Hey Crowd,
I’ve taught a few classes at DMS and haven’t yet found an easy solution for streaming a live camera feed to a TV or Projector at DMS. Do any of you have a good idea how to do this? In a perfect world our solution would be wireless, very low latency, and not require a computer. I haven’t found this solution yet, but I found an idea that might work for me, I just need an android phone or device. Here is a link to what I’m wanting to try, Video Streaming Setup.
Do any of you have an old android device that you could loan or gift me, so I can build this out and see if it would work for classes. I already have a 5D, I could get the special cable on my own, and I’ll model and 3d print the stand. If all works out, maybe we could find a cheaper way of broadcasting camera feeds for class.
I haven’t been impressed with the quality I’ve seen from the raspberry pi camera setups. Also there is a latency issues with the cameras on the 3d printers. Latency becomes a lot more apparent when your watching what is being filmed.
Would your requirements be satisfied by using the webcam in the opaque
white container in the lecture hall, then tell your lap to display what is
on the webcam, make that full screen, then share your laptop’s display to
the projector or tv?
To be fair, the webcam setup for the 3D printers is not at all intended to be low-latency. The apparent quality is also hurt by the low frame rate (we’re running those webcams at 5 fps).
If all you want is a live display on a TV, why not just get a camera with HDMI out and use that? No streaming, no complex software setups, no latency.
Thanks @Gus_Reiter, I’ll take a look at the webcam in the lecture hall tonight.
Thanks @zootboy for your response. Unfortunetly, I don’t just want a live display, In an ideal world I want a Wireless, high quality, low latentcy live display.
I’ve done the HDMI hooked to a camera option in the first embroidery class I taught with @John_Marlow . It was a cumbersome solution. HDMI cables are stiff. This causes them to easily get caught on things, pulling the cable out of your camera, or worse the camera out of your hands. Also, the stiffness keeps the cable from laying flat which just looks messy when your showing something. But, I’m looking into a more flexible option for the HDMI cables. The cables sold as Flex HDMI cables are more flexible, but still suffer the none lay flat issue to my knowledge. I hear that the Flat style HDMI cables tend to allow even more flex than the round ones, so If I can’t find an android device to try out my wireless solution, then I may try that.
Are you using this setup to point a camera at a workspace so someone can see what you are doing (ie, the embroidery class), or are you going to walk around with it?
If it is to put on a table and point at something you are demonstrating, it seems to me a wired HDMI cable would be perfect…there are several that are thin and flexible: www.monoprice.com comes to mind as one cheap source of good cables.
Pricey, but they are wireless and work great. We have them in all our conference rooms so that we don’t have to run 100’ wires from the tables to the TV. DMS could get a set and they could be moved from room to room when needed.
BTW, my PI Cam running Octopi at home has very little lag at all when watching it on the local lan.
Really, DMS should get some IP cameras and mount them on a movable arm that clamps to a table like one of those architect lights. Then you could access them on a computer connected to a projector, or maybe Chromecast itself.
