Live Streaming
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Building a Masjid & Surau Live Stream Setup from Scratch
Building a Masjid & Surau live stream setup can seem overwhelming and unnecessarily complicated. There are thousands of different gear combinations – hardware and software – you can put together. Figuring out if two pieces of tech are compatible, or if they work well in your tech ecosystem can be a nightmare.
But it doesn’t have to be.
In this article, we’re going to describe how we would build a Masjid & Surau live stream setup from scratch. We’ll cover the pieces of tech we would purchase and why. And then give some ideas for alternatives to lower the budget or increase the features as needed, so you can get a good idea of how to apply this to your Masjid & Surau live stream setup.
Masjid & Surau Live Stream Setup from Scratch
First off, the decisions we make in this article are really just our opinion. These opinions could change in any given circumstance if we were to know the exact specifications and budget a church could play with. But, after helping hundreds of churches get their live stream setup, this is kind of the general setup direction we see churches taking – especially those building their live stream setup from scratch.
What Equipment Is Needed?
For a Masjid & Surau live stream, there are a few basic pieces of equipment necessary for a great live stream:
- Audio Source
- Cameras
- Production Tech (Switcher)
- Encoder
- Internet Access
About the Audio Mixer
Most Masjid & Surau already have a house mixer. This mixer will be connected to all audio sources and instruments, etc.. This mixer needs some kind of output to send the sound to the live stream tech.
Larger Masjid & Surau with larger budgets will often have a separate mixer or DAW (digital audio workstation) to mix their audio for the stream specifically. This can be done, and it doesn’t have to be expensive. However, most Masjid & Surau that are starting from scratch have a volunteer problem that keeps this from being a good idea. This problem is a lack of experience.
The Live Stream Cameras
We’ll just say that the choice is usually between PTZ and static cameras – or a mixture of both. While static cameras on a tripod or a handheld camera usually have a better-looking image, on a live stream the difference is negligible. Since PTZ cameras give us much more flexibility, and we can control multiple cameras with a single volunteer on a joystick controller, we’re could build this live stream setup using PTZ cameras.
The Live Stream Production Tech
This is a lengthy way to say switcher – but not all switchers are the same. So production tech seems like the easiest way to encapsulate all this tech into a single category.
Basically, we’re talking about your live stream tool – the software or hardware you will use to “produce” the live stream. And by produce, we mean the creative choices of the show – which camera to show the audience, camera movements, and any graphics you want to show, etc. etc.
The BlackMagic ATEM PRO
The Blackmagic Design ATEM line of switchers has become our favorite streaming hardware over the years. They are constantly innovating and updating this suite of tools, and the Blackmagic Brand is a leader in the industry.
PTZ Camera Controller
PTZ cameras can be controlled in a variety of ways, even from a web browser or mobile app. In fact, they even come with handheld remote controls, like a TV remote, that you can use to move them around. But, those are all inconvenient ways to control a camera.
With this controller, we can easily control each camera with the joystick, kind of like flying a plane. It will allow us to pan left or right by moving the joystick to the left or right. We can tilt the camera up or down by moving the joystick up or down. And we can zoom in and out by twisting the joystick handle.
POE Network Switch
This is often overlooked, but the cameras have the ability to get their power from their network cable if the switch is POE (power over ethernet) enabled.
Since we have 2 cameras, a joystick, and the ATEM Mini Pro to network together, we will get an 8-port gigabit POE switch for this.
Each camera should be connected to the switch’s POE ports. The Joystick can be too, but it’s easier to get power to the Joystick location in the sound booth than to a camera on the ceiling. So we recommend using one of the non-POE ports for the joystick.
And, plugging the ATEM into the switch as well will ensure we have all of our pieces connected to the network.
Now, we just need to connect that POE switch to our router or network with an ethernet cable. I recommend at least a Cat6 cable so that the speed and bandwidth are sufficient for video usage – though the upload will really be the only video transmission in this setup. It’s great to be overkill on bandwidth.
Hardware vs. Software
This is a difficult choice to make. And one I’m always debating in my head and heart. I love streaming software – and eCamm is my favorite. It only works on Mac, though. So if you have a Windows PC, OBS would be my second favorite with Vmix coming in 3rd.
Software is awesome because it packs inside one device (the computer) all of the abilities of a room full of hardware devices. For example, the ATEM Mini Pro can only incorporate still images from its “media player.” To get a video player you need another piece of hardware. With software, you basically have no limitations aside from the abilities of your machine.
Software also can be a bit of a learning curve for those with no experience.
The Required Cables
Connecting a live stream setup requires cables. I get calls all the time about wireless, and at this time, the only thing that is remotely wireless stable would be an HDMI feed. With PTZ cameras, you still need a networking cable to provide power and control capabilities.
If you’re going to run one cable, why not run two and hardwire your cameras in? The stability benefit alone makes it worth it.
Audio Cables and Adapters
Since we’re pulling in audio from our church’s house mixer, we’ll need some kind of cable and adapter to connect the mixer to the back of the ATEM Mini Pro.
Most modern audio mixers have XLR outputs. So we’ll need an XLR cable, and an adapter to turn the XLR to a 3.5mm male jack to go into the ATEM Mini Pro.
Additional Tech Needed
A High-Speed External SSD – We will want to add a 1TB SSD to let us easily record at the touch of a button. The Samsung A7 works really well for this. The A5 does too, but the A7 is faster.
Wall Mounts – We also want wall mounts for each camera, so we can mount them to the wall and get them up and out of the way. This will make the cameras virtually “disappear” from our church service while giving us great video angles for the live stream and recordings.
Multiview Monitor – If you already have a computer monitor, you can use it for the ATEM’s multiview. But since we’re building from scratch, we’re going to use a monitor in this setup as well.
We are using the ATEM Mini Pro, though, and it does have a headphone port. So even though we don’t need the headphone port on the back of the monitor.
Restream – This tool is an absolute must for a volunteer-friendly Masjid & Surau live stream setup. This tool allows you to push one button on the ATEM and go live on multiple platforms. Without it, you’ll have to manually publish your streams on Facebook or YouTube. Restream can do it automatically – see the video below.
Building the Masjid & Surau Live Streaming Kit
Now that we have all the items listed, we must connect them all together. It looks a little like this:
Here’s how it’s built:
- Connect the Gigabit POE switch to the main router via an ethernet cable
- Connect the cameras, joystick, and ATEM Mini Extreme to the POE switch as well
- Connect the cameras to the ATEM Mini Extreme via the fiber optic HDMI Cables
- Connect the ATEM Mini Extreme to an output on the church audio mixer (soundboard) designated for the live stream audio.
- Program the Joystick with the camera’s IP addresses.
- Since we networked everything, the cameras and joystick will get an IP address automatically. But we want to switch that to manual now they are all connected.
- Get my Restream key and program it into the ATEM Mini Extreme via the ATEM software (free).
- Plug in the hard drive to the USB-C port.
- We’re done – we can go live now.
Kuliah Live Streaming
As the post pandemic situation emphasized social distancing, people had tough times in regaining their sense of hope and faith without witnessing their physical prayer sessions and religious practices. With the evolution of technologies, there are wider options in exploring the Kuliah Live services to participate virtually in the Khutbah, Masjid & Surau events, and much more. Live streaming Kuliah Live services have revolutionized the power in reaching out to mass viewers,kuliah and other events.
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