NewSpring Web Service 2.0

Posted by will | Filed under Behind The Scenes, Locations, Technology, Tips, Web Campus

Since I wrote this post we have been through some major transitions with the way we do NewSpring’s service’s online. We are still refining the way that we use the internet as a ministry tool. This has all the meat the previous post did, plus the changes that we have made.

This post is for you fellow geeks out there that regularly speak in acronyms like DSK & H.264. We still encode the 9:15 service, but instead of switching Nick in live on the fly, we now pre-produce his three pieces- ‘Before’, ‘Welcome’ and ‘End’.  Preproduction is possible due to the addition of a Sony DSR-DR1000A DDR and an iMac into the loop.  This DDR allows us to start capturing the service when it starts, but delay when we start playing it back.  We go with a standard 5 minute delay in order to allow us to trim down the Anderson auditorium welcome to whatever length Nick’s prerecorded welcome is.

If the concept of time-shifting is new, here is a break down of what we are doing:

  • • We start capturing to the DDR at 9:13AM, the actual service begins at 9:15AM
  • • At 9:20AM we switch over to the playback function of the DDR (while it continues to capture the service)
  • • We jump ahead to the very beginning of the service right as the counter winds out and stop the DDR
  • • We now begin the Flash Media Encoding
  • • I start playing the ‘Before’ clip of Nick from the iMac
  • • As the ‘Before’ clip ends I hit play on the DDR to start the service playing back from the beginning
  • • When it comes time for the Anderson auditorium welcome, I hit play on the ‘Welcome’ video from the iMac and switch to it
  • • During the prerecorded ‘Welcome’ video we jog forward on the DDR to the end of the Anderson auditorium welcome and cue it up
  • • When the ‘Welcome’ video is done, I hit play on the DDR and switch back to it
  • • At the end of the service I switch from the DDR to iMac and Play Nick’s ‘End’ piece

If you are still trying to grasp the whole time-shift concept- think of the DDR as a Gatorade water cooler, the IMAG feed from the auditorium as a garden hose.  You turn on the hose and water starts filling up the cooler. Once you have some water in the cooler, you can push the button on the spout and let out water, as long as you have enough water already in that you don’t drain it empty. If you fill up the cooler with 5 gallons of water, but want to fill 10 one gallon jugs you will run out. This is the same as trying to cut out 10 minutes of the service if you only delayed your playback by 5 minutes.

The following is a simplified version of how we make things happen. Download the wiring schematic here (PDF) for more details along with a complete gear list here (PDF).

We are taking an SDI program feed out of A-Control along with 2 analog audio lines that are split going to the MacPro for capture, the Sony DSR-DR1000A and one of the Marshall V-R72P-2SD monitors for an E-E reference. The other Marshall V-R72P-2SD is used as an output reference coming out of the Sony DSR-DR1000A.

I usually shoot Nick the week of, or sometimes the week before using a Panasonic HPX170 camera and Sennheiser ew100 wireless kit. I then edit the 3 videos in Final Cut and load them into ProPresenter on the iMac.  The iMac runs through a Matrox MXO to the Panasonic MX70 switcher, coming in SDI with embedded audio.

The MX70 switcher SDI & XLR outputs are then split in order to feed both PCs running Flash Media Encoder (FME). FME enocdes the video on the fly to an .flv, meaning as soon as the service is done we have the file to upload to Lightcast. See the screenshot here for the FME settings. We then cue up the video to playback at 11:15AM, 2:00PM and 6:00PM using Lightcast’s simulated live option.

In addition to the encode for the Web Campus, I also capture each service to a Mac Pro using Final Cut Pro.  The service is edited and transcoded on Monday using Episode Engine for our various outputs:

If you have questions hit me up on Twitter or shoot me an email will.rodes|-at-|newspring|dot|cc.

Read more | Comments | August 11th, 2009

Cable management

Posted by will | Filed under Asides, Technology, Tips, Web Campus

After having my office featured here on Unclutter.com and getting a question about how I do my cable management, I figured I would post a pic. I definitely recommend checking out her blog.

Here is a shot of the cable management that I am currently employing.  To make it even better I would take a 8″ tall piece of plywood painted the wall color and use it to replace the two short upright 2×4s.  This would create a cable tray color matched to the wall making it virtually invisible. Either design allows easy addition or removal of cables.

Other cable management tips:

  • Label both ends of your cables, even if you think, “I will only have 3 cables” it will make your life much easier when you add more- it is inevitable
  • Use the right length cables- not to long they create rats nests to untangle
  • Use UPSs on mission critical systems

Read more | Comments | March 22nd, 2009

How to connect your laptop to your TV

Posted by will | Filed under Christianity, Make, Technology, Tips, Uncategorized, Web Campus

I have gotten several questions about how to watch our NewSpring Web Campus on your HDTV with a group of friends.  Here is a very general guide on how to make that happen:

In order to connect your laptop to your HDTV you are first going to have to get determine what video and audio outputs your laptop has. The following are a list of some of the most prevalent possible outputs.

Video outputs:

  1. S-Video
  2. VGA
  3. DVI
  4. HDMI

Audio outputs:

  1. 1/8″ headphone jack
  2. HDMI
  3. USB audio output

If you have either S-Video, VGA or DVI outputs these are video only meaning that the audio will have to be run separately.

Most modern laptops circa 2006-present will have a DVI out which is usually supported by many HDTVs along with an 1/8″ audio input. If your HDTV and laptop both have this then is probably the most straight forward and cheapest route.

If you are going to use S-Video make sure that your and laptop both use an S-Video cable with the same number of pins either 4 or 7.  Most laptops with S-Video have 7 pin.

Possible options:

  1. If your TV has an 1/8″ input that can be paired with one of the first 3 video inputs then you can use a 1/8″ to 1/8″ cable.
  2. If your TV has RCA jacks paired with one of the first 3 video inputs then you can use a 1/8″ to 2 RCA cable.

If your laptop has a VGA output, but your HDTV does not have a DVI input you can use a VGA to DVI adapter and then follow the above steps.

If your laptop has a DVI output, but your HDTV does not have a DVI input you can use a DVI to composite video adapter or a DVI to HDMI cable.  This however will only provide you with video because even though it is outputing HDMI it is only getting a DVI, video only, feed in. Many HDTVs will not allow you to pair a separate audio input such as RCA or 1/8″ source up with an HDMI input which means you will need to have another way to play audio if you want bigger speakers than the ones on your laptop.  This can be achieved by:

  1. Hooking up desktop speakers to the laptop via the headphone output.
  2. Running an 1/8″ to 1/8″ cable to a stereo receiver hooked to external speakers.
  3. Running an 1/8″ to 2 RCA cable to a stereo receiver hooked to external speakers.

After you get the laptop connected you may have to adjust your screen resolution and refresh rate to be compatible with the settings of your HDTV.

This post only attempts to address some of the many combinations of audio/video inputs and outputs available on HDTVs and laptops.

It is also reported that you can watch the NewSpring Web Campus via a PlayStation 3, but since I don’t have one I can’t verify this.  If you would like to give me a PS3 to test this claim, I would gladly do it.

This is a great way to watch the NewSpring Web Campus or NewSpring’s Video On Demand with a group of friends. If you click on the video on either one of these sites it will make the video go full screen.

Read more | Comments | March 4th, 2009

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