Camera for the Kingdom Hall

[Frankie]

So we got the camera kit the branch recommended but the image quality is not very good. The faces and podium are all washed out. Anyone else having issues with the camera quality? Anyone have suggestions on fixing this or what camera works the best for this purpose? I have tried several webcams such as logitech 920 and even some expensive 4K models that look great home home but not under the lighting at the KH.

[Tortuga]

Turn out the lights????

😁

[-Chris-]

 

Ours isn't too flattering either. It is also ever so slightly crooked but I'm going to try to resist my perfectionist tendencies and ignore that. Maybe someone else wants to climb back up and try their hand at straightening it.

 

As I posted elsewhere, I'd prefer better image quality but I'll follow the Branch direction on this suggestion for now. If someone wants to work on improvements I'll support their efforts and/or direction as needed.

[Frankie]

Chris,

 

Thanks for posting your image. Ours is similar to yours. I will be trying some things out later this week and will post some images with how things look using different camera sources.

 

[Charliechuck94]

Using certain Logitech webcams such as the 920 you can download Logitech capture software which you can use to change the white balance etc and can make a good improvement but good lighting is critical. My dad recommends the logitech brio but i guess you have to buy as directed ?

[-Chris-]

3 hours ago, Charliechuck94 said:

Using certain Logitech webcams such as the 920 you can download Logitech capture software which you can use to change the white balance etc and can make a good improvement but good lighting is critical. My dad recommends the logitech brio but i guess you have to buy as directed ?

Yes, I think lighting is key, this camera didn't seem so bad when I tried it out at home. The low power LED lighting at the hall may contribute to the appearance.

 

I could work up a configuration in OBS that helps with image quality but I'm trying to keep things simple, 4 congregations use our hall and I don't want to make things complicated for all the brothers using the system. That's an option to visit if we get complaints about the quality.

 

Something like the Brio would be great but may need extra configuration to get the framing the Branch has directed us to use. I think that's one of the the reasons for the suggestion of the specific camera, it has an optical zoom lens that can be set and locked for the recommended view of the stage. I'm imagining they wanted to keep things relatively simple for the software configuration, there are already enough configuration and usage direction to scare off people not used to constantly dealing with computer stuff.

 

 

[Qapla]

Logitech G-Hub software works with the 920 and can be used to frame and adjust other aspects as well

 

 

[Frankie]

Thanks for everyone's input please keep posting. So I have tried my spare Logitech c920 and I was able to get the wide shot of the stage as the Branch wants but the image was blown out. I did not try the software suggested so I will try the camera again with the software. I also ordered a couple other cameras from Amazon to test with and will report back after this weekend with some images and results. I don't think the Branch is concerned about what camera we use as long as we have a wide from of the stage and it is as simple as possible as there are normally several congregations using the same setup.

[Frankie]

So we spent most of the day testing cameras. We finally settled on the OSBBot Tiny which gave us the best picture. Here is the image and a look from the seats at the mount.

 

 

[Cool Cat]

The OSBBOT is what they use for assemblies. If you can get away with buying that one at nearly 2-3 times the price of the recommended one then congratulations. 

[Frankie]

The recommend one was backordered and delayed so I was told to get something else. I tried several different camera that matched the recommend specs ranging from $40 - $120 but nothing compared to the image quality of the OSBBot that I owned and didn't use so I decided to donate it and get it installed.

[Qapla]

Which OSBBOT camera are you using?

 

 

[Frankie]

We am using the OSBBOT Tiny. This is the 1080P version of the camera. Here is the Amazon link https://www.amazon.com/OBSBOT-AI-Powered-Omni-Directional-90-Degree-Correction/dp/B08NPGNMV8/ref=sr_1_1_sspa 

Edited March 21, 2022 by Frankie

[-Chris-]

35 minutes ago, Frankie said:

The recommend one was backordered and delayed so I was told to get something else. I tried several different camera that matched the recommend specs ranging from $40 - $120 but nothing compared to the image quality of the OSBBot that I owned and didn't use so I decided to donate it and get it installed.

Do you have any photos or screenshots from some of the other cameras you tried? If so, would you mind sharing them? I'm curious about the image quality differences you saw and would like to better prepare in case the image quality question comes up on our end.

[DarinS]

On 3/16/2022 at 4:03 PM, Frankie said:

So we got the camera kit the branch recommended but the image quality is not very good. The faces and podium are all washed out. Anyone else having issues with the camera quality? Anyone have suggestions on fixing this or what camera works the best for this purpose? I have tried several webcams such as logitech 920 and even some expensive 4K models that look great home home but not under the lighting at the KH.

Frankie

Lighting plays a large role in visibility

lighting can provide or diminish view and color ( ie cool lighting vs hot lighting)

at assembly hall we installed to different types of bulbs

1 type for better visibility and reading

1 light is softer for warmth and clarity

in the Co and trainers residences we also installed indirect and ground(baseboard strip-lighting) based lighting to 'fill' the camera view and alleviate shadows

 

also re Camera - what is the Focal point....(distance)

some cameras only work well if the are at a pre-specified distance

(the instruction booklet will tell you...or online)

---we had to move the camera closer to the stage for a better view

 

and thirdly the Logitech cameras do have additional software which allows you to tweak the angle-- zoom and color - 

the newest software is a bit limited, but the previous generation (still available) does great to help balance color and brightness

[Karlo Esteban]

Hi Br @Frankie, how did you extend the usb cable for the camera mounted at the ceiling?

