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waldron18  
#1 Posted : Thursday, July 23, 2015 7:59:58 AM(UTC)
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Hi there

I'm new to live streaming and i'm looking at VMix as my production software choice as it looks amazing!

I'm wondering if anyone has the "perfect PC" solution for vmix... I need the following inputs and outputs:

4 x HD-SDI in
4 x HDMI in
2 x DVI in
2 x VGA in
2 x XLR audio in
RCA audio in

2 x XLR audio out
2 x HD-SDI out
2 x HDMI out
1 x VGA out

Then just a PC that has the power to run VMix and carry all the input cards. I may have to reduce the inputs/outputs perhaps? That's just my ideal setup so that I can cope with any connection that a potential client may throw at me.

I live in Australia and would welcome any help/advice on where I could find someone to build a PC for me.

Anything else I need? External encoder perhaps?

Cheers
stevespaw  
#2 Posted : Thursday, July 23, 2015 1:16:16 PM(UTC)
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Wow you need all of those (12) inputs at the same time?
waldron18  
#3 Posted : Thursday, July 23, 2015 6:12:43 PM(UTC)
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stevespaw wrote:
Wow you need all of those (12) inputs at the same time?


hmm.... bit of an overkill you think?

I was thinking it'd be good to just have everything covered. What would you recommend?

Cheers
ask  
#4 Posted : Friday, July 24, 2015 3:35:54 AM(UTC)
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Waldron. Where in Aus are you?
PFBM  
#5 Posted : Friday, July 24, 2015 6:53:40 AM(UTC)
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Exacore cpu
16 gigs of ram ddr4
nvidia GeForce GTX 980 Ti 4 gigs of ram
Blackmagicdesign video cards
sata 3 7200 rpm hdd drives for recording
ssd system drive with windows 10 pro 64 bits.

Cheers,

PFBM
thanks 1 user thanked PFBM for this useful post.
waldron18 on 7/24/2015(UTC)
waldron18  
#6 Posted : Friday, July 24, 2015 7:18:48 AM(UTC)
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ask wrote:
Waldron. Where in Aus are you?


I'm in Tasmania. Just looking for a good reliable setup to get me going.
PFBM  
#7 Posted : Friday, July 24, 2015 7:28:22 AM(UTC)
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here it is a nice option:

http://www8.hp.com/us/en...s/workstations/z420.html

configure it with an exacore cpu
16 gigs of ram and a nvidia GeForce GTX 980 Ti 4 gigs of ram, or similar
quadro cards are not good for vMix.

Cheers,

PFBM
waldron18  
#8 Posted : Friday, July 24, 2015 7:36:25 AM(UTC)
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PFBM wrote:
here it is a nice option:

http://www8.hp.com/us/en...s/workstations/z420.html

configure it with an exacore cpu
16 gigs of ram and a nvidia GeForce GTX 980 Ti 4 gigs of ram, or similar
quadro cards are not good for vMix.

Cheers,

PFBM


Thanks PFBM!

When you say "exacore" do you mean 6 core, or 8 core? or either would be find. Just not a quad core?

I guess I just then need a motherboard with enough PCI Express slots. What cards would you recommend if I want HDSDI in, HDMI in, a VGA in, Audio (xlr) in.... then i'd need sdi out, hdmi out and a vga out to be safe. Just trying to think of all the possible options a client might throw at me.

Thanks so much for your help!

ask  
#9 Posted : Friday, July 24, 2015 6:42:49 PM(UTC)
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Waldron. There are a couple of other guys in Tas you could catch up with. However. Let's start with your cameras rather than your clients. What do you use? HDMI or SDI? This will make quite a difference to your choices. Then the MB. Get one with as many PCI slots as possible. I use ASUS but others are fine too. CPU, as powerful as you can afford. Graphics card...vMix recommended spec as a minimum.

The more I look at your quandry, why not simply buy a ready made system....http://www.vmixhd.com/go/
waldron18  
#10 Posted : Friday, July 24, 2015 6:52:51 PM(UTC)
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ask wrote:
Waldron. There are a couple of other guys in Tas you could catch up with. However. Let's start with your cameras rather than your clients. What do you use? HDMI or SDI? This will make quite a difference to your choices. Then the MB. Get one with as many PCI slots as possible. I use ASUS but others are fine too. CPU, as powerful as you can afford. Graphics card...vMix recommended spec as a minimum.

