Event live streaming — Starter (two cameras, one switcher, no laptop)

Bring your own

• longer HDMI runs or an SDI conversion if a camera sits past 15 m from the table (the XA60 has a mini HDMI port)
• a wired network drop with upstream bandwidth at the switcher
• a feed from the venue's PA mixer into the switcher's second 3.5 mm input; speakers and room DSP are a Pro Desk job
• a USB drive for the recording
• a table and power at the operator position

Why this kit

For a first paid event job the risk is not picture quality, it is the laptop. An ATEM Mini Pro ISO streams from hardware over its own Ethernet port, so a Windows update, a sleeping laptop or a USB disconnection cannot end the broadcast, and it records each input so the edit is not stuck with the live cut. Four HDMI inputs gives room for two cameras plus the presenter's slide feed, which is the actual shape of most conference jobs. The two cameras are Canon XA60 camcorders: a 20x zoom reaches a lectern from the back of a hall, HDMI goes into the ATEM through the mini HDMI adapter and a 10 m lead, and each ships with a USB power adapter so a full conference day runs off the wall. The mics are RØDE on 2.4 GHz, a clip-on for the presenter and a handheld for questions, and this is the limit of this tier: in a full ballroom with phones and Wi-Fi, keep the receiver in clear sight of the stage and test it at load-in. When the venue has a PA, its mixer feed goes on the second input and carries everything the room hears. The programme monitor is not a luxury at this level, because without it the operator is cutting a show they cannot see. There is no intercom: one operator at the table can cut this alone, or with a hired camera operator in sight of the table.