Streaming and timelapse video from Future Port Prague – exhibition of modern technologies

About the Project

„Are you thinking about streaming an event? A concert, lecture, exhibition, or competition? If you’re looking for a simple and high-quality solution, have a look at one of ours. All we needed was two cameras and the CamStreamer and CamOverlay apps. ”

In September 2017, Prague put on its first annual Future Port Prague exhibition of modern technologies and drew thousands of visitors. The exhibition organizer wanted to create a live stream from the exhibition for YouTube and Facebook and add graphics to the video image that would serve as a presentation of the individual exhibitors. The next task was to create a time-lapse video that would document the whole preparation of the exhibition.

The solution - Time-lapse of the preparations

In order to provide a solution, we combined two Axis IP cameras. In order to record the exhibition preparations, the model AXIS M3037 camera was used. Its 180 degree panoramic angle was able to perfectly record the vast majority of exhibition preparations. The recording was saved onto the camera’s SD card. After the exhibition ended, we created an interesting time-lapse video that we then placed on social networks.

The Streaming over the course of the exhibiton 

In order to stream a complete view of the ongoing exhibition, we used a model AXIS P5635-MK II PTZ camera. This device allows for 360 degree lens movement and is equipped with a 30x optical zoom. We placed the camera on a public lamp post, allowing it to record the whole exhibition area. The stream ran on YouTube and Facebook.

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Presentation of the exhibitors directly in the image

With the help of the Guard Tour function, we created a path across individual exhibition stalls for the camera to follow. The length that the AXIS camera stays in one position can be set, allowing us to display each exhibitor’s graphics at the same moment the camera began recording their stall. This created a path that was made up of 21 points with a different displayed graphic at each point.
We entered the graphics with the help of the CamOverlay application. This application runs inside the AXIS camera and makes it possible to insert selected graphics from an SD card or cloud directly into your live stream. For the exhibition stream, we used special PTZ camera settings that can place up to two different and independent graphics on each PTZ position. By doing so, we displayed each exhibitor’s logo and a short presentational text about them. The program of conferences also appeared when the camera began recording the main stage.

More about CamOverlay 

Technical specifications of the stream

The live stream was provided by the CamStreamer application, which broadcasts a data stream directly from an IP camera to streaming services. This created a live stream with a resolution of 1080p, a 25 bps frame rate, and a bitrate of 5Mb. YouTube and Facebook were chosen as targets for the stream, which was broadcast to both sites simultaneously and helped reach a wider audience. For YouTube, an additional event was created in order to promote the stream even before it was broadcast.

More about CamStreamer

Audio

Realistic audio can add the necessary atmosphere to a stream. Audio from the exhibition was recorded by connecting an external microphone. Using the CamStreamer application, the microphone added audio directly to the camera image.

Internet connection

T-Mobile provided the camera’s internet connection via a cable internet connection. It ensured a 12Mb upload speed intended only for live streams, which was fully sufficient for two independent streams, each at a transfer speed of 5Mb.

Conclusion

We and the client were both satisfied with the solution. We were able to create interesting material (a time-lapse from the preparations) at a relatively low cost and broadcast the action of this interesting exhibition online. The stream was also seen by interested viewers who were directly on the spot at the exhibition.

List of Supplies