{"id":709,"date":"2020-05-10T21:43:56","date_gmt":"2020-05-11T01:43:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crossan007.dev\/blog\/?p=709"},"modified":"2020-05-11T08:33:55","modified_gmt":"2020-05-11T12:33:55","slug":"my-live-streaming-video-conferencing-setup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crossan007.dev\/blog\/video\/my-live-streaming-video-conferencing-setup\/","title":{"rendered":"My Live Streaming \/ Video Conferencing Setup"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Telecommuting. Video conferencing. Zoom calls. Some folks shudder at these ideas, while for others these tools are second nature. Now with COVID-19 self-isolation mitigations in effect for nearly two full months, lots of folks without a heavy technical background are beginning to overcome the hurdles to reap the benefits of video conferencing tools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’ve been working from home “75%” since March of 2018 and I’ve been contributing to various open-source projects with people around the world since 2015 (not-to-mention that my teenage years were during ‘the rise of social media’), so the concept of online collaboration and communication have become second-nature to me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recently, however, I’ve been investing more into my own online-communications toolkit both for live-streaming my software creation process, as well as to enjoy higher-fidelity video conferencing. In this post, I’m going to explain my setup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, let’s start with the cameras. I’m a little on the frugal side, so instead of forking out $90-$120 for a mid-tier Logitech C920 (which are decent entry-level cameras), I took a critical look at one of my spare cell phones. The LG G5 (H830) <\/a> touts a 5 MP, f\/2.2, 18mm 1080p “selfie camera”, which is more than sufficient for calling: with the added benefit that I get an always-on monitor of my “outgoing image!” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To make this cellphone-as-a-webcam scenario work, I use an app called RTSP Camera Server<\/a> on the phone. This opens any of the H830’s three cameras for access via RTSP<\/a>. To get this video stream onto my computer, I use Open Broadcaster Software (OBS)<\/a> with the OBS-Gstreamer plugin<\/a> to get a malleable real-time stream of the video from my phone’s camera into the OBS workspace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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LG G5 H830 in flexible tripod being photographed by an LG G5 H830 in my hands<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Once the stream is in OBS, I’m able to refine the video (crop, adjust colors, filters, etc) and switch between different sources like a screen capture, some “be right back” text, or include video from more than one RTSP camera. I even have two of the exact same phone (the humble H830 is available for $79 on Amazon<\/a>) so that I can easily demonstrate the focal point of a project or provide a different perspective without causing a “home movie” style camera movement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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OBS Video mixing screen<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As you might guess, the super-rich OBS plugin ecosystem has a few options for “consuming” the video from OBS. If I’m joining a video conference call, I use the OBS-VirtualCam<\/a> plugin to “connect” the output of OBS to the “input” of whatever video conferencing application I may be using (Zoom, Jit.si, Facebook, etc). If I’m live-streaming a project, I use OBS’s built-in streaming functionality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overall, this whole video pipeline works pretty well, and gives me a lot of flexibility for both video conferencing as well as for live-streaming to Twitch.tv<\/a> or YouTube.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moving on to audio: I use an Audix OM2<\/a> microphone which has a hypercardioid pickup pattern that accepts sound aimed directly into the microphone while rejecting noise from the sides or from behind the microphone. This narrow-angle pickup helps a lot with reducing background noise from my computer fans or from other people in the same room. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Audix OM2 Hypercardiod Microphone<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Since this microphone connects via XLR, an audio interface is necessary. I use the low-cost, yet perfectly sufficient Behringer UM2<\/a> to convert the analog XLR signal into a digital USB signal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For headphones, I use the Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO 80 Ohm Over-Ear Studio Headphones<\/a>. The headphones are light and feel comfortable on the ears, wile providing a very accurate and detailed sound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO 80 Ohm Over-Ear Studio Headphones. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

That’s the quick summary of my videoconferencing \/ live streaming setup! I’ll be glad to answer any questions or to hear what tools you’re using!<\/p>\n\n\n\n