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LordKaT's Livestream
LordKaT's Livestream, which started in May 2010, features a number of segments such as Dungeons & Dragons, This Week In Games, and Turducken is Tasty. He also games and does general tomfoolery with some of his best friends.
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Equipment
This article discusses the equipment and software used on the Live.LordKaT.com stream.
Computers
| Codename | CPU | Memory | OS | Video card | Sound card | Camera | TV card | Other software |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bastok (Stream) |
Quad-core Intel Pentium |
2GB | Windows XP | On-board graphics (one monitor) |
On-board sound | Microsoft Lifecam Cinema HD |
AverMedia AverTV HD DVR |
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| Sandoria (Workstation) |
Quad-Core AMD Phenom II x4 |
8GB | Windows 7 Professional | ATI Radeon 5850 (two monitors) |
USB sound card (currently not in use, possibly not needed) |
none | none |
|
| Airship (Netbook) |
Dual-core Intel Atom N550 |
2GB | Windows 7 Starter | NVidia Mobile | On-board sound | On-board camera | none | none |
| Windurst (planned) |
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| Jeuno (planned) |
Networking
- FiOS 35/35 Internet Connection
- Verizon FiOS Router w/ 802.11g wireless
- Linksys WRT54GL with DD-WRT firmware acting as internal switch
- Codenamed Jeuno (see the pattern yet?)
- Sandoria hard-wired to Jeuno @ 192.168.1.110
- Bastok hard-wired to Jeuno @ 192.168.1.111
- 192.168.1.11x sub-net isolated from other side of network - keeps network isolated from "dangerous" family computers ;)
Video
- Allows component video to be switched between 6 sources and output to two devices.
- Output connected to Bastok AverMedia AverTV HD DVR Capture device through input dongle.
- Verizon FiOS HD Set-top Box
- One Dynex 19" 720p monitor (connected to Bastok, FiOS TV)
- One Acer x213H monitor (connected to Gefen Splitter output from Sandoria as primary monitor)
- One Gefen 1:2 DVI DL Splitter splitting Sandoria DVI output to Acer x213H LCD and Gefen Scaler (added 2011-01-28)
- One Gefen DVI to RGBS w/Scaler scaling input from Gefen Splitter to component input on Impact Acoustics Video Selector (added 2011-01-28)
- A second Acer x213H monitor (connected directly to Sandoria as secondary monitor)
Audio
- One pMix personal audio mixer by American Recorder
- Shure SRH 440 headphones
- Audio-Technica AT2020 USB Microphone
- Microphone stand and pop-filter
Misc Equipment
- Xbox 360
Planned Upgrades
| Streaming Computer (Bastok) | Workstation (Sandoria) |
|---|---|
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Possible Upgrades/Changes/Thoughts
Updated 04/18/11
- Get Blackmagic ATEM Television Studio?
- Use Blackmagic Intensity Pro to capture HDMI output?
- Use planned Windurst computer as ATEM software controller?
- Get dedicated keyboard/keypad as quick video switcher?
Theoretical Streaming Computer Breakdown
- One computer for each stream - UStream, JTV, etc...
- Computers would consist of minimal hardware/memory.
- Hardware must include some way of accepting video output from main mixing computer
- One main computer to act as video mixer
- Must be able to output multiple video feeds to streaming computers.
Video Upgrade on 2011-01-28
A major milestone was reached on January 28, 2011 when a Gefen DVI Splitter and Scaler were added. This had a dramatic impact on both the logistics and quality of streaming video. Previously, LordKaT had to call himself with Skype from Sandoria to Bastok to send his screen captured desktop video on Sandoria to be encoded and streamed on Bastok. This system, while functional, was both clumbsy and relied fully on Skype software to function. Skype's history of software bugs and frequent updates led to some downtime and many headaches. Additionally, the video quality was less than ideal, especially for compression, and could not stream full-screen video, limiting the kinds of games that could be streamed, and limited LordKaT himself to play in windowed mode at lower resolutions.
The advantages of the upgrade are:
- Only one pass of compression is now required on the pure video stream.
- Skype is no longer a choke point, and is out of the picture.
- LordKaT can play games at full screen, and at high resolution.
- What the stream viewer sees is exactly what LordKaT sees on his screen.
Audio Upgrade on 2011-05-27
- Mixer - Alesis MultiMix 8 USB 2.0
- Compressor - Behringer COMPOSER PRO-XL MDX2600
- Microphone - Heil PR 40
- Boom - Heil Pro Mic boom PL2T
- Free microphone - Audio-Technica M4000S
- Headphones - Audio-Technica ATH-M45