The more I look at your quandry, why not simply buy a ready made system....http://www.vmixhd.com/go/


Good advice, thanks heaps! I've already got a Sony EX3 for my main camera however I would assume I'll also get an HDMI camera when multicam events require it. What's the best way to capture audio from a mixing desk? Or even sending audio to a desk as well if i'm using vmix just as a production switcher. Can you get XLR I/O sound cards that do it simultaneously?

Who are the other guys in Tas out of interest?

Cheers
Speegs  
#11 Posted : Friday, July 24, 2015 9:19:37 PM(UTC)
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waldron18 wrote:
ask wrote:
Waldron. There are a couple of other guys in Tas you could catch up with. However. Let's start with your cameras rather than your clients. What do you use? HDMI or SDI? This will make quite a difference to your choices. Then the MB. Get one with as many PCI slots as possible. I use ASUS but others are fine too. CPU, as powerful as you can afford. Graphics card...vMix recommended spec as a minimum.

The more I look at your quandry, why not simply buy a ready made system....http://www.vmixhd.com/go/


Good advice, thanks heaps! I've already got a Sony EX3 for my main camera however I would assume I'll also get an HDMI camera when multicam events require it. What's the best way to capture audio from a mixing desk? Or even sending audio to a desk as well if i'm using vmix just as a production switcher. Can you get XLR I/O sound cards that do it simultaneously?

Who are the other guys in Tas out of interest?

Cheers


Also an Aussie, I use an Roland Tri-Capture for sound. It has a single XLR works well with Vmix.

Pretty sure they have other models with more inputs for sound. Tricapture works for me due to the small size and I'm using plugging it into a 16 or more Channel mixing desk provided by a sound engineer anyway. The Tricapture is nice as I can further tweak the volume and monitor the sound more than mix it and take all the various connectors the audio contractors provide. Some want to give me 1/4 Jack, Some XLR and some RCA. So I have all those options available.

Currently running a custom build, just a gigabyte mobo with 2 thunderbolts, Quad Core i7 with 4x HDMI and 4x SDI inputs at home base.

MacbookPro on the road with 2 x HDMI and 2 X SDI.

Both using Roland Tricapture for a clean easy to use sound device of course I don't pull any sound from the cameras in my scenario.

Started with BM Shuttle USB 3 (wish I never bought one), went BM Thunderbolt Capture Devices (better), moved away to Magewell PCIe (best) at home base and Magewell USB 3 (best) on the MacbookPro.

Pretty happy with the setups, took a while to get it all right and yes I bought a few things I wish I didn't buy along the way.

Anyone want a BM Intensity Shuttle (Thunderbolt) or BM Mini Recorder (Thunderbolt) send me a Private Message they work, but I've not had much luck with 2 of them at a time into one computer. Seems like I have to be standing on 1 leg and the wind has to be blowing the right way getting many BM Thunderbolt devices working @ the same time long term. They work fine 1 @ a time.

Having Thunderbolt 2 ports in your rigs is not a bad idea (until usb type c takes over the world), but certainly not required to get the job done.

Suggestion For the Audio Quad or Octa Capture: http://www.roland.com/pr...-capture/specifications/

I've only used the Tri-Capture, but I can only assume (don't know) the drivers are similar and work with Vmix.

For DVI and VGA in, can you just get another 4 port HDMI capture device and use DVI --> HDMI and VGA --> HDMI converters?

I've used a VGA to HDMI converter and worked well to a Magewell Capture device it just instantly worked.

I guess an external H.264 encoder would help your CPU situation on your rig substantially. I'm not having cpu issues since ffmpeg came around.

waldron18  
#12 Posted : Friday, July 24, 2015 9:36:09 PM(UTC)
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Speegs wrote:
waldron18 wrote:
ask wrote:
Waldron. There are a couple of other guys in Tas you could catch up with. However. Let's start with your cameras rather than your clients. What do you use? HDMI or SDI? This will make quite a difference to your choices. Then the MB. Get one with as many PCI slots as possible. I use ASUS but others are fine too. CPU, as powerful as you can afford. Graphics card...vMix recommended spec as a minimum.

The more I look at your quandry, why not simply buy a ready made system....http://www.vmixhd.com/go/


Good advice, thanks heaps! I've already got a Sony EX3 for my main camera however I would assume I'll also get an HDMI camera when multicam events require it. What's the best way to capture audio from a mixing desk? Or even sending audio to a desk as well if i'm using vmix just as a production switcher. Can you get XLR I/O sound cards that do it simultaneously?

Who are the other guys in Tas out of interest?

