinking PoE cameras and maybe OBS for recording, so that it can be replayed quickly and streaming could be easily added in future. A bigger problem is the rugby goal posts are only installed in the winter months so they'd need to be rigged and struck with the seasons, with the implications for cabling. If I can perusade them to have the sideline camera (or even two, one in each direction, or at the corners) at least they could stay up all year. This pitch doesn't have floodlights ether which is what most systems seem to be mounted on.

I don't think there's a need to re-jig the script, as long as it's marked at the bottom of the previous page ****sound cue at top of next page****. Or just print it so they are at the top of the right hand page, if it's a book.

I would have thought so but the commercial unmanned solutions are basically one static wide shot, either side or from a goal end. If you ignore the PTZ / AI tracking / post processed AI pan & scan at the start of the video, most of it looks like this: I think a lot of the commercial systems integrate scoring into the app, and then use that data to make an automated 'highlights' reel, ie the 60 seconds leading up to each goal score being registered. A fair number of streams I've watched they don't actually seem to change camera and it's just one wide side or end view for the whole match

If it's on the goalposts it would be installed per season, as these are removed in the summer and it runs Aug-Dec or something. How that cabling would work I've no idea. The handicams / Atem Mini the cable runs concert me - as we'd have to be running over HDbaseT or HD-SDI which are both basically a nightmare in that environment. The pavilion / building / shed with solar is halfway down a long edge. I'll have to go play with what the view is like from each position

I've been asked to look into a camera for initially recording, and then potentially in future streaming rugby matches, on a pitch which annoying currently only has 12V power. (Although a reasonably robust solar supply). Ideas have been kicked around about installing a pole on the side of the pitch with a PTZ camera, or installing a Go-pro style fixed camera on the top of each goalpost and maybe recording locally, recovering the footage over Wifi after the match, and just running a cable up the pole for charging (maybe from a battery at the bottom). This would work for recording but doesn't expand to streaming very easily. Alternatively we could run some PoE cameras, or try wireless / wifi with local battery power? Or some CCTV style cameras with coax and 12v, with some kind of capture device? Any suggestions very welcome as there's no doubt a ton of different ways to approach this

A basic question, For the 8-channel 'Tascam' style wiring of 25-pin Dsubs, is there a preferred brand of connector that fits 8 thin patch cords or a length of multicore, or is it budget CPC D-subs all the way? Thanks

Highlighters fluoresce under UV whereas all printed text appears to be black - a highlighter in certain light is unbeaten One other note - once your script is in a stable format you could write a list of cues with page numbers that is at the front or back of the script, or in Qlab especially I like adding page numbers to cue names; 1. p1 House Music 2. p1 House Music Fade 3. p3 Thunderclap Always lets you know how far you are before the next cue so you know how on the ball to be. Not that you would ever be less than 100% on the ball, but sometimes finding a surprise cue at the top of p11 after a 10 page gap results in an increased chance of it being late.

Two small notes; If they go together as a snap, you can write them together. SFX 4 & LX 4 GO. (Wind cuts, lights fade to general wash). How is the lighting controlled? Is it also pre-programmed or manual op? You'd need to licence it but just to point out the obvious that QLab does lighting also if you are touring the control. LX6 - if it's to be fired after the 2nd shot, write the cue first before the detail. LX6 GO immediately after the second gunshot (Slowly fade to black, matching SFX fade). Write the important stuff first - as it sounds like quite a fast sequence put anything you don't really need to read if you didn't have time later in the line.

If anyone has any old preamps, I'm needing some for a recording setup. Single channel, 4-channel, 8-channel, whatever. Could do with a variety up to 24ch. Preferably with connectors on the back, and controls on the front. Must have analogue outputs on some kind of connector. Models eg Octopre, Audient ASP800/008 etc, ISA One, etc.

For long runs I always mark cues with notes like "longer pause than you think!" if you want it to really hold. They tend to be a hand-written mess by the end. Although it's not covered here it's always good to know what SFX 7 would do in this context. Either detailed in the script, or in the cue description in Qlab. You've also got the Notes section for the top of each cue where you can either replicate the info in the script or expand with "longer pause than you think!", like the handwritten notes that accumulate.

Agreed, a "theatrical beat" is the term you're looking for, often seen in old scripts... I definitely wouldn't put a silence at the top of a track as that's just going to cause panic. Something like Vader: "Luke.... use the forks" **A dramatic pause, then SFX 7 Go** is probably how I would mark it. Secondly you could also direct an action if it helps make it clearer - ie: Vader: "Luke.... use the forks" **Wait for Luke to bring his hands to his mouth, then SFX 7 Go** but this doesn't help for a pause. Most ops should be able to follow a dramatic pause instruction though.

If it's not too far we've always had great service from Kevin Edwards Electronics in Cheadle. http://www.k-edwards.co.uk/

I’m not sure how many people program it properly anyway and how many people just use “Audio Levels” for everything and then hit ESC to stop.

You can just drag & drop the new file on top of the old audio cue and it should replace. You can also open the cue and in the first tab should be the file it’s using. Audio Trim and Audio Level and like input gain and fader level. When you process the fade, it’s Level that changes. A typical example of a problem of misuse is we had a show a student had programmed where it had pre-programmed house music and show announcements. The house music needed to be quiet, so it was set to an Audio Level of -12 or so. Then the pre-recorded announcement fades down the music to -12, plays the announcement and fades the music back to up to zero. The music after the announcement is 12dB louder than it was before, because they’ve used absolute fade levels. If the adjustment on the overall volume is done in the Trim tab, you can apply fade to whatever you want and back again, assuming zero is the default playing level. If you make adjustments to playback level in Levels rather than Trim your fades may need to take account of where it started. If that all makes sense...

It's the Audio Trim tab, two along from Time & Loops where you set the play start/end points. Confusingly the term could be used for both, but it's "Trim" in an input gain sense. You could reasonably process separaretly which would allow you a more consistent waveform, but I can't say I ever have, I've just added boost in the Audio Trim tab to save an extra step.

Within Qlab you’ve got two Level tabs on an audio file - level and Trim. Level is used for setting playback levels, which is what is adjusted when you use fade cues etc Trim is unaffected by other cues and is for input gain adjustment and general routing between outputs (not an issue with stereo) Personally I just adjust in Trim in qlab to normalise then adjust the Level with fade cues.

For commercial there the InterM PA-9312 / 24 / 36 without the mixer section / tone controls There’s also the QD-4480 / 4960 4-channel ones if you wanted to get it into one unit. The PA have transformers to 100V built in and the QD come with a matching 4-transformer bank so must surely be designed to drive them Reading back apologies that those are all fan-cooled, but they are all commercial beasts. The PA certainly is and I am 99% sure the QD is as well