[Craig Seeman]

Cameras have gotten so affordable there’s no need for one size fits all unless you’re on a really tight budget.
I use Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera with Speedbooster when Depth of field control is important.
For run & gun I use a Sony X70. If possible, use the best camera for the job and different jobs may better suited for different cameras.
If I felt my business warranted it I’d have no problem going to a Blackmagic Ursa Mini or Sony FS5.

Personally, codec “malleability” is important which is why I like ProRes of XAVC 10 bit 4:2:2. But in proper hands well shot 4:2:0 delivers professionally.

My caution would be not to over spend on the camera (what over spend is depends on your business model and client base).

[Craig Seeman]

RedGian DeNoiser II
https://www.redgiant.com/products/magic-bullet-denoiser-ii/

Doe not work in FCPX. Must use After Effects for this one.

[Craig Seeman]

Photon Pro but I haven’t heard many reports on it yet.
https://www.fpgarts.com/photon-pro

[Craig Seeman]

Neat video of course.
https://www.neatvideo.com

[Craig Seeman]

[Ned Miller] “I am worried about the one cell connection option”
I would be too unless you can test the specific location in the building and under similar load conditions. You can get a great connection in an uninhabited room but on the day of the event there’s 800 people in auditorium on their phones….

Bonded devices work by using multiple carriers so the load may be balanced across several carriers.

If you go with a single LTE modem make sure it has a good data reputation and undersubscribed.

Funny story, I was streaming an event in a basement convention hall in a hotel. C-Span and I believe Reuters were there with LiveU units and kept dropping their connection. The client wanted someone independent of the media coverage, someone under their control so they hired me. I check the area and Clear had a Wi-Max tower near by. They were on a budget so I told them that we’d rent a Clear WI-Max modem. No one used Wi-Max (lost out to LTE… sorta the Betamax to VHS) and I had a great rock solid connection.

[Ned Miller] “I thought that dropped calls were a thing of the past,”
Voice and Data aren’t always the same. Data can fluctuate heavily based on location and load even when voice is OK.

[Ned Miller] “is this common for them to demand the video vendor be responsible for the connection? “
It depends on the client and their facility but it’s not uncommon. Some want you to take on the responsibility. Of course you bill them for that.

[Ned Miller] “From what I’m learning it’s the connection which is the week link in webcasting, correct?”
Always the weak link. It’s the most common point failure.

You could rent a Bond but because it’s so inexpensive I think LiveU units are probably more common in the rental market.

[Craig Seeman]

Do you mean a live webcast? Your friend is heading in the right direction but if reliability is critical you may want to use a Bonded device (multiple LTE modems). A single LTE connection is OK if you trust a single LTE provider and local towers are not going to be saturated.

Are you sending a multi-camera switched/composited feed or a feed from a single camera?

Teradek Bond might be a reasonable option.
https://teradek.com/pages/bonding-solutions

You can target a CDN otherwise you can set up a Sputnik server (unix based) which is free. It depends on what your entire workflow is including destination(s).

With a Bond you could buy and use on other jobs or even do live events in the field whether concerts, ENG/Press Conferences, Conventions, etc.

[Craig Seeman]

[John Rofrano] “No, Compressor will not accept nor create WMV files.”

Flip4Mac Player Pro $29 is a Quicktime Component that works inside Compressor and will convert WMV to ProRes when used that way.
https://www.telestream.net/flip4mac/overview.htm

[Craig Seeman]

[Todd Terry] “I think the Blackmagic recorder is Thunderbolt only, the last time I even touched an Apple product was when helping someone move an old Mac years ago… all PC here.
“

Several PCs are using Thunderbolt and, in fact, there are already PCs using Thunderbolt 3 which is not yet on any Mac. I think most of the better Asus gaming laptops have Thunderbolt and HP is using it in some of their laptop “workstation” models. Asus also sells motherboards with Thunderbolt if you’re a DIY computer builder.

If you want dirt cheap you can probably can an ElGato game capture device
https://www.elgato.com/en
and and Windows laptop running the free OBS software.

Or perhaps you can get Telestream Gameshow which is subscription software, for just a month. It streams to YouTube and Twitch. $9/mo.
https://www.gameshow.net/pricing.htm

So cost of software is obviously not an issue since nothing should cost you more than $10.
Game capture hardware is cheapest but you have to make sure the software is compatible.
As you know “cheap” always comes at a price.

[Craig Seeman]

[Todd Terry] “I’m wanting to do some live streaming, via YouTube, but using an external video camera (not a webcam).
“

Wirecast Play for YouTube. If only a single source just $10 to remove the watermark in the lower left.
https://www.telestream.net/wirecastplay/landing.htm
Blackmagic Ultrastudio MiniRecorder SDI and HDMI to Thunderbolt for $138
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/892453-REG/Blackmagic_Design_bdlkulsdzminrec_Ultrastudio_Mini_Recorder.html

[Craig Seeman]

Switch is a really good file QC tool as well. To me, it’s what a professional player should be. https://www.telestream.net/switch/features.htm

Telestream products aren’t dependent on Quicktime.