JeffF Posted December 7, 2016 Share Posted December 7, 2016 Here is ours... Post yours! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffF Posted December 7, 2016 Author Share Posted December 7, 2016 New link... http://www.youtube.com/user/adventurevision/live Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmmienLightFan Posted December 8, 2016 Share Posted December 8, 2016 What camera and streaming setup are you using? The video is very clear and smooth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffF Posted December 8, 2016 Author Share Posted December 8, 2016 1 hour ago, EmmienLightFan said: What camera and streaming setup are you using? The video is very clear and smooth. It's an older Microsoft HD-6000 LifeCam with a couple USB extenders to get it outside. Streaming is via Adobe Flash Media Live Encoder directly to YouTube. Here's a picture of how the camera is mounted and "protected" from the elements. The video is 30FPS at 1500Kbps and the audio is 128Kbps, 16-bit stereo. Had to play around with the camera settings to get the colors close and keep the 30FPS. I buy these cameras on eBay used for $20-$25. That way if/when my "weatherproofing" fails I'm not out much. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
default Posted December 8, 2016 Share Posted December 8, 2016 (edited) 3 hours ago, JeffF said: Here's a picture of how the camera is mounted and "protected" from the elements. that's great, still chuckling, but hey if it works. I watched for a bit earlier and agree the picture and audio were very good. Gotta love the camera rain hat though. lol Nice idea. I have always read/been told that webcam quality would be degraded if used on a USB cord over 15'. I guess I should give it a try. What is the distance of USB cords your using? Usb 2 or 3? Just curious. Alan... Edited December 8, 2016 by default Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmmienLightFan Posted December 8, 2016 Share Posted December 8, 2016 2 hours ago, default said: that's great, still chuckling, but hey if it works. I watched for a bit earlier and agree the picture and audio were very good. Gotta love the camera rain hat though. lol Nice idea. I have always read/been told that webcam quality would be degraded if used on a USB cord over 15'. I guess I should give it a try. What is the distance of USB cords your using? Usb 2 or 3? Just curious. Alan... It is digital. Picture will either get there complete, have wierd artifacts, or won't get there at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wbaker4 Posted December 8, 2016 Share Posted December 8, 2016 Thanks for the info on setting it up. It works great (and is free)! Distance on USB is not more than 15 feet - depends on speed and quality of the USB cable. If you need more distance, add a hub every 15 feet - much like you would add NULL Pixels. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffF Posted December 8, 2016 Author Share Posted December 8, 2016 Yep, the USB signal has to be repeated/regenerated every so many feet. If you search eBay for "USB repeater cable" you'll find ~2,474 results. I've used a few different types and have always went the cheap route. Biggest thing is keeping the moisture out of any connection or electronics. I put plastic over some(with tons of tape on the ends to keep water out) or use more 2 liter bottles. Actually, you see a Sunkist bottle in my picture above... that's protecting a repeater box and connection to the camera. Just cut one end off, and with that end facing the ground you then shove whatever you want protected up the big hole. If you start needing to connect multiple repeatered cables together then you should use a powered USB hub in between each cable. Otherwise you run the risk of taxing the computer's USB port beyond it's power limits and it could fry on you. I've used three repeatered cables with two hubs in the past. Worked good until Gremlins(aka Wet Gremlins) got in the system. Oh, and the camera is USB 2.0. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k6ccc Posted December 8, 2016 Share Posted December 8, 2016 4 hours ago, wbaker4 said: Distance on USB is not more than 15 feet - depends on speed and quality of the USB cable. If you need more distance, add a hub every 15 feet - much like you would add NULL Pixels. The other route for an extended USB connection is an active USB over Cat-5 adapter set. I'm using one of those to connect my weather station and a printer into my server in the garage data cabinet. It has about 70 feet of Cat-5 cable between the two adapters. If I remember right, the one I'm using is good for 1,000 feet. The near end adapter has a short cable pigtail with a USB plug that you plug into the computer just like any other USB cable, and a Cat-5 socket. At the far end, the Cat-5 plugs into the far end adapter, and provides a USB socket. The far end adapter is powered from the near end over the Cat-5, but it can't supply much power for devices plugged into it. I have plugged in a USB memory stick for test and and it worked just fine, but for normal operation, I have a locally powered USB hub plugged into the far end adapter, and then the two devices that need to be used plugged into the hub. