Critique my setup

Hello,

So I am not sure if I am posting this in the right area but I need help critiquing my setup. Recently I have gained the responsibility of my church's streaming production. The person who initially set it up has left and for the past couple of months someone that is not very tech savvy has been there to basically just start and stop the streaming. The quality has dropped off greatly and I am trying to get everything back to a high production quality. This is what the setup currently looks like...

Early 2009 Mac Pro
2 JVC GY-HM150U and 1 Canon XHA1
ATEM TVS
Apple TV 3rd Gen
2 Epson Powerlite Pro Projectors
Wirecast 7
Cerevo liveshell 2
Sunday Streams streaming service
Subsplash App

So the big issue is that the streaming quality is garbage. Recently I used Subsplash to create an app for our church where people can centrally watch the live stream as well as other functions. Subsplash needed an m3u8 file and our previous streaming service (Livestream) didn't offer one with the basic package. So we switched to Sunday Streams because it was the best price at what it offered (If there is any better, I am open to hear suggestions).

As far as encoding the video previously they just used the LiveStream Broadcaster Pro. The guy who had been maintaining the setup bought Wirecast 7 but then said he had problems with the "digitizing". So he decided to rent the Cerevo liveshell 2, which is right when the quality tanked. So we have Wirecast which in all theory should be able to handle all the encoding if I am correct? Or would we need something else?

The second issue is that they have never been able to have the Apple TV as a source and would instead point a camera at the projector screen. So I know that from what I have been reading the Apple TV would need a HDMI to SDI converter. The part that I am unsure about is that we already are splitting the HDMI through a KanexPro splitter in order to plug into both projectors. So how would I get the Apple TV into 2 projectors and have it as a source from the ATEM TVS?

Any help would be greatly appreciated! This is my first experience with streaming and am wanting to learn as much as I can. If you think that we need something else to make the quality of our setup better please let me know. I have a good size budget to work with if needed.

Thank you,
Drew

[Gary Adams]

Hello Drew. You didn't say if you were running 1080i or 720P on the TVS. The Apple TV is only Progressive and will not output 1080i so you would need a converter for that. Also note some content (maybe not the ones you are using) on the Apple TV is HDCP protected and will not display through the TVS.

Regards, Gary

Hey Gary,

Thank you for your quick reply. Currently we are running at 1080i. So I know that I will have to get a converter for the Apple Tv. Also most of the things we will be displaying through the Apple TV is just screen mirroring the pastors iPad while he uses a Bible app or shows notes.

The thing that I was most concerned about is splitting the signal to 2 projectors as well as the TVS. Do I plug the Apple TV into a 3 way HDMI splitter and then put the converter on the line going to the TVS?

Let me know if this makes sense.
Thanks,
Drew

[Gary Adams]

Hello Drew. The Apple TV is only going to lock at one resolution and rate. Probably that should be your projectors so there isn't any conversion necessary. Then Whatever the Apple TV is locked to, will be converted to the ATEM. It's difficult to know what you need without knowing what the projectors will need resolution wise. Splitters can be a good thing but will sometimes cause the source device to lock to the wrong output first. Possibly a 3 way splitter might give you grief. If all the cables are HDMI, watch out for cable lengths as well causing issues. With the TVS you will need to connect to the HDMI input as the SDI inputs will not work at the 60Hz of the Apple TV. If you decide to convert HDMI to SDI, our Teranex Mini HDMi to SDI 12G will convert the Apple TV 1080p60 to 1080i59.94 for the ATEM. Also, there is a second SDI output which could be used to feed to the projectors.

Regards, Gary

Ok thank you for your help! What about the setup that goes from the TVS into the Mac Pro? Currently it is just going straight from TVS to Mac Pro to Wirecast (although for the time being it is going through the Cerevo Liveshell 2). Is there something that we should add to give it better quality?

Thank you,
Drew