Tutorial: Cost-Effective Live-Switched and Streamed HD Worship Production with Datavideo
In the new worship video workflow from Datavideo described in this article and video tutorial, with just three products, you can switch up to four HD cameras and stream to your favorite CDN, while simultaneously recording an MP4 file to a USB thumb drive or external hard drive--all for around $3,000.
In this tutorial, I’ll demonstrate a new live video workflow from Datavideo. Datavideo has been in business for 30 years and has always provided affordable solutions for the house of worship customer. Perhaps your church is still recording in standard definition and creating DVDs. Maybe you’re ready for HD, but think it’s just too cost-prohibitive. In this article and the accompanying video, I’ll show you how with just three products, you can switch up to four HD cameras and stream to your favorite CDN, while simultaneously recording an MP4 file to a USB thumb drive or external hard drive--all for around $3,000.
Let’s start by taking a look at a brand new four-input HD switcher from Datavideo.
Datavideo SE-700 Digital Video Switcher
The new Datavideo SE-700 Digital Video Switcher (Figure 1, below) is an affordable, feature-packed hardware switcher plus control surface at a truly breakthrough price.
Figure 1. The Datavideo SE-700 Digital Video Switcher
It can accept two HD-SDI and two HD-MI inputs for video and camera feeds (Figure 2, below). Two XLR ports are provided for audio input.
Figure 2. Video and audio I/O options on the SE-700. Click the image to see at full size.
Two SDI and one HDMI ports provide output options, and the HDMI output provides a multiview display (Figure 3, below). All outputs are configurable for added flexibility, and customizable to fit any workflow (Figure 4, below Figure 3).
Figure 3. The HDMI out enables a multiview display.
Figure 4. All outputs are configurable. Click the image to see it at full size.
The switcher’s backlit controls (Figure 5, below) include standard features one would expect in a hardware switcher, such as T-bar, transitions and frame store. The luma and chroma keyers included with the switcher featured garbage matte and spill suppression to ensure a clean image when a green screen effect is required.
Figure 5. Backlit controls on the SE-700. Click the image to see it at full size.