The Making of a Live Streaming Cam
Background
On October 31st, 2023, I will have been running my live stream on YouTube for 4 years. During that time, I have received numerous requests for what camera gear that I use and other questions such as if this is a WiFi cam and what are the specs.
Let’s back up a bit as to how this whole YouTube streaming thing started. I like most people started feeding birds from feeders on my deck that happened to have white rails. What a mess the birds made, which was really hard to keep clean.
My lovely wife suggested that I move the feeders to the back yard. My house is a two story with a basement, so the issue was that I couldn’t see the feeders in the back yard from the main floor or the second floor as it was blocked by trees. So I started searching for solutions where I could use a streaming cam where I could view it from anywhere with an internet connection.
I found Scott Keller’s Birdwatching Headquarters cam in Ohio and reached out to him. He offered up advice and the specs of his setup. Additionally, he invited me to join his network. I joined and was with him for about 3 months. I am still a moderator on his site and we share moderators.
A number of us live bird cam streamers (Canadian Bird Nerd and NatureTec) were once with Scott and we are are still like a family that help each other out if any one of us has problems. Our moderators (many of them shared amongst us streamers) are the best, most knowledgeable and giving people on the planet as many of you can attest who watch any of these channels. We also have some power chatters who also contribute a lot to the channel and help round out our community of helping answer questions from new viewers.
The Decision
As mentioned above, I had to decide if I could go WiFi or ethernet. The cams are located about 65 feet from the back of my house, which is too far for reliable WiFi coverage. I was also not sure about WiFi extenders and signal reliability. Ethernet (which is basically a wired connection) can be used over greater distance and also supplies power to the cams (POE - powered over ethernet). Getting power to the WiFi cams would have also been a problem powering WiFi cams, running electrical wires, using batteries or solar panels. So, I followed in Scott’s footprints with ethernet.
Another consideration to hosting a 24/7 live streaming cam is your internet speed (more precisely, your upload speed). Previously with Charter Spectrum, I had up to 35MB/second upload speed, which typically ran less than this. But to get it, I had to sign up for 1 GB download speed package which was an extra charge each month. Fortunately, I was able to run two cams at 2K with this particular upload speed. Since then, I have Fiber Optic cable through ATT and have 2.5 GB upload and download speed. As such, I was able to upgrade my two cams to running 4K each.
The Equipment
4K 8MP Bullet Outdoor Cam
Provides the power to the camera over ethernet (POE)
Used to capture sound from the cams
Only needed if mounting on a round pole
This is most of the equipment, but I had to get ethernet connectors to connect the cable to run the full length of the outside run towards the house and as you will see PVC conduit pipe, connectors, etc.
Installation
As I mentioned above, the cams are about 65 feet directly behind my house. However, I couldn’t run the wires directly, but had to run them around my driveway. This involved me digging an 85-foot ditch in which I would lay PVC conduit pipe and pull the ethernet lines (three of them) through the long run of pipes.
Conduit pipe trench for the ethernet cable
Ethernet lines pulled through 85’ of PVC conduit
Hole drilled though brick facade and ethernet line run into basement garage. Weatherproof cover installed
Ethernet feed to office on main floor
Ethernet switch allows several lines to router through one line
Testing camera using the CamStreamer software
Conduit run to cam pole
Conduit run to house, dodging other PVC conduit
Running ethernet cable through floor to main floor of house
Power Injectors that power the cameras
Modem and router
The cams come with Axis Operating system software, which allows you to control and adjust the cam. CamStreamer is used to stream to YouTube, or other video streaming platforms including Facebook or Vimeo. This means that you have to learn to operate several new softwares or platforms (Axis, CamStreamer and YouTube) if you want to stream live. There is also OBS Software which is OpenSource operating software that is good and also free. Using just Axis software will not allow you to make any cam settings remotely, as you will have to have software to remote into your computer to do that.
In Conclusion
Even though many of us have Ring or Ring-type cams on the outside of our houses for security, having a dedicated nature cam (be it to watch birds, animals or even just a meadow, creek or stream) or for additional security purposes to watch areas or driveways on your property, can be great fun and useful. Whether you decide to broadcast it on YouTube privately or to the public or just maintain the stream privately using the cam software on your personal network, I hope this blog will give you ideas on what is involved.
My cams and related equipment were expensive. But there are cheaper options available that may work as well. My friend NatureTec from Germany has some cams from Hikvision that he says does well with his OBS software. So, this may be a more budget-friendly option. While OBS is free, keep in mind that to use OBS software for a 24/7 livestream broadcast, one needs to keep it running on their computer in the background 24/7, which may even require a separate dedicated computer, so you don’t have to worry about running out of resources or the stream go down to reboot your computer or use too many resources to where the stream falters. I’m sure there are others. Just run down the reviews on Amazon or YouTube before purchasing.
Additionally, if you like to watch live birds up close, jump on over to my companion YouTube channel where I have two 24/7 live cams that alternate between cam views (Bird cam) and join us in the chat where we discuss all things birds and critters and backyard feeding.
Feel free to post ideas or questions in the comments below, as if you have a question, I’m sure others do as well so that this blog post can be even more helpful.
Thanks for dropping by and may God bless you and yours!
