How would i make an video setup like this?

So I was at work today, when my boss instructs me (the only "computer guy") to retrofit an approximately 30ft x 40ft room in the building so that he could record meetings in the board room and post them on YouTube in HD.

Ideally he has some kind of video source switcher near his podium (and a remote) that lets him seamlessly switch inputs in real-time between his computer screen and the 4+ HD cameras set up all over the room, somehow record the final output of all that, and ultimately upload that HD video to YouTube. He needs the audio to be as clear as the video so that anyone speaking in the boardroom will be accurately heard.

He has a pretty hefty budget for this, though obviously savings are great, and his highest priority is that the "old board members" can operate it flawlessly without calling me.

I drew up a conceptual diagram of what he wants, but I have no idea what to buy or how to actually wire this together. Could you guys give me a crash course in video setups, etc.?

Concept Diagram:


Also, would this fit in the setup at all? I love the simplicity and remote control:
http://amzn.to/RFbxkq

In short, how do I wire 4-6 real-time HD cameras and a PC to some kind of video switcher that lets me record and post the resulting output to YouTube without post-production while ALSO making it easy for old people? Assume basic tech skills on my part and a multi-thousand dollar budget (but don't go insane haha).

Hi sweebez,

I'm sure our forum members will jump in and give you some recommendations, but in the meantime it might be helpful for you to skim some of the threads in the "Live Production" section.

Here are a couple setups that list what equipment they're using:

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=1221
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=1347

This sounds like a fun project, good luck!

My initial concerns would be:
How do you adequately cover board members if they move? This is both an audio and video issue.
How do you adequately cover everyone (unknown number) with 4 cameras? Will you have a wide/cover shot?
How is the lighting in the board room? Dark paneling and "dramatic/projection/romantic lighting" are killers for getting good video.
The chairman/moderator, etc. frequently gets wrapped up in the meeting (as they SHOULD) and forgets to do the added job of video director/producer. IME, it is very difficult to find someone who can do both adequately.
Just doing this well for audio is not a trivial task, even if the project involved no cameras/video. Boardrooms are often hostile to getting clean audio recordings. A desk microphones on a gooseneck for each person and an automatic-mixer may be required to achieve the "accurately heard" requirement.

We will pre-aim the cameras (one on each wall) so that they look at the boardroom table in the center. it doesnt need to be perfect recreation of the meeting, from the perspective that you can see everyone saying everything, but just so that an absent member or an interested party could watch the video and feel reasonably well informed (so something like 70-80% fidelity to sitting in a corner and observing in person). Our meetings are luckily quite orderly, with little movement, and one side of the table does a great majority of the talking. The room is has a modern feel with white/glass/metal, so very little of the classic "dark" boardroom involved, and I agree with your concern about the chairman wearing two hats, so we will have trained one of the secretaries to operate the basic functions of the setup. Good point on the audio front, and I will have that gooseneck setup looked into.

I spoke with a sony rep today who said that these models all can output live (not pre-recorded) video via HDMI.

HDR-CX150
HDR-CX160
HDR-CX360
HDR-CX500
HDR-CX550
HDR-CX560
HDR-CX700

Is this a more-or-less standard feature nowadays? If so, would this work with the av switcher box i found here http://amzn.to/RFbxkq ?

Yes, it seems quite common for small consumer camcorders to have live HDMI outputs. Note, however that running HDMI over any decent distance (more than 1m in my experience) is a problem. We typically must convert to professional SDI for longer distances. Note that HDMI to SDI converters could cost as much as those cameras.

That switcher you cited (and that whole class of gadgets) are "routing" switches, not "production" switchers. That means that there is a glitch in the video each time you change sources. When you are simply viewing the video on a screen, it is no big deal because likely the screen blanks out for a second or so while re-syncing to the new video source. But that is a show-stopper if you are trying to produce a recorded (or streamed) video program.

You would need to use a video production switcher like the BlackMagic Designs ATEM TV Studio. It re-synchronizes each input so that the output video is completely glitch-free. You would then plug the output from the ATEM switcher into a computer. You could conceivably use one computer to both record the meeting and stream it to the internet.

This new rack setup significantly complicates things for the elderly crowd. Is there something like what i showed you that's very simple in design but maybe mixes rather than switches, thereby keeping all the feeds on and not needing to lag in between sources while it syncs?

Not clear whether you mean complicated to set up or complicated to operate?
No system like this will be simple to set up. But it can be made simple to operate.

Not clear what you mean by "mixes rather than switches"?
Dissolving or composite multi-image demands using a production switcher, so you seem to be asking for even more complex solutions?

I mean complicated to operate. I'd prefer not to put a multiple button solution with a sliding t-bar and different effects in front of them when i previously had one remote with buttons marked 1-5. Is there any way that I can get a simple remote hooked up to this (maybe via the software)?

And the mixing/switching is a great example of me not knowing anything, so let's just take that off the table then.

OP, I think you are in the wrong forum. You may want to checkout the video conferencing forums/websites - e.g. LifeSize Video Center will pretty much do what you need - but it will involve significant setup on the admin side (as well as significant cash outlay). However, it will meet the goal of simplicity on the user end - literally one-button operation.

There are online web outfits that do this kind of record-auto.publish task - again, with simplicity designed for the user end.

I don't think the video production angle is going to work for you.


Steve

Fixed cameras, virtual automatic operation, sounds like a surveillance system to me. I wonder if something like that might work?

Thats an interesting angle, the security cam thing. I'll check that out!

Not to be sacrilegious but I also wonder how important HD is to your requirements. Composite SD offers many options with cheap glitch free switchers and the price of most everything in the system comes down.

Is that so? I'll look into that as well, especially since there are so many more options and savings when doing things that way. Thanks!

Achieving the best video that will acquire in managing all video to set up properly that will earned a good earnings.