Keyboard shortcuts

Press ← or → to navigate between chapters

Press S or / to search in the book

Press ? to show this help

Press Esc to hide this help

Introduction

Welcome to NLCLC CM AV team!

You should have received the following:

  • An invite to the CM AV team Whatsapp group
  • Edit access to the scheduling spreadsheet
  • A link to this document

If you haven't received any of these, please let me know.

Feel free to edit and alter (assuming you have a GH account).

  • https://github.com/NLCLC-CM/av-manual

Expectations

Here at the NLCLC CM AV team, we expect a few things.

Punctuality. Please be on time (usually 20-30 minutes earlier than service). This allows you enough time to prepare and enough time to be briefed on system that may or may not work.

Do your best. Audio and video is expected to "just work". We are here to help everything run smoothly, blending into the background. We are also here to make sure that everyone is able to listen, no matter the age, family situation, and everything in between.

Dress appropriately. While there is no official AV team attire, we expect something that minimally gets you into church.

Try not to give out WiFi passwords. The church network is basically overloaded and it is already difficult enough to have everything running, especially when we stream on Sundays. More devices that auto-connect to the network doesn't help. However, if you are an industrial network engineer and have some ideas on how to improve the network, please get in touch.

Saturday

Sunday setup

This entire process can be done by 1 person in 10 minutes if there are no outstanding issues.

Prerequisites

  • Phone and earphones

Procedure

  • Set cameras
  • Start presenting the powerpoint
    • Download this Sunday's powerpoint
    • Start presenting the powerpoint
  • Open OBS and start streaming
    • Open YouTube and log in (usually already logged in)
    • Click Go live on YouTube
    • Set the name of the livestream to 信義會新生堂 x年x月x日
    • Set the thumbnail of the livestream to a screenshot of the first slide of the powerpoint
    • Start streaming in OBS
    • Send livestream link to Whatsapp
    • Continue to monitor the livestream via your phone and earphones
  • (Optional) stream audio check
  • Start Zoom
    • Enter the Zoom room with the given room ID and password (pick from dropdown)
    • Open YouTube and navigate to the livescreen
    • Wait for the host to grant screen-share permissions
    • Screenshare the livestream, taking care to also stream the audio and check the box that says to stream in "video mode"

Camcorder

  • Settings -> CTRL for HDMI -> Off
  • Settings -> Demo Mode -> Off
  • Settings -> Power Save -> Off
  • Photos -> Facial Recognition -> Off

Be cautious when touching the cameras in the winter because static electricity may reset the cameras. Always discharge yourself on a nearby metal object.

Camera 2

The second camera used to be another, higher-quality camcorder, similar to the one mentioned in the previous section. Now it is a PTZ camera with 3x zoom. To control it you can use the remote (the silver remote with all batteries on display).

Camera 4

As of Monday 29 September 2025, a PTZ camera has been installed directly next to the large TV monitor at the back, which is directly above the doorway. It is powered by a Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) switch atop the AV cabinet, and should thus always be powered. There are 3 ways to control it:

  1. Via the remote control
  2. Via the PTZ controller
  3. Via the web portal directly

See the design for the complete system design and rationale.

PTZ controller

The PTZ controller must be returned to the AV cabinet after use. It is powered by a PoE LAN line that should be located near the computer monitors.

  1. Take PTZ controller out of AV cabinet and place to the right of ATEM mini
  2. Connect ethernet line to PTZ controller
  3. Wait a couple of seconds for the system to start up
  4. Check that you are connected to the right network by pressing CAM 1 and using the joystick to control the camera

There are different ways to control the camera.

Joystick. This controls the camera directly.

Presets. Press CALL button and then input the preset number (1-255), followed by the ENTER key. This will cause the camera to move to a certain preset. To set a preset, use the joystick to move the camera to where you want to preset your camera angle, then press PRESET, followed by the preset number (1-255), followed by the ENTER key.

Different ministries have dominion over different ranges of presets, so do not overwrite other ministries' presets.

UsagePreset range (inclusive)
Reserved1-10
Cantonese30-39
English20-29
Mandarin10-19

Numbers outside these ranges are free-for-all.

Zoom

On the off chance that you also have to control the Zoom meeting. The laptop that we will be using is the one that is currently stored in the Sunday School cabinet beside the printer (Cathay Pacific lanyard). It is in the third drawer counting from the top.

  1. Laptop
  2. Power cable
  3. USB to ethernet dongle

The PIN is the same PIN for Cantonese ministry login.

  • When users enter the room, be sure to greet them as an usher would

Existing issue: if the laptop enters a Zoom meeting when the desktop computer livestreams, and when the laptop and desktop computers are both on the same switch (i.e. the laptop via the USB to ethernet dongle), there's a high chance that the livestream on YouTube's side fails. In such cases, use WiFi for laptop connectivity.

In general, use WiFi to connect the laptop to the internet.

Troubleshooting

I take a page out of commercial aviation: Aviate, Navigate, Communicate. Except we can skip the middle one. The most important thing is to continue controlling the Powerpoint and on-site audio. There are usually 2 people assigned to the Sunday post. 1 of them will do the Powerpoint and audio. The other will be there to support and communicate, suggest ideas.

Remember: alt+tab is your friend.

No internet

You won't be able to do anything. Most likely, the following will happen after the internet disconnects for more than 1-2 minutes: YouTube livestream auto-ends, Zoom meeting auto-transfers host to a random other participant. You will be able to troubleshoot when internet returns.

