Johnny bought the OwlCam, and now that they are out of business, he doesn't have access to the online backup. Leo says that their online servers were likely shut down. If it still records, there may be an SD card option, or maybe WiFi sync. But Zirgo recently bought all Owlcam assets, so there's always hope that they may continue it on.
Mike was thrilled that Apple came out with a new Mac Mini, but he thinks that the graphic processor is a bit underpowered. Leo says that may be by design, so that users will buy their eGPU, which was built by Blackmagic. Leo says it's nice, but it's not upgradeable.
There are other options out there that are upgradeable. Leo recommends the Razor Core X. He can swap out video cards whenever he wants.
Dan's church is looking to live stream their services, and they are looking for the best cameras to use. Leo suggests going cheap with the cameras. Leo got consumer-grade Canon Vixia cameras for the TWiT studio, and they only cost $400 to $500 now. Dan could just get four or five cameras that can cover every angle, and then he'll just need a video switcher so they can switch between cameras while streaming. He can go look at BlackMagic, which has specialized cameras that are fairly affordable.
Joshua has a Blackmagic switcher with his Lenovo laptop for his church. He's trying to put words on the live feed, with a background using the Easy Worship software. But they say he needs a video card with dual HDMI ports. Leo says that's called "Chyron," and Lower Thirds. The ATEM Switcher should be able to do it, though, even without the Easy Worship software. In fact, the ATEM doesn't need a separate computer at all - It's turnkey, try taking that out of the mix.
Andy is trying to do Facebook Live with multiple cameras, but he gets a delay every time he switches through the HDMI switcher. Leo says that an HDMI switcher is not the same as a switcher in a control room, and it can cause latency. Leo says that Blackmagic makes a video hardware switcher that is very low priced to get into this game. It's called the ATEM Switcher.
Randy has a production company working on doing live streaming through Vmix software. It will see his USB laptop cameras, but not his regular cameras because they require HDMI out. Leo says that the Blackmagic WebPresenter is a new product designed to do live streaming from a variety of cameras. At $500, it's not all that expensive either. He should check out MonoPrice. They may also have a low cost converter.
Bob does video podcasts and webinars, and he's built a studio to do it. Now his partners want to add a second camera to the mix. Leo says he'll need a switcher to switch between the two cameras, especially with Green Screen as well. He can also add multiple microphones and can switch live, which will save him time in the editing bay. Leo uses the TriCaster by NewTek, and they have green screen options built into it, handling the camera background switch automatically.
Gary likes to play with Raspberry Pi computers and would like to get the smallest UltraHD screen he can for the sleeper in his truck. Leo says that's a great project for a trucker to play with. Leo says that the Raspberry Pi computers are great and for $35, they're dirt cheap and great for the hobbyist.
Canalay teaches TV production at Washington State University and every night they do a nightly newscast via public broadcasting. They want to expand and go to streaming the broadcast online. Leo says TWiT uses the TriCaster which uses SDI (a pro version of HDMI) and then routes that through a Blackmagic encoding card. From there, they can stream to the net via either UStream or Justin.TV. Then anyone can view it from all over the world. Leo says they were just using a plain PC for a long time.
Pete wants a camera that he can stream little league hockey games on. Leo says he'll need a camera with live HDMI out. Most video cameras will do this, and with excellent quality too. Then he'll need a laptop that is able to take HDMI in and then stream it over the internet. The camera really isn't the hard part.
