What hardware do I need to connect 5 cams/inputs or more to my laptop.

[rmelman]

Dear All,

I'll try to keep this as short and clear as possible, but it's hard to explain without going into detail.
Basically I want to connect 5 (of more) inputs to my laptop and control them within OBS (livestream).
In the future there will be a dedicated computer, but not right now.
I'm creating multiple scenes per livestream (up to dozens per stream).
Let's say I'm doing a talkshow
Every scene consists of at least 1 camera, chroma key (I'm using a green screen), virtual background, virtual desk or other overlay(s), maybe some media, etc.
In a next scene I would have multiple guests shot with a different camera, different background, maybe an embedded Powerpoint, etc. and ofcourse several scenes with the necessary close-ups (mostly crops from a overview cam).
So I need to 'contact' each camera individually.

I could buy 5 capturecards and put them in an USB-hub, but using a hub is not recommended and using 5 cards is a recipe for disaster.
I could also buy a Blackmagic Atem Mini Extreme, but I can output only one cam at a time to OBS (I think), so I have to switch scenes on OBS and cams on the Atem. (Could you maybe do something with macro's?)

Is there a different way to achieve this, better/different hardware maybe, or do I need to adjust my way of working?

Any input is appreciated.

 

[Lawrence_SoCal]

Chroma keying, virtual backgrounds per camera? on a laptop?
Hopefully this is a REALLY powerful engineering/workstation class laptop, with NVENC GPU for video encode/decode offload from CPU

Laptops are at least thermally constrained, usually optimized for battery life not the computationally demanding task of real-time video encoding. I recommend monitoring hardware resource (CPU, GPU, RAM, etc) utilization [for ex. using Task manager’s Performance tab and/or Resource Monitor] to see if your system is being maxed out with your settings

Realize that hardware resource demands go up significantly with higher resolutions.

Re USB - I recommend reading up on USB Root Hub overload challenges. Model specific laptops, and certain docks (like Thunderbolt 3 or 4) might help. And making sure camera drivers will work with GPU decode offload, if possible. And beware vendors with known crappy drivers and bloatware (looking at you Logitech).
Correct, using a video switcher in front of the computer means OBS streaming PC will only have to deal with a single video stream. And yes, there are options that would allow you to trigger an action form OBS and send camera change command to switcher, and vice versa
Another options would be using NDI video feed (over wired Ethernet) but you still have issue of OBS PC needing to decompress process all 5 video streams, plus all of the CPU demanding effects you have planned on top of that

Search this forum for a contact... there was a person looking for a 6-camera setup not that long ago.
This is totally doable. HOWEVER, I suspect you'll need to either pay a consultant to set this up for you, or spend a fair amount of time learning to optimize OS, OBS, and all the hardware and associated interactions. If you pursue the DIY route, beware buying low-end consumer gear without the level of tech support you'll be looking for. Or maybe call PTZoptics and see what they propose?

Oh, and even if using a laptop, multiple monitors will most likely really help
Good luck and let us know what you end up doing