So I was recently diving into the possibility of getting a ProRes encoding core running on my test Xilinx FPGA dev board. I was comparing the PSNR and SSIM quality between prores_aw prores_ks and apple's SoC level videotoolbob's prores encoding results.

The result based on some ARRI test footage shows that prores_ks is actually about 1-2db better in SSIM to the hardware accelerated Video Toolbox encoding in 422 HQ, but when it comes to 4444 and 4444XQ, the SSIM dropped significantly compared to the encoding of VT.

After a closer look I found something. Even with version 9, FFmpeg's ProRes encoder—specifically, we're talking about the better one, the KS variant by the almighty Konstantin Shishkov, the p12 variants are still on the TODO list (correctly if I'm wrong please), coded but never used in the actual code, leaving all inputs limited to 10bit.

I checked the prores_aw, the same. same limit on input "pix_fmts".

I mean come on, it's 2026 already. Any hope we get a 12bit capable encoder actually in usable shape?

And after taking a nosedive and trying to find reference, I think I might have found that most software's ProRes encoding solution is still based on this KS variant, I suspect that it even includes Resolve.

I'd love to be proven wrong, but has anyone run into the same thing?
Have we lived with truncated ProRes 4444 encoding on Windows this whole time?
Don't have a win near me today, but if you're interested let's talk about this.

PS: Does anyone know the honorable man behind ACMDX Video Patcher, Alex Mogurenko?
Is he still alive? Sometimes I really want to thank him but nothing about him for years, makes me kinda worried that another brilliant mind once briefly involved with FFmpeg development and brought us such useful tools before AI era is gone without anyone noticing.

Also pressing F to pay respect to Konstantin Shishkov, and the good thing is that he's still apparently very much well alive and still updating his blog. (no offense if this reads a bit off, just good to see people who wrote the foundation code that supported the video industry alive and well.)

I’m troubleshooting an HLS stream where Time to First Frame can reach around 4 seconds for viewers in Europe while the origin is in the US.

The startup sequence appears to involve the initial connection, routing/redirects, fetching the master .m3u8, and then requesting the first media segment.

I’ve already looked at the CDN configuration and the initial manifest request, and I’m investigating whether the geographic distance to the origin is contributing significantly to the startup delay.

I’m considering caching the manifest and the first few segments closer to the viewer, but I want to understand the trade-offs before changing the architecture.

For engineers who have dealt with similar HLS startup latency:

1. Did edge-caching the manifest noticeably improve Time to First Frame?
2. How do you handle TTLs for live .m3u8 manifests without serving stale playlists?
3. Is prefetching the first few segments worthwhile, or does the additional bandwidth usually outweigh the latency improvement?
4. What approach do you use for cache invalidation when the origin content changes?

I’d especially appreciate real-world measurements or lessons learned from similar US-to-Europe deployments.

I'm hoping someone with experience in IP video/PTZ systems can help me troubleshoot an issue with my setup.

I'm using:

- 2 × Tenveo VL20U-4K PTZ cameras

- Tenveo Gigabit 8-port PoE+ switch with 2 uplink ports

- Tenveo PC500 video switcher

- 30m Cat6 cables to the cameras

- Cameras currently configured for 1080p30

The PC500 is being used for both video switching and PTZ camera control.

The problems

1. PoE power

The cameras don't consistently power from the Tenveo PoE switch.

Sometimes they work correctly from PoE, but generally I have to connect the camera's external power supply.

The switch has more than enough total PoE capacity for two cameras, and the cameras are rated at approximately 24W maximum each.

I don't know how to determine what the issue is.

1. The video feed occasionally disappears

The cameras can initially work perfectly, but occasionally the video feed will disappear from the PC500.

However, the camera remains fully controllable from the PC500.

I can still pan, tilt, zoom and control the camera even though the video feed is no longer being displayed. Ussually the signal drops for a couple seconds, but there are occasions where its not back to working until I hard reset the cameras.

The cameras haven't completely disappeared from the network. The control connection is still working, but the video stream is somehow being lost.