Cheers


Also an Aussie, I use an Roland Tri-Capture for sound. It has a single XLR works well with Vmix.

Pretty sure they have other models with more inputs for sound. Tricapture works for me due to the small size and I'm using plugging it into a 16 or more Channel mixing desk provided by a sound engineer anyway. The Tricapture is nice as I can further tweak the volume and monitor the sound more than mix it and take all the various connectors the audio contractors provide. Some want to give me 1/4 Jack, Some XLR and some RCA. So I have all those options available.

Currently running a custom build, just a gigabyte mobo with 2 thunderbolts, Quad Core i7 with 4x HDMI and 4x SDI inputs at home base.

MacbookPro on the road with 2 x HDMI and 2 X SDI.

Both using Roland Tricapture for a clean easy to use sound device of course I don't pull any sound from the cameras in my scenario.

Started with BM Shuttle USB 3 (wish I never bought one), went BM Thunderbolt Capture Devices (better), moved away to Magewell PCIe (best) at home base and Magewell USB 3 (best) on the MacbookPro.

Pretty happy with the setups, took a while to get it all right and yes I bought a few things I wish I didn't buy along the way.

Anyone want a BM Intensity Shuttle (Thunderbolt) or BM Mini Recorder (Thunderbolt) send me a Private Message they work, but I've not had much luck with 2 of them at a time into one computer. Seems like I have to be standing on 1 leg and the wind has to be blowing the right way getting many BM Thunderbolt devices working @ the same time long term. They work fine 1 @ a time.

Having Thunderbolt 2 ports in your rigs is not a bad idea (until usb type c takes over the world), but certainly not required to get the job done.

Suggestion For the Audio Quad or Octa Capture: http://www.roland.com/pr...-capture/specifications/

I've only used the Tri-Capture, but I can only assume (don't know) the drivers are similar and work with Vmix.

For DVI and VGA in, can you just get another 4 port HDMI capture device and use DVI --> HDMI and VGA --> HDMI converters?

I've used a VGA to HDMI converter and worked well to a Magewell Capture device it just instantly worked.

I guess an external H.264 encoder would help your CPU situation on your rig substantially. I'm not having cpu issues since ffmpeg came around.




Hi Speegs!

That's awesome insight... thanks so much! it's so confusing which way to go. I think i'd be safe if I went 4 HDMI in and 4 SDI in... then use DVI or VGA adapters as you said.

Questions:
Do I need additional cards for video output? Eg. An external encoder, or I may need to go to an external encoder, an inhouse projector or tv etc
With audio - Is there a PCI card or interface which can take sound from a mixing desk and also send it out too if needed? Eg. i might have the skype call on my vmix machine which need to go to screen but also input from the other PC's connected.

Sorry for the dumb questions... just confused by all the possible options and I figure real life experience is the best guidance!

Cheers
Speegs  
#13 Posted : Friday, July 24, 2015 10:27:16 PM(UTC)
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Quote:

That's awesome insight... thanks so much! it's so confusing which way to go. I think i'd be safe if I went 4 HDMI in and 4 SDI in... then use DVI or VGA adapters as you said.

Questions:
Do I need additional cards for video output? Eg. An external encoder, or I may need to go to an external encoder, an inhouse projector or tv etc
With audio - Is there a PCI card or interface which can take sound from a mixing desk and also send it out too if needed? Eg. i might have the skype call on my vmix machine which need to go to screen but also input from the other PC's connected.

Sorry for the dumb questions... just confused by all the possible options and I figure real life experience is the best guidance!

Cheers


Have you considered a HDMI Splitter to turn 1 video output into many?

eg: http://www.cablechick.co...hdmi-v13b-with-hdcp.html

I use them all the time (from various suppliers). I add HDMI Recording Devices, TVs (to monitor what you are doing), HDMI Modulators, H.264 Encoders..

They come in 1 to 2, 1 to 4, 1 to 8 setups.

Just keep in mind you get the same signal on all the ports, in my case that is what I desire my "program out" replicated.

Otherwise.. A Black Magic Decklink Mini Monitor (PCIe Card) or Ultra Studio Mini Monitor (Thunderbolt). Is essentially the opposite of a capture device. I don't use them, but could see how having SDI output from VMix for a long cable run to a projector via SDI would be very handy.

I guess I don't use them as I use a HDMI modulator. That's an expensive device that allows me to send to an unlimited number of Televisions or Set top boxes within our complex that are connected to our Antenna cabling.

