Well this past Sunday we started using our new camera to help bring our video’s a little more in focus. Little did I know that I was going to have a technical snafu that would have me in the box pulling my hair out.
Nope it truly wasn’t an issue with whatever device you were watching our service from. It’s was all of our new camera’s internal settings that were being displayed.
Anyone who has ever used a modern digital SLR camera is all to familiar with all of the settings that will be displayed on your viewport screen. They are absolutely wonderful tools to have and use. However, these are things that you are not wanting to project onto the screen when in live broadcast mode.
After spending nearly 3 hours at the church yesterday, I was able to find and isolate the source, as well as the settings that would allow me to make those all disappear when in live video mode.
Believe me when I say that our “Live Stream” is a work in progress.
While we have come so far from where we originally started, we still have a way to go to get it where we are wanting it to be.
Trying to stay one step ahead of the technical game can and does present its fair share of challenges with each and every step of the way. We are committed to ensuring that we are delivering the very best video we can from our live streams.
For anyone who has been around when we are talking about our Internet speeds from the church should realize that our bandwidth is plain horrible. This does play an important role on the lack of quality in delivering our live streams. However, since the church is only presented with one option for an Internet Service Provider, we are trying to make the best of it.
If any of you are aware of bandwidth, then you will understand when I say that trying to shoot live with an upload speed of under 2 mbps is less than desirable.
In addition, we will be looking into upgrading our computer technology. With the demand for fast up-front processing speeds, we will need to dive into upgrading our computers in the rear. However, with time and prayer, we will get our equipment to the levels of what it will need to be for today and the foreseeable future.
Soon we will be updating our video’s to enable multiple camera angles, thus providing a better overall view. Currently, our camera we utilize for our live stream’s is amazing. However, it will only zoom in so far before the image looses it focus. Even if we incorporated a better macro lens for tight close-ups, this may produce unwanted video hazing.
However, we have a solution that will permit us to get that tight close up for when speakers our on stage so it doesn’t look like you are watching church from the bird rack at a Razorback game.
If you happen to walk up and chat with us while we are in the video booth before the service and felt like you have been ignored, please accept our deepest apology. We want you to understand that from the time we take our place in the rear with the gear, that it is a full-time job that demands we are focusing on the task at hand in order to have everything set up and ready to go “Live.”
The best time to chat with us is after the service to discuss any concerns you may have.
As we continue to move forward in our technology, we are always interested in how we are doing and the things that we may be able to do better to serve you in a way that truly makes you enjoy your time online with us here at CMBC. Please don’t hesitate to let us know in the comments below, or reach out to us directly at church. We’d love to hear your thoughts.