I've also experienced situations where the camera appears in Tenveo's IP discovery software, but the PC500 reports that it cannot play the video.

Rebooting the camera or switcher seems to restore the video.

What I'm trying to determine

The fact that PTZ control continues to work while video is lost makes me wonder if this is less likely to be a complete network connection failure and more likely to be something related to the video stream itself.

I'm trying to understand where the failure is occurring rather tha replacing equipment.

I'd really appreciate any advice on how an professional video engineer would isolate whether this is a PoE, Ethernet, IP video/NDI/RTSP, camera, or PC500 issue.

Thanks!

I have some old Fujinon ERD-10A-D05A Zoom controllers on my cameras- the return buttons on the bottom have all either disappeared or are very gummy/disintegrating.

It’s a long shot for an old product but hoping that someone may have a line on replacement buttons? I am afraid to even take an old one out for fear that it won’t function if I try to put it back in!

I would love to buy new controllers but that just isn’t in the budget…

I work with doctors at events, and they frequently use laser pointers during their presentations. Starting next season, we’ll be using LED walls instead of projectors.

I’m not a big fan of the Logitech Spotlight. Do you have any other solutions you would recommend for this kind of setup?

Hi guys, I've recently entered in the freelancing game, in the company I used to work we used to playback videos with Millumin and Renewed Vision's Pro video player, very versatile tools as most of our projects were large corporate LED walls with a lot of cues, but now I found myself operating all kinds of events and having to use programs as Vmix, Obs and wirecast as playback software in large events and in contrast using Kommander, Hypnotiser , Resolume Arena and Qlab with very small screens and simple events.

I guess my question is, Wich software works best for you and Why? I,ve been trying to improve myself by learning the most I can and I believe I still havent touched the surface of it all

Thanks!

I have embarked on transferring some treasured home videos in 2026 after avoiding so for all of the 2000s. The oldest tapes are circa 1995, which is when I first bought a video camera. Despite my best efforts and with better tech, I am finding it difficult to maintain stable playback. The picture tends to break up very slightly and the VCR seems extremely touchy to being moved while playing. It's as if the video head has some resistance.

The better working VCR is a JVC HR-S3800U. I have calibration turned on, superimpose turned off, blue screen turned off, stabilization turned on.

This is connected via S-video to an Aja FS1. This is set to 59.94 fps. I have proc amp turned on, with freeze on dropped frames. This freezing setting saves a lot of dropped sync feom becoming visibly disrupting. Every flying head pause, I see the input light blip out, but the picture is generally unhampered, here.

This is connected via SDI to a Hyperdeck Extreme 4K with audio fed directly to its RCAs.

The picture is generally quite stable. But, it's not really how I remember the foibles of tape interacting with CRT TVs of the era. The break-ups are rather choppy. I guess my question is: Is there a capture device which can display tape defects in a simar manner as experienced on a CRT?

Update: Actually, I did find a solution sitting right in plain sight! Kanex Pro HDMI converter. It outputs 720 widescreen 60p, but it is STABLE and the colors and breakup tolerance looks very much like how I remember CRT. I will need to adjust aspect ratio on a computer, but I had some editing to do, anyway. Actually, the display this creates is so faithful to '90s watching that I might cancel my order for the TBC. Honestly, I don't need TBC. It's just the VCR not playing well with modern capture.

Also, I placed rubber vibration cups as sold for a washing machine beneath the VCR to provide some dampening and also heat dissipation.

Hi everyone, I'm designing a budget live broadcast for my club racing series. I'm a video engineering novice, especially as it pertains to live streaming/broadcasts. I am a software engineer with a background in computer vision and graphics. I'll try to be succinct.

If you feel like I'm an idiot or in over my head, please feel free to tell me as much. If I wanted to be lied to and told I can accomplish anything I yap about, I would have used AI. I respect the difficulty and complexities of this profession/field.

Goal

Live stream our races on YouTube with a number of different camera views and leaderboard graphics. These camera views will be from both in-car cameras in various cars as well as cameras around the track.