So with a Modulator, you are your own Digital TV station that sends to any Digital TV Tuner on the coax cable. I send to 30+ TVs this way. Digital modulators "re-encode" the video so they do add a delay. We plug ours into a HDMI splitter. Our TVs are not in the same room as the action, they are usually hundreds of meters away in other buildings.

If you can't say what you are trying to do exactly in a public forum, send me a private message. There is often many ways of doing stuff. I say no way that "works reliably" is wrong. Certainly I often find "smarter" ways all the time as new products in this space become available and/or affordable.

With HDMI things can get "fussy" on long distances and splitting with different devices pretty quickly, there eventually comes a point where SDI is easier and more reliable. To send HDMI over a long distance without problems, a technology called HDBaseT with Cat5 has been successful for me and well SDI works well too (both with no noticeable delay). I have a projector with the HDBastT port right on the back (I wouldn't have discovered this Gem if I had not researched how it works).

I have done normal Cat5/6 HDMI extenders and maybe the ones I used were too cheap, but frankly I will not use them again since discovering HDBaseT.

Cheapo VGA to HDMI that worked for me (has sound, didn't use that part): http://www.ebay.com.au/i...eName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
Speegs  
#14 Posted : Friday, July 24, 2015 11:08:04 PM(UTC)
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Quote:

With audio - Is there a PCI card or interface which can take sound from a mixing desk and also send it out too if needed? Eg. i might have the skype call on my vmix machine which need to go to screen but also input from the other PC's connected.


I don't know if it's a big deal these days (was a very big deal years ago), but I like to go external with the analogue audio connectors. Analogue inputs pick up hum and buzzes from a computer. USB being digital to a box outside the computer made with sound quality in mind in my opinion is the way to go.

I can't comment much on "internal" sound cards. I've always gone out of my way to avoid them. Using really good shielded cables and the likes might avoid problems anyway. Because I'm a road warrior streaming kind of guy, external had a lot of appeal as well. I have two Roland Tri-captures (if I remember to bring both), in case one fails/breaks/gets noisy.

So establish, I'm not a sound engineer.. I know a few and the word on the street is go external if you can.. Obviously that is debatable and the situations and types of sound cards may make all the difference. Maybe Google "internal vs external sound card" and start reading.

None of your questions are dumb, they could potentially save you thousands by buying the right gear first time.

ask  
#15 Posted : Saturday, July 25, 2015 8:03:59 AM(UTC)
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waldron18 wrote:

Who are the other guys in Tas out of interest?

Cheers


Ash and DuffTV
waldron18  
#16 Posted : Tuesday, July 28, 2015 8:34:20 PM(UTC)
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Thanks for all your help everyone! I feel like i'm getting closer now. Much clearer picture of the direction I need to go.

Just looking at capture cards... are there any which work with vmix and let you have say 4 sdi ins and you can use one of the ins as an output? also an hdmi version?

Which capture cards does everyone find to be the best? Simultaneous in/out would be great and also multi def (i think i have that right!).

Thanks again everyone!
ask  
#17 Posted : Tuesday, July 28, 2015 10:57:36 PM(UTC)
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The BM cards can be configured as either inputs or outputs.
PFBM  
#18 Posted : Friday, July 31, 2015 6:52:46 PM(UTC)
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The CPU power is for recording and streaming.
if you use multicorder, each recording feed eats about 10% of a quadcore i7 cpu 3.5 ghz.
the more power you have , the more you can do.

Cheers,

PFBM
waldron18  
#19 Posted : Sunday, August 9, 2015 7:09:20 AM(UTC)
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Hi everyone

I have an opportunity to purchase a secondhand PC at a good price. I just wanted to double check if the below specs are suitable for vmix?

- Case: corsair 650d
- Motherboard: x79 asus rampage vi black edition
- CPU: 2011 intel i7 3930k
- RAM: Corsair Dominator platinum 1600mhz (4x4gb)
- GPU: asus GTX 780 direct CUII
- Power supply: corsair axi1200
- Cooling: intel Aztec 120mm water cooler
- OS drive: Samsung Evo 120gb SSD x2 in raid 0
- Storage: WD black caviar 2TB
- Windows 7

Good machine?

Also what capture cards should I put in it to get a few HDSDI in/out and a few HDMI in/out?

Cheers
IceStream  
#20 Posted : Sunday, August 9, 2015 8:37:28 AM(UTC)
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@ waldron18

Specs on the PC look decent.
How many and what slots are available for expansion?
That may help to determine what capture card options you have.


Ice
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