Virtual Seating Through Zoom

cwsanders · 2021-02-08T02:00:47+00:00

So, today we tried Virtual Seating in our Worship Service today. We use an ATEM Mini Pro to live stream, and we used a completely different setup to display...

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Virtual Seating Through Zoom

joelwsmith

Hey @cwsanders! Thanks for reaching out.

What streaming platform(s) are you streaming through? I'm curious if you have any low-latency options with your current setup before suggesting an alternative workflow.

cwsanders

joelwsmith Thanks for responding. I am streaming through Boxcast.

joelwsmith

cwsanders

Gotcha. Thanks for the info.

As far as I know Boxcast does not have a low latency feature, so you definitely will need to find another way to accomplish this.

To answer your question about using the ATEM Television Studio HD into Zoom, that is possible. Magewell has some USB capture cards that are directly compatible with Zoom, so you can use one of those to get your ATEM's aux send into Zoom and out to your viewers. I know for sure the Magewell 32060 USB-HDMI is compatible with Zoom, but I'm not sure about any other of their SDI capture devices. The ATEM only has SDI out for the aux, so you will need a SDI capture device or get a SDI to HDMI converter if you get the USB-HDMI.

cwsanders

joelwsmith makes sense. So, I'm not good at drawing diagrams, so let me know if this makes sense, because we also have a projector in place that displays the Zoom feed, that was separate from the program feed we're sending to the streaming audience. Lol.

For clarity, we aren't in our sanctuary - it is currently being renovated, so we're broadcasting from our fellowship hall temporarily until our renovations are complete.

ATEM TV Studio (Aux out) -- SDI to HDMI Converter -- Magewell Capture Card -- Computer.

Would I be correct in assuming I'm going to need an HDMI splitter between our projector and computer for this setup to properly work?

joelwsmith

@cwsanders

So the Zoom feed on your projector is the virtual audience, correct? That's basically the output from the Zoom computer?

The ATEM > SDI to HDMI Converter > Magewell USB-HDMI > Computer is to get your program feed INTO Zoom so it can be sent to your Zoom participants. If you want the Zoom feed output sent to your projector then that is a completely separate situation, so a splitter would not be necessary.

Hopefully I'm understanding correctly...

cwsanders

Yes sir, the projector is displaying the virtual audience.

The setup to send my program feed INTO Zoom makes complete sense. I'm guessing I could feed the ATEM feed into the available HDMI input on the computer, and then feed the projector with a USB-C to HDMI dongle.

I saw on another video that Zoom has a feature that allows you to use a dual monitor setting - that allows me to display the Zoom participants on our projector, meanwhile sharing the screen with the participants inside with the program feed with the people inside.

If I'm missing something, let me know.

joelwsmith

@cwsanders

Does your computer have an HDMI input? Usually the HDMI ports on computers are for output only. Just want to clarify that before you make an assumption that it can be done that way.

I'm not sure I understand what you mean by the "participants inside". Are you referring to people sitting in the same room to participate in the service? If so, you shouldn't need Zoom for that. You can simply use a program output from the ATEM and send it to your local displays.

cwsanders

joelwsmith Yes, it does. Well, the laptop that's coming in this week does. It has one HDMI output. What we used this past Sunday (Macbook Air) did not - we had to use a USB-C to HDMI to display the Zoom participants onto the projector.

What I mean by "participants inside" are the Virtual Audience (participants on Zoom).

Also, forgive my ignorance here, but, in order for the Aux out to work, would I need to make the Zoom computer an input within the ATEM TV Studio, and assign the aux to that input?

joelwsmith

@cwsanders

I think it's important to be clear here. You seem to be mixing up inputs/outputs, so it's causing some confusion.

Try to imagine everything in terms of signal flow. This will help the conversation stay on track and help you determine what needs to be accomplished.

The ATEM program output goes to your stream.
The ATEM aux output goes to your Zoom computer (to be sent to the Zoom participants).
The Zoom computer output goes to your projector so the Zoom participants can be seen.

or think of the ATEM as the center/hub of your flow. Inputs flow into it and outputs flow out of it.

The ATEM program output goes to your stream.
Another ATEM program output goes to your Zoom computer.
The ATEM aux output goes to projector.
The Zoom computer output goes into your ATEM, then routed to the aux output.

cwsanders

joelwsmith that definitely makes sense, the way you put it.

So, my goal is to send a program feed to the Zoom participants to see in real time, while displaying the participants on a projector.

In my head, I'm thinking in order to accomplish this, based on the knowledge you shared:

send the ATEM program out to my encoder
send the Zoom computer output to my ATEM
Send the ATEM aux out to the projector, routing it to the Zoom computer
Use the dual screen feature in Zoom, sharing the live feed with the participants, while displaying the participants on the projector.

Does it look like I'm on the right track?

joelwsmith

@cwsanders

I'm pretty sure I understand everything you're wanting to do now.

I realized I missed a step in my last explanation. See it updated here:

The ATEM program output goes to your stream.
The ATEM aux output goes to your Zoom computer (to be sent to the Zoom participants).
The Zoom computer output goes to your projector so the Zoom participants can be seen.

or think of the ATEM as the center/hub of your flow. Inputs flow into it and outputs flow out of it.

The ATEM program output goes to your stream.
Another ATEM program output goes to your Zoom computer (what the participants see - the host video feed).
The ATEM aux output goes to projector.
The Zoom computer output goes into your ATEM, then routed to the aux output (the participant view you see coming back through Zoom).

You should not need the dual screen feature in Zoom with either setup.

cwsanders

joelwsmith I think I understand almost perfectly now.

The only reason I say "almost" is because I don't quite understand why I won't need to dual screen on Zoom.

When I send the program feed to the Zoom computer, along with using that Magewell capture card, will the participants have an option to view that feed within?

joelwsmith

@cwsanders

Yes. The program feed coming into Zoom through the Magewell device will basically become your "host" video feed instead of the laptop's built-in camera or a USB webcam.

cwsanders

joelwsmith I think I have got it now. I plan on setting everything up Thursday. I'll follow up to let you know my successes/failures with this. Thank you so much for your patience, prudence, and expertise!

joelwsmith

@cwsanders

cwsanders

So we ran the Zoom computer to the ATEM, then routed the Aux to the projected, and assigned it to the video feed, and it worked great! Thanks for all of your help!!!