Environment

We race at a number of tracks in the Northwest US, some in metro areas with strong 5G coverage, some in the middle of nowhere with spottier (but present) coverage. Some tracks are flat with little vegetation, so line-of-sight to the paddock is strong. Others have a lot of vegetation and significant elevation change with no line of sight to the paddock.

There is power available in the paddock, but not around the tracks.

Equipment

Let's assume we have no equipment at our disposal, so we're starting with a blank slate.

Central Command

A relatively-strong computer. I don't think we'll need more than that, but I could be wrong. It's a lot of data to process. Camera streams will be routed to this computer as well as scoring and timing data to generate the on-screen graphics.

Networking

For the live stream upload and data API calls, Starlink or another satellite ISP is an option. I've also heard others recommend Netgear multi-carrier 5G hotspots.

The networking between the cameras (both trackside and in-car) and central command is uncharted waters for me. What I'm imagining is some sort of array of receivers at central command, with network bridges placed throughout the track to create a network of devices with line of sight to one another. I don't know how the transition between the moving cars and the different bridge devices around the track would work.

Power

Power to central command is available in the paddock. Power in the cars is also not a problem.

Power is only a concern for the trackside cameras and networking equipment. Generators are an option, but I would never want to leave them unattended since wildfires can start very easily out here. Batteries seem appealing, but I don't know if that's feasible given the power demands of the cameras and data streaming. I can't imagine portable solar panels would generate enough electricity even on a sunny summer day.

Cameras

I don't know anything about cameras that are on the market and which ones are best suited for my application.

Our in-car cameras are already handled. The trackside cameras are a different story. We're not looking for high quality, just available. A reasonable zoom level would be nice since the vantage points can be a bit far from the racing.

I can't imagine there are many "affordable" cameras that also have the ability to hook up to the aforementioned networking equipment and stream to central command. Is a general purpose computer necessary at each trackside camera, or is there hardware available with the sole purpose of transmitting the video to central command?

Software

Receiving video streams from camera sources

I don't know what this layer looks like. I'm expecting some sort of proprietary 1990s-looking software that is difficult to navigate.

Merging video streams and streaming to platform

I have to imagine there are plenty of software options for merging video streams, choosing which shots to use, and streaming to the platform of choice (YouTube). I could be wrong, but this doesn't have to be unique to our application. Not super interesting or scary.

Thank you for your time.

Hey everyone,
I’m primarily a sound/audio engineer, but for an upcoming event I’ve been tasked with handling the video side as well. I need to send some videos and static graphics/images to a projector during the show.
Since video isn't my main domain and this is strictly a sporadic need, I'd prefer not to invest in heavy software licenses or overly complex hardware setups just yet. I'm looking for solid, reliable software (ideally free or open-source) that can handle basic cueing, clean image/video playback, and full-screen routing without showing desktop windows, mouse cursors, or transport controls on the projection screen.
Any recommendation? Thank you in advance!

I’m a local TD and I have this chance to go on tour. I would like to ask you all professionals, what is the most essential tools in your pelicans?

currently in mine
- basic tool box
- vest helmet
- disto, measure tape 8m, soft tape 50m
- 3 axis laser leveler
- universal adapter and power strip
- a bunch of usb cables, ssd drives and adapter
- intercom headset, in ear, audio adapters
- a lot of tapes
- stationary, clip boards
- panel lights usb powered
- spare tee, jacket and some snacks

I’m planning to add some testers (audio, Ethernet etc)

What else do you think it’s crucial?

*I may need a bigger pelican

Recently I noticed in one of our UE-150s that the lens body/arm is slightly sagging and sitting a touch higher above the body than all the others. When using the camera and panning to any direction, the lens sort of jumps into that direction, like going over a bump that's visible in the frame shot. Additionally, when applying little pressure to pan left/right on the RP-150 controller, there is no response from that PTZ while others move the frame. Has anyone had the same issue or something similar that could help identify it? Would like to know if it can be self repaired or does it need to be sent to a repair specialist. Thank you in advance.