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffF Posted December 8, 2016 Author Share Posted December 8, 2016 6 minutes ago, k6ccc said: The other route for an extended USB connection is an active USB over Cat-5 adapter set. I'm using one of those to connect my weather station and a printer into my server in the garage data cabinet. It has about 70 feet of Cat-5 cable between the two adapters. If I remember right, the one I'm using is good for 1,000 feet. The near end adapter has a short cable pigtail with a USB plug that you plug into the computer just like any other USB cable, and a Cat-5 socket. At the far end, the Cat-5 plugs into the far end adapter, and provides a USB socket. The far end adapter is powered from the near end over the Cat-5, but it can't supply much power for devices plugged into it. I have plugged in a USB memory stick for test and and it worked just fine, but for normal operation, I have a locally powered USB hub plugged into the far end adapter, and then the two devices that need to be used plugged into the hub. THANK YOU for posting that Jim! I have always wanted to get our camera on our fence near the road but that is about 150'-200' cable length away from the computer. I am going to order a couple of those adapters and give it a whirl! Thanks again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k6ccc Posted December 9, 2016 Share Posted December 9, 2016 Gee Jeff, I finally remember to check your live feed during your show hours, and you're not running due to the weather. I wish I could stream mine, but I don't have enough up-link bandwidth from my ISP to stream video except at low resolution... Maybe by next year they will have fiber to my area (somewhat wishful thinking - it's less than half mile down the street from me)... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
default Posted December 9, 2016 Share Posted December 9, 2016 Thanks to all, for the really good info. I have never tried to use a longer cable. I just figured that was USB's limitations Alan... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffF Posted December 9, 2016 Author Share Posted December 9, 2016 20 hours ago, k6ccc said: Gee Jeff, I finally remember to check your live feed during your show hours, and you're not running due to the weather. Sorry Jim, freaky lake effect snow last night... the joys of upstate NY. Should be running from 7:00pm until 11:00pm(EST) tonight and 6:00pm until 11:00pm tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k6ccc Posted December 9, 2016 Share Posted December 9, 2016 22 minutes ago, JeffF said: Sorry Jim, freaky lake effect snow last night... the joys of upstate NY. Ah, the joys of bad weather. Fortunately, weather does not bother me much, so my show runs regardless. Only thing that would really stop me is a power failure - and we only get one of those every few years. The computers have backup power, but not the show lights... Will try to watch it later this afternoon. 24 minutes ago, JeffF said: Should be running from 7:00pm until 11:00pm(EST) tonight and 6:00pm until 11:00pm tomorrow. I'm curious why such a late start. Being that far north, I would assume it's dark long before you start your show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k6ccc Posted December 10, 2016 Share Posted December 10, 2016 Looked very nice. What is the stats on the matrix? Sent from my Droid Turbo via Tapatalk, so blame any typos or spelling errors on Android Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffF Posted December 10, 2016 Author Share Posted December 10, 2016 13 hours ago, k6ccc said: I'm curious why such a late start. Being that far north, I would assume it's dark long before you start your show. Traffic. Even though we live out in the sticks, our road is busy during morning and evening rush hours. The 7pm start was settled upon years ago because if we start any earlier we hear lots of angry horns beeping out front. Our location is far from ideal to watch the lights... but we make it work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffF Posted December 10, 2016 Author Share Posted December 10, 2016 9 hours ago, k6ccc said: Looked very nice. What is the stats on the matrix? 16x50. You actually helped me with the setup. It's using a Sandevices E682. It was a last minute add so utilization is sparse and simple. Next year it will be integrated better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k6ccc Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 15 hours ago, JeffF said: Traffic. Even though we live out in the sticks, our road is busy during morning and evening rush hours. Makes sense. 15 hours ago, JeffF said: 16x50. You actually helped me with the setup. It's using a Sandevices E682. I do remember that now that you mention it. Happy to have been able to help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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