Condenser mics are very good for capturing entire rooms, and shotgun mics for capturing a small close group of individuals. Both will require hardware mixers and phantom power and there’s the cost of upwards of $200+.
True. I usually capture using an AT2020 mic (it helps to have a mixer with a compressor built in if you have anyone who tends to get really loud; I use this one), but the room noise is a little more than I’d prefer. You just get a lot cleaner with individual mic-ing. As for shotguns, I just picked up an ATR-6550 and it’s been doing pretty well… haven’t really put it through it’s paces yet, though. It’s mostly intended for boom operation and on-camera mounting, though.
Is there any reason at all that my black magic intensity pro can capture my PS3 at 720p, the 360 at 720p, the Wii at 480p, the PS2 at 480i and NOT my Dreamcast or any of my older consoles running through RGB scart ending in VGA?
The VGA to component box even upscales the image to 720p! I just don’t get it! It’s so frustrating.
This is part of my setup ( without the whole RGB, component issue) Now this all works 100% awesome EXCEPT the PS3 and 360 look slightly darker and blurrier when put through the additional conversion at the end (which is necessary for 480p). Just an interesting thing I noticed myself.
Huh, odd that the converter is darkening it. I mean, I’d expect to hear about that if you were using an unpowered splitter (that usually happens), but a converter? That’s too bad. You said you were using a BMIP though, right? Since you have to adjust software settings for resolution changes anyway, any reason you can’t just capture component? I usually just throw any unprotected HDMI into my BMIP, then also split it out to extract audio for analog mixing purposes; component video becomes a separate path, and I just switch between the two in software.
Look at my image. The idea behind it is simple, I never have to swap a cable. Ever. The design of the whole thing didn’t work out 100%, while for the Wii and PS2 the whole setup is flawless, in the case of the PS3 and 360 (and anything I do HDMI pretty much) it’s HDMI split, THEN converted to Component then split AGAIN then converted back to HDMI. It’s quite a trip for one signal (at least that’s my theory).
Also, I am coming up completely blank on the whole getting my RGB SCART-sync strike-scaler setup to work for capture. I thought a box that would switch the signal to component and upscale to 720p would do it but… it doesn’t. It’s so odd.
No doubt, that’s a useful and good strategy; I totally dig not having to switch cables, that just makes EVERYTHING last longer. What I’m saying is, well… you can have both HDMI and Component plugged into your BMIP, then choose which input you’re using in software. If you’ve got a good component distribution amplifier (powered), and it has an extra output (I usually see them with at least a few outputs, not just two), you could run an identical component signal parallel to your component->HDMI converter box path, directly into the component plug adapter on the BMIP. That way, if you’re capturing PS3/360 stuff, you can capture a once-converted signal (maybe better?), while if you’re capturing something that needs the HDMI conversion, you can switch to capturing the output of the converter.
Even better, if you don’t need an analog audio tap on your 360 (or if you can get it via an A/V output cable), you could just dedicate your HDMI -> Component adapter as your “PS3 HDCP stripping adapter”, change your HDMI switch to switching between your 360 and your component->HDMI adapter (such that it goes direct to the BMIP’s HDMI input, eliminating any 360 signal conversion at all), then throw that stripped component directly at the BMIP. That whole solution might result in needing another HDMI splitter or something, though; I’d have to draw it out to confirm.
Hopefully some of that made sense. It’s far too late for me to be thinking about this stuff.
Some good stuff, gonna get another set of component cables out there but this setup is also based around me not having a lot of inputs on my TV. The switches are necessary because it’s the only way everything can be hooked in at once.
Oh, and I still can’t solve the damn upscaler not being accepted.
Going to second this inquiry. Audio equipment is the only thing I have left to check-off on my setup list and I wanted to stop in here for recommendations. I need a mixer and two headsets. Any particular recommendations on what to buy and where to get it?
Mixer, I can’t recommend this Yamaha enough. It’s a bit bulkier than the Behringers everyone likes, but it’s built like a tank and the sound is just so much better – Behringer uses shitty EQ’s that make everything sound tinny to my ears. The Yamaha has compressors and HPF’s to make things sound nice. Plus it’s got all the inputs. Seriously, look at that thing. It’s ridiculous. The only decent reason to go with another mixer in the sub-$100 range (IMO) is if you absolutely MUST have linear pots.
