# Camera for backstage



## James McConkey (May 6, 2019)

I will be installing several cameras in local high schools for backstage feeds. I looked through the forums but most of what I found was not applicable or outdated. I have installed several before but never found a great camera solution. 
-HDMI over Cat6 or SDI run to a monitor in the booth or backstage
-Preferably zoomable to easily fit different distances/situations, zooming does not need to be done remotely.
-1080p or even 720p would be fine. The monitor resolution can be fit to the camera.
-IR would be nice but not necessary
-Fixed, mounted position, may not be easily accessible once installed, Pan/Tilt not needed
-Audio helpful but not necessary
-I feel like I would not need to spend much more than $500/$600 each.
-Fine with either powered or POE.


Thank you.


----------



## ruinexplorer (May 6, 2019)

Will latency be an issue? if it is not necessary for exact timing (conductor for musicians/choir), then you have a lot of options. Since it is a new install, I would consider an HDBase-T.


----------



## Joshua Schoeneck (May 6, 2019)

I second the importance of considering latency. We recently installed a backstage video monitoring system in our 750 seat high school auditorium. We have 6 HD TVs located in the wings, dressing rooms, orchestra pit, and makeup area. We use the same cameras for recording events to send the backstage feed, which have an HDMI output. When additional funds become available, we will probably purchase an independent camera for input. We were looking for a cost-effective way to send video from the camera to the TVs, which is a distance of just over 100'. We initially tried an HDMI to ATSC/QAM Adapter to distribute video over coax cable, but found that there was a slight, but noticeable delay in the video, which made it difficult to use for the purposes of the director in the orchestra pit, so we ultimately went with an HDMI over CAT6 connection for the long run and then HDMI splitters and standard HDMI cables (up to 75' w/ redmere) to reach from a central distribution point to the TVs.


----------



## James McConkey (May 6, 2019)

Thank you both. In this case, latency will not be an issue. 
I struggle with finding the right camera. It is nice to know that I have lots of options, I just cannot seem to find the right path. Is there a company or model or website that you could point me to?


----------



## darinlwebb (May 7, 2019)

You didn't specify your requirements for viewing the footage. Do you need to see all feeds at once? Is one feed at a time okay? Do you need to watch from a mobile device? Do you need a live feed, or just recordings? Both? How delayed can the live footage be?

You can snag some wifi connected cameras for dirt cheap ($25) on Amazon - Wyze brand. Key features of the Wyze stuff are:
- Live viewing only via mobile app
- Can only view one at a time
- Record to SD (haven't tested)
- All your video goes to Wyze's Servers in the cloud
- USB powered
- Can send push notifications upon motion detection
- IR mode, either manually enabled or automatic based on ambient light (note: automatic switching tends to trigger a motion detected event)

Obviously that's more security and curiosity focused, so if live monitoring of multiple feeds is what you're after, it won't work.

EDIT: looks like there are some DIY solutions for multi camera viewing with Wyze: https://forums.wyzecam.com/t/simultaneous-streaming-multi-camera-viewing/6695/6

EDIT EDIT: okay maybe multi cam is already supported? Having trouble finding info on it, so I ordered a second camera and I'll test it this weekend.


----------



## jtweigandt (May 8, 2019)

for extremely inexpensive multi camera security feed viewable via any web browser, look at the Motioneyeos project. I have 3 of these set up on raspberry pi at 3 locations One runs 6 cameras simultaneously without breaking a sweat.
My favorite security ip camera for 45 bucks is the dlink 5222l refurb. You have to go on the web to find the right syntax to pick up your camera's ip feed, but there are sites that provide
it for a large number of cameras. Motioneye will also work with direct plug usb cameras. It lets you pick your frame rate, trigger thresholds how long to keep a recording, Light shifts etc etc 
very sophistocated, easy to use and mature software. For stage monitor, I use a canon digital camcorder. Need to do some research and make sure that you have settings to keep it from powering down, It does a pretty
good job under varying lighting conditions. I feed the HDMI to a PVI brand encoder to turn it into a QAM cable signal which I route to the various monitors via coax.. no special decoding on the other end.


----------



## rwhealey (May 8, 2019)

James McConkey said:


> Thank you both. In this case, latency will not be an issue.
> I struggle with finding the right camera. It is nice to know that I have lots of options, I just cannot seem to find the right path. Is there a company or model or website that you could point me to?



Marshall has some nice non-PTZ cameras. The CV350 looks like it does what you are looking for but is a bit more expensive than you price range at $895 - however, I would consider that you may get better support as Marshall is a pro AV & broadcast company rather than a security company.

http://www.marshall-usa.com/cameras/CV350/index.php


----------



## James McConkey (May 8, 2019)

Great information thank you. 
-No wireless, no apps, no webpages, no recording, just a direct feed from 1 camera to 1 monitor, basically a security camera but better quality.
A digital camcorder works well in other situations that I have used but I am used to turning it on and off and this situation would be out of easy reach so best being on all the time or powered on and off remotely via power. It also seems like overkill with all of the extras. 
Marshall looks good, I will look into the others. Thanks again.


----------



## macsound (May 8, 2019)

I've been looking for quality replacements for the old balcony rail cameras for a long time and haven't had much success. In the days of SD everything, a $250 Sony security camera looked as good as anyone cared hooked up to the 27" TV in the lobby and green room.
Are there no direct replacements to easily and cheaply swap in a SDI bolted down "CCTV" camera?

Even trying to get a camera on the orchestra conductor for offstage vocal booths ends up being $5,000.


----------