[Lucas]

The soundboard is next to the notebook at the back of the Kingdom Hall. And the tripod is close to the stage at the front. A USB extender of at least 15 meters is required to connect to the notebook on the table of sound. The camera is a Lenovo 300 Full HD Webcam

Edited March 22, 2022 by Lucas

[Karlo Esteban]

The soundboard is next to the notebook at the back of the Kingdom Hall. And the tripod is close to the stage at the front. A USB extender of at least 15 meters is required to connect to the notebook on the table of sound. The camera is a Lenovo 300 Full HD Webcam

How is the quality of the video? Does it not degrade because of the length of the USB extender? And may I know the extender you used?

Sent from my RMX1971 using Tapatalk

[luisenriquereyes]

1 hour ago, Karlo Esteban said:

Hi Br @Frankie, how did you extend the usb cable for the camera mounted at the ceiling?

Our branch recommended USB cables similar to these:   https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006KSLF6E?pldnSite=1

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004DSEC2C?pldnSite=1

[Frankie]

So the OSBBOT camera we used as well as some other better quality cameras will require USB 3.0 so in order for us to get our camera working we had to get a USB 3.0 cable. This is the one we used https://www.amazon.com/MutecPower-Active-Extension-chipsets-Booster/dp/B07MFW8RB7/ref=sr_1_3

 

Also, you will notice this cable comes with a 5 volt power adapter but we had no power in our ceiling but it isn't needed to power most USB 3.0 cables so we did not have to use the adapter. The cable has blue LED power indicators on the cable and it worked well and our camera is stable.

We also used this ceiling mount which gave us a better viewing angle to the stage. https://www.amazon.com/Projector-Ceiling-Mount-Universal-Bracket/dp/B08VFP5S9J/ref=sr_1_19

Edited March 22, 2022 by Frankie

[Frankie]

So Chris asked if I had images of some of the other cameras we tested. Here are some we tested I changed the zoom name to match the camera in the bottom left. One of the cameras I tested was my old One Plus 6 cell phone and it had the best picture and we were able to get it to work in zoom using IVCAM but we felt it was a layer of complexity that could cause issues with multiple congregations trying to use it.

 

I did try using software that came with the cameras, such as the Logitech c920 but even turning off auto white balance and such we still could not get as good of picture because of our lighting and the distance from the stage in order to get the wide angle shot the Branch wanted.

 

We all felt we could have went with the the 8MP ELP camera here https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07R489K8L/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

but since I already had the OSBBOT tiny and wasn't using it we decided to use it and send the others back to amazon.

 

Also, a few other congregations said they are using this camera which we ordered but it came in after we settled on the OSBBOT tiny

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08FHBRKSK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

 

Edited March 22, 2022 by Frankie

[jayrtom]

On 3/16/2022 at 8:24 PM, -Chris- said:

 

Ours isn't too flattering either. It is also ever so slightly crooked but I'm going to try to resist my perfectionist tendencies and ignore that. Maybe someone else wants to climb back up and try their hand at straightening it.

 

As I posted elsewhere, I'd prefer better image quality but I'll follow the Branch direction on this suggestion for now. If someone wants to work on improvements I'll support their efforts and/or direction as needed.

Shouldn't you put the camera further down? See example bellow. Yours is a little too much from above

On 3/20/2022 at 1:45 AM, Frankie said:

So we spent most of the day testing cameras. We finally settled on the OSBBot Tiny which gave us the best picture. Here is the image and a look from the seats at the mount.

 

 

HEy, you look just like your avatar

 

Can you share what kind of support you got for your camera?

 

I had this camera as a spare for my videovigilancwe system at my house. It's a 50 bucks camera but very good.

It can be connected by network cable or wifi. We'll use it with OBS

 

Amazon.com: REOLINK 5MP 30fps Outdoor PoE IP Security Camera, Smart Human/Vehicle Detection, Smart Playback, Timelapse, 100ft Night Vision, Work with Smart Home, 256GB SD Card(Not Included) Storage, RLC-510A : Clothing, Shoes & Jewelry

[Frankie]

Brother, I am not sure you can use that security camera as a webcam. It may be possible but I have not seen any software that will allow you to do that.

[jayrtom]

3 minutes ago, Frankie said:

Brother, I am not sure you can use that security camera as a webcam. It may be possible but I have not seen any software that will allow you to do that.

It has a software that connects to the camera (which can be accessed from anywhere in the world) and whith obs you grab the camera feed making it a virtual webcam

works perfectly. 

Also, with obs you can create several scenes. (check on this forum for more on the obs software (free)

Edited March 22, 2022 by jayrtom

[Frankie]

jayrtom,

 

Thank you for the info. Yes I have been using OBS for personal things for a few years. ManyCAM is another program that I have used to allow different camera angles and such. I think the Branch wants us to be as simple as possible so that we do not introduce unnecessary layers of complexity into the Kingdom Hall A/V setup. The instructions in S-260 and S-261 mentions having one camera with one wide angle view of the stage so I think our goal is to just follow those instructions the best we can. Since most Kingdom Halls are used by multiple Congregations here in the US we need to make sure that all the Congregations can run the system without difficulty.