IP Camera Setup for Sports

[Zarolla]

Hello everyone,

I’m reaching out to this knowledgeable community for some guidance on setting up IP cameras specifically for an indoor climbing facility, not for surveillance purposes. We’re interested in capturing the action on the walls, both for live viewing and recording purposes. This includes streaming climbing competitions, training sessions, and general climbing activities.

We're leaning towards PTZ cameras for their versatility but are quite overwhelmed by the vast selection and wide price range.

One key concern revolves around camera resolution and frame rate. What is sufficient to capture fast movements clearly without going overboard? We're aiming for video quality that's high enough for viewers to enjoy the action but want to avoid unnecessary costs for ultra-high definitions that might not be needed.

Beyond resolution and frame rate, are there any other critical factors we should consider in selecting the right cameras for our specific needs?

We appreciate any advice, experiences, or recommendations you can share to help us navigate through these choices. Thank you in advance for your help!

 

[wittaj]

Welcome!

What is your use case - just casual observe or be able to identify the action? These cameras may or may not be able to accomplish what you want.

In all likelihood surveillance cameras are not designed for that type of capture that you are looking for. Most will cap out at 30FPS but may be glitchy and problematic running at that speed.

They would make okay cameras for general overview type things, but this isn' their intended purpose.

Along those lines, these types of cameras are not GoPro or Hollywood type cameras that offer slow-mo capabilities and other features. They "offer" 30FPS and 60FPS to appease the general public that thinks that is what they need, but you will not find many of us here running more than 15 FPS; and movies are shot at 24 FPS, so anything above that is a waste of storage space for what these cameras are used for. If 24 FPS works for the big screen, I think 15 FPS is more than enough for phones and tablets and most monitors LOL. Many of my cameras are running at 12FPS.

If your unique case requires a higher FPS, you will find surveillance cameras are not going to meet your needs and you need to get a camera capable of that - and spend some serious money if a gopro isn't sufficient.

We have had recently people come here after purchasing cameras in two instances where they were wanting 60FPS - one was a tennis club and another was a youth soccer club.

Even with the higher FPS, In both cases they found that these types of cameras were not capable of what they were wanting to do. Sure the cameras could run faster FPS, but it still didn't provide them with the level of detail they were looking for.

I recall the soccer club had a decent quality PTZ ($800) that is fine for a residential or retail/commercial installation to capture a thief, but to cover the action of the soccer field it wasn't capable of meeting their needs. And because of the extremely fast motion, it was creating a halo type effect around the action (which can be seen in certain lighting conditions). These cameras are good, but not good enough to catch the rotation of a ball for example.

Another came here trying to use this cameras for a race track in the pit stalls to monitor lug nuts and violations and it just couldn't do it.

 

[Zarolla]

Hey there,

Huge thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts! Your insights are really opening our eyes to what we actually need versus what we thought we needed. We’re looking to capture the climbing action for analyzing moves and sharing cool moments on social media (example: Login • Instagram), not so much capturing super high-speed stuff or general surveillance. So, the emphasis is definitely more on the quality and detail of what’s being recorded.

Reading through your feedback, it sounds like going for the highest frame rates might not be necessary for us. Climbers aren’t moving at the speed of a football flying into a goal, right? So, focusing on capturing clear, detailed footage seems like the way to go, especially since we want to catch the nuances of climbing techniques.

Your points about the limitations of surveillance cameras, especially with fast action and those halo effects, were super helpful. Looks like we should aim for cameras that are good at a moderate frame rate but can still give us the clarity we need under gym lighting conditions.

Given all this, do you have any camera recommendations or setup tips that might fit our unique need? Especially something that can tell the difference between someone getting their climb on and someone just strolling by? Any advice or pointers would be amazing as we dive deeper into this.

Thanks again for your help, we really appreciate it!

 

[bigredfish]

What is the distance from where you think you'll mount a camera(s) to the target area?

Would this level of detail at say 20ft-25ft be adequate?
(4K at 30fps)


View attachment 4K-X-withSSA-Home_ch5_20240216115740_20240216115754.mp4

 

[bigredfish]

Sorry poor lighting conditions yesterday, very overcast.

30ft+. 4K 30FPS
View attachment Home_ch5_20240216160411_20240216160441.mp4

 

[bigredfish]

You can get a tighter zoom, but you lose FOV which may be your biggest issue. Maybe two cameras with one zoomed tighter and one for a more overview shot? This is a problem we all deal with

4MP 30FPS 35-40ft

 

[Zarolla]

What is the distance from where you think you'll mount a camera(s) to the target area?

Would this level of detail at say 20ft-25ft be adequate?
(4K at 30fps)
View attachment 186691

View attachment 186689

Hey, thanks a ton for getting back to me with those sample videos! (Love the chill vibes going on there btw )

The quality and detail in those clips look just right for what we need. I reckon the cameras won't be more than 20 ft away from the action, so that setup should work great. What kind of hardware and software setup do you have going on for those shots?

Also, had a thought about the FOV issue. Could we possibly set the camera to shoot vertically instead of the usual horizontal layout? Since most climbing routes go straight up, losing a bit of the side view doesn't really bother us much. It sounds like a good trade-off to capture more of the climb. Does that sound doable?

Appreciate all your help and advice on this!

 

[TonyR]

Sorry poor lighting conditions yesterday, very overcast.

30ft+. 4K 30FPS
View attachment 186693

Ah, so that's what happens when a paddle boat and a golf cart have babies?

 

[bigredfish]

Hey, thanks a ton for getting back to me with those sample videos! (Love the chill vibes going on there btw )

The quality and detail in those clips look just right for what we need. I reckon the cameras won't be more than 20 ft away from the action, so that setup should work great. What kind of hardware and software setup do you have going on for those shots?

Also, had a thought about the FOV issue. Could we possibly set the camera to shoot vertically instead of the usual horizontal layout? Since most climbing routes go straight up, losing a bit of the side view doesn't really bother us much. It sounds like a good trade-off to capture more of the climb. Does that sound doable?

Appreciate all your help and advice on this!

Thats a Dahua 4K-T turret camera. It also comes in a bullet version (4K-X)
4K Full Color Camera (<<<<Our forum favorite distributor)
That lens is 3.6mm which is ideal for 20ft. Closer than say 8ft and you'll get some blur.

Yes, you can flip the image 90 degrees unfortunately on that particular cam it wont allow 4K when flipped. It forces you to go down to 4MP

The 4MP version is quite good though (that was the camera that captured the older ladies walking) and will allow flipping 90 and maintaining resolution
It also comes in Turret or bullet form factor
https://empiretech01.com/products/empiretech-ipc-t54ir-ze-s3-1-1-8-cmos-4mp-ir-starlight-vari-focal-turret-security-camera?
EmpireTech IPC-B54IR-ZE 1/1.8" CMOS 4MP WDR IR Vari-focal Bullet Netwo

I'm using an NVR to record. The camera does have an SD slot so you could use that, but I think you'd be better off having the NVR to store and playback video
This one would allow you to add cameras
EmpireTech NV41AI-8P-4KH 8 Channel Compact 1HDD 1U 8PoE Network Video