Eight robotic cameras, and one of the most powerful video switchers in Northern Nevada.
Reno Philharmonic
The Squeeze
The COVID-19 pandemic changed the world. With COVID-19 restrictions in place it looked like the Reno Philharmonic’s 2020-2021 season was cancelled before it began. With no patrons being allowed to view shows, that meant no revenue, and no revenue meant musicians and staff couldn’t be paid. So, how do you serve live musical performances to thousands of adoring fans and patrons in the community?
The Sugar
Partner Hunter Rand recommended a unique solution usually reserved for professional television studios; semi-autonomous robotic cameras and a custom built, dedicated video switching computer utilizing vMix. To reduce wiring and labor costs, the robotic cameras utilize NDI and PoE technology meaning that a single cable powers the cameras, controls the cameras, and transmits broadcast quality video back to the video switcher.
The Lemonade
The Reno Philharmonic was able to live stream, and later broadcast via KNPB, multiple shows to patrons while utilizing an online ticketing system. They recovered revenue with these tickets and donations they accepted on the streaming website. They now have in place a live television broadcast system that will continue to serve them long after COVID-19 has passed.
Robots?! Yes. Robots.
There were two major concerns with bringing television cameras into the mix. The first concern was losing seats that could be sold to patrons and fans. With traditional TV cameras, you require a camera operator and infrastructure in situ - power, tripods, and more; this translates to losing one or more seats and displacing ticketed patrons. The second concern was storage - Where do you store TV cameras? At any size, eight cameras is a burden to transport and store.
To address both of these concerns we went with six, later expanded to eight, PTZOptics 30X NDI cameras. Some are semi-permanently installed in the Pioneer Center, with some temporarily installed on the stage for shows. Cameras that are out of sight and in hard to reach locations do not need to be stored.
Finally, these cameras - paired with vMix - offer a semi-autonomous solution for operation, allowing camera movements to be preprogrammed and scripted ahead of time, allowing possibilities only limited by the operator’s creativity.
Software switcher? That’s soft!
While there are benefits and issues with every video switching solution, vMix was chosen for the Reno Philharmonic for multiple reasons. The first reason is because a custom computer can be configured around the specific needs of the client. The number of cameras they want, and other input sources, distribution needs, computer volume; these factors all determine a custom solution built from off-the-shelf parts widely available online and in some electronics retailers - this leads into the second reason.
We have the belief of, “not if it fails, but when.” A system that relies on a high performance PC built from off-the-shelf components means that when there is a hardware failure, the client can easily repair the system themselves with a trip to any major electronics retailer, or fully substitute the computer in an emergency.
vMix is one of the most flexible, most configurable solutions available on the market. It supports tons of I/O cards from many manufactures, NDI, SRT, and more.
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