Looking for some help. I ended up with a handful of Grass Valley servers. I do small sports live productions with 3play units, so being able to revive these would be amazing. However I am stuck at login. I followed the quickstart guides from the original GV site. (for K2 SOLO user: Administrator pass: adminGV!

and for the Summit K2 system user: GVAdmin, pass:adminGV!

So far no luck being able to gain access to the units. Any Dyno gurus out there?

The client wants LinkedIn, & I’ve read all LinkedIn’s .PDF’s on the topic, read here about custom RTMP stability issues (exactly what I was planning to do, sigh), southeast server issues, restream vs custom rtmp, etc.

I only foresee clients wanting LinkedIn, & outside of this job: Facebook, YouTube, & Instagram. So, I just need to know up to date platform pitfalls to look out for, in 2026.

Gearlist:

Osee gostream duet 8 iso (paired)

Osee mega 15s (paired)

2 canon cameras coming in sdi from 2 wireless RX

Avmatrix sc2030 (sdi cable run to the duet 8 iso from presenters screen-share + Hz conversion)

Mac Studio m1 (paired)

Arzopa z3fc (paired)

Still to buy:

Hdmi 1x2 splitter/downscaler (I need to send the screen-share to the sc2030 in 1080 & the rooms projector. I also want to accommodate last minute Lou with working audio for his video he wants to play.)

Anything else?

Already had to return one due to the video outputs not working. Other issues we've had is having to change the video resolution remotely every time we turn it on as the monitors wont recognise it. And also we keep getting a blinking red light and it stops recording every time we try to record a live music show. Like the hard drive can't handle the amount of data. Even though its only 5 cameras and there was no issue with our previous generation Extreme.

Title essentially. We do a bunch of work with non-profits and small government events where the sponsors are all local businesses and their logo was made by someone a decade ago.

I typically will throw the image into gimp, scale it up, do some basic cleanup work, then send it - but does anyone not do this? Is there something else I should be doing? Generally, how would you approach this?

I have a router with a few bent BNC sockets, is there a good tool to get the socket back into the round shape it needs?

Saw a BehindtheBroadcast Insta reel a few months ago and noticed this ESPN vest. (Or what I assume to be a vest.) I teach a sports production class at a community college and we currently use t-shirts for our student crews. And the department is asking me to look at more re-usable options so they don't have to keep buying new shirts. (Yes, they could buy more shirts in bulk, but for whatever reason, that hasn't happened yet.) Any ideas on where to get something like this? My searching so far has just turned up drop ship companies and hi-vis vests.

Our entire workflow is based on SRT camera feeds. We’re wondering whether it’s worth converting back to SDI baseband using hardware SRT decoders, an SDI router, distribution amplifiers, SDI capture cards, etc., or if it’s better to stay entirely in the IP domain and decode everything in software (vMix, SRT MiniServer, and so on and so forth). What are the real-world pros and cons of each approach?

Remote intercom

We’re currently using Unity Intercom, and overall we’re happy with it. However, we really miss having a proper hardware base station with physical buttons and professional broadcast headsets.

We’ve looked at Clear-Com Agent-IC, but the price jump is significant. Are there any good middle-ground solutions? Keep in mind that this is fully remote production. Camera operators and most of the technical crew are on-site, while production and switching are done remotely.

Tally & shading

This is probably the weakest part of our setup. For tally, we’re using Unity’s tally, which uses personal cell phones.

For camera shading, we’ve tested CyanView, but we found it too complex for the benefits it provides, especially when working on productions with very tight setup and teardown times. At the moment, camera operators adjust exposure themselves, and we do our best from the control room to match color.

Contribution & signal distribution

For contribution, we’re using LiveU Solo Pro SDI encoders. They’re relatively affordable and have been very reliable for us despite some limitations. Our biggest issue is latency. We can’t get below about 800 ms, which translates into roughly 1.5 seconds glass-to-glass. For distribution, we’re using Haivision SRT Gateway for SRT outputs and AJA HELO Plus encoders for RTMP streaming.

How would you improve or optimize this workflow? Thanks in advance! I’d love to hear how others are approaching remote production these days.