As for headsets, I think what most people have been loving on recently is these beauties right here. I haven’t used them myself, but I know that quite a few streams do, and they sound freakin’ fantastic. At $200 per, of course, they’re a tad expensive. 
For the budget-conscious… well, seriously consider not-headsets. Consumer-grade headsets (things you plug into the 1/8" jack on a PC) don’t work with proper mixers, because they need a different kind of “Phantom” power (bias voltage to power the element) than a mixer provides. Just invest in some decent cans with good isolation, and a couple Dynamic mic’s with decent table stands. Lots of people love on the SM-58 (go with the no-switch model; switches are dumb and they’re just one thing to forget and scratch your head about, or for someone to “help you out” by turning it off, only leading to your confusion later); it’s a workhorse mic, but you may want to go with something different, depending on your setup. I like the flexibility of a boom mic stand, but you may want to opt for just a simple tripod depending on your table/space situation.
Hope that helps.
Has anybody had much success recording and streaming on an i5 or lower at the same time?
Yes. However, I streamed and recorded at 480p. I’m going to be testing 720p recording/streaming on Thursday for a tournament, so I can give you an update on that.
Specs:
Core i5 2500k stock
Nvidia 550 Ti
GSkill RipJaw PC106004 4GB x2
ASRock Extreme3 Gen3
System Drive: Seagate 7200 RPM 120GB
Recording Drive: Hitachi 7200 RPM 1 TB
I’ve run into trouble recording/streaming at the same time at 720+ with anything less than an i7.
What streaming program are you using? Xsplit I’m guessing? I’m gonna be using WireCast.
Yeah, it was xsplit. WIth two DSLR cameras, the input from the console, and then streaming it.
Anyone mind helping me figure out my stream set up? I’m kind of a noob.
I’ve got both a PS3 and a 360. I want to stream with HDMI and I know PS3 has HDMI issues because of HDCP so I went and got a splitter.
I use a dual monitor setup, the one that will display the game will be my Asus VH 236H. The other monitor is just a run of the mill one I bought at Wal Mart. I plan on having my XSplit up there.
My graphics card has one HDMI and two DVI slots.
My capture card (AverMedia GameBroadcaster HD) has two HDMI slots and came with a few HDMI to DVI converters or w/e.
I also have an HD PVR here that isn’t plugged in.
How do I get this to work?
Keep in mind my graphics card also displays my monitors.
My splitter has one input and two outputs.
I want to know how to get it all working together.
Ah, currently my setup revolves around a GBroadcaster HD, 3 webcams, and whatever else. I’ll if Wirecast works well with it. Last I checked for recording is that it takes about 80% load, when i tried 720p, but that was only a direct feed with nothing involved.
So I just got an AVerMedia Game Broadcaster HD… review will be coming next month.
It could handle it, but after half an hour it’d just get sloooow. I’m assuming that’s a hard drive issue? So I don’t know.
Are there any newbie guides to making WireCast pretty? A friend wants me to help him with a tournament, and between the two of us we have a strong idea of what to do, except for making a few nice layouts to switch between in WireCast.
To me, WireCast’s interface is a bit counter-intuitive most of the time, such as drag to resize skipping around (it’s hard to explain but I can’t resize a 4:3 window and have it be the same height as the canvas, either I have a little gap or some of it spills out) and there’s also that I can’t figure out how to rotate a video 180 degrees and flip it vertically without doing it pixel by pixel by dragging the mouse (it doesn’t lock to certain rotations but moves exactly with your mouse, meaning unless you get it just perfect your rotated feed will be a little bit tilted). I honestly can’t figure out how people can make nice layouts without things looking sloppy and a bit misplaced. For my usual beatmania stream it’s never mattered but for a tournament stream we need some graphics to fill dead space, and things like that, but I’m worried about aligning everything all pretty.
Thanks in advance for any advice. I have WireCast Pro if it matters.