Youtube livestream ends prematurely

You will only be able to troubleshoot when internet returns.

  1. Go to YouTube and Go live again
  2. Start streaming in OBS
  3. Check that we are sending packets to YouTube by checking stream status on YouTube
  4. Send the new stream link in Whatsapp
  5. Redo the Zoom procedure

No video from 3rd frontal camera

  1. Check that the frontal camera is powered
  2. Press the sync button on the HDMI/ethernet bridge
  3. Press the sync button on the ethernet/HDMI bridge

Laggy system

This could be caused by pure chance, and is usually diagnosed at the setup phase. The following are some ways this lag could be mitigated, ordered from least disruptive to most disruptive. Only try them if you absolutely have to.

  1. Reduce the number of PowerPoint files open at once
  2. Close the browser
  3. Restart OBS
  4. Restart the computer

OBS cannot pick up audio/video

Probably caused by a driver not getting detected. These instructions will disrupt the livestream.

  1. Unplug/replug the video mixer USB
  2. Restart OBS

The audio comes from a LAN cable, and I have no clue how it works.

Audio

Tips and tricks

Make small changes to the levels (i.e. the mixer levels, the gain knob, etc.). If you make large changes, it increases the risk of sudden feedback, which causes panic, which may cause even bigger changes to correct the mistake. Remember: make the small changes, then listen to the changes you made. This will take some time for your ears to start picking up the changes (about a year or three).

Troubleshooting

Audio in sanctuary but not going into the computer

  1. Mixer is on
  2. Wireless router underneath mixer is on
  3. Log out of all accounts except the one you are currently using
  4. If audio is not restored to the computer, reboot the computer and try again

No audio

  1. Mixer is on
  2. No channels are muted
  3. Main level is not muted
  4. Amplifier is turned on

Cannot connect to mixer with the tablet

  1. Mixer is on
  2. Wireless router underneath mixer is on
  3. Tablet is on the correct wifi network
  4. Close tablet app (stop the program) and restart the app

No audio in lobby and/or nursery

  1. Mixer is on
  2. Passive amplifier is on (switched to XLR); it should be glowing amber
  3. Gain on passive amplifier is non-zero
  4. Volume on both knobs of passive amplifier is non-zero
  5. Nursery amplifier is turned on and volume is non-zero

LAN PTZ Architecture

Background

The current livestreaming requirement started during the COVID pandemic in 2020. We were graced with 2 camcorders (and an old PTZ with 3x zoom), and we have run with them since. 5 years have passed, and along with that, a large amount of wear and tear on the already ~17 year old equipment. In fact, one of the camcorders is currently unusable due to an autofocus malfunction.

These camcorders were presented as temporary solutions to a temporary problem. Now that they are an integrated solution into our hybrid worship service, it is time to upgrade.

Current approved solution

We have proposed (and Council has approved) the following purchases:

  • 2 x PTZ cameras with 30x zoom
  • 1 x PTZ camera controller
  • 1 x Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) switch
  • Various cables and extenders to connect everything

Connecting everything together

  • All cameras will be connected to the PoE switch for power and control
  • Camera outputs are routed into the ATEM mini video multiplexer (muxer) for a seamless upgrade experience
  • The controller is connected to the PoE switch to control the camera
  • Computers on the church office network are also able to control the cameras
  • IP addresses for connected devices are set statically such that reconfiguration isn't necessary

PTZ cameras

They are mainly controlled by the physical PTZ controller. Though they can also be controlled by a remote or any computer on the church office network. To control them via IP address, you can use the remote in conjunction with the screen to display what the camera is outputting.

  • Press Menu
  • Go to Network settings
  • See the IP address of the camera

You can also use the controller to view the IP address of the camera, if the IP address of the camera hasn't changed. You can verify that the IP address of the camera hasn't changed by trying to use the joystick to control the camera in question.

PTZ controller

Instructions may not be completely accurate because I'm going off of memory.

Typical usage

There are 3 methods of controlling the camera. By descending order of typicality:

  1. The physical controller
  2. The remote control (which has nothing to do with the controller)
  3. The camera's web interface (which also has nothing to do with the controller)

Below are the two ways of controlling the camera. Note that both these ways can be achieved with any of the above 3 methods.

Joystick. Play around with the joystick to get a feel of how to use it. Zooming in/out is done by twisting the joystick itself, or by using the slider on the bottom-left of the controller.

Presets. When you have a camera configuration you like and would like to save it to the camera, press the PRESET button on the controller, followed by the slot number you would like to set it to (1-255), then press ENTER. Note that each ministry has their own set of slot numbers that only they can edit, so don't go overwriting their presets. To call a certain preset, press CALL, followed by the slot number you would like to call (1-255), then press ENTER. The camera will snap to the pre-defined position.

Adding a new camera

You can use either the physical controller or the online interface to do this. To use the physical controller:

  1. Press SETUP
  2. Go to Add Network..., which should be the first option
  3. Fill in the fields accordingly

To use the online interface

  1. Go to the IP address displayed on the physical controller
  2. Log in with admin credentials
  3. Go to Discover to discover a camera
  4. If the camera is connected to the same network, it should show the camera on the list

Unable to control the camera

  • Check that you are on the correct camera number
  • If the display says that a timeout has occurred, this means that the camera's IP address has changed, and you have to edit the camera settings