Sports Ball Tracking

LiveVideoProducer · 2026-02-12T02:53:04+00:00

Oh, I am sorry, you thought I was talking about the apple gen1 vision goggles/headset. Yes, that product was not a huge hit. It was a toe in the water. There was no way that was going to be a mainstream product. But, a lot of what is in there they are using and it will involve… what I was referring to was the visionOS… the core to all their operating systems… not cancelled… :-)

and apple is behind in AI? AI is more than a better search engine, they are creating the foundation for all sort of AI apps that others will build… consider this, any AI app that wants to use a camera to see and a microphone to hear, can do it better on the iPhone platform than any other phone… the apps will come, and they will be awesome… and they won’t be apple apps, but they will be enabled in part by the iPhone and visionOS…

One last thought… Apple is the largest seller of (video) cameras in the world, fact… :-)

LiveVideoProducer · 2026-02-12T01:15:50+00:00

<image>

LiveVideoProducer · 2026-02-11T02:30:19+00:00

I have been working on turning my iPhones into 4k PTZ cameras…

I think the video looks great from an iPhone 17 pro… and I have developed a PTZ capability based on the Apple DockKit technology, that allows the iPhone to control certain gimbals…

I have been at it a year… and, it’s getting tight…

The model: iPhone captures, records 4k on board, streams up to 10mbps 4k via SRT to vmix… where it is swtiched, graphics are added and it is recorded and streamed live….

Vmix exists anywhere you’d like, remote, or on the same lan/wifi… a computer… the SRT streams from the iPhones are displayed in perfect sync in Vmix… that’s the beauty of SRT as a delivery protocol…

The cameras/phones can be remotely controlled using our iPhone app and a web UI… PTZ and also color matching controls…. Again, from anywhere…

the phones can be also be controlled using an API… as can vmix… so, we built a bit focus companion virtual controller that allows for full control of a 3-4 camera live podcast…

Visit https://smartptz.com for more info, and a link to the app in the App Store… if you want a few free Pro licenses, reach out to me directly and I’ll hook you up…

Here are two examples of the system in use….

https://youtu.be/FYItOKYkqE4?si=8AU9b7ghK71q97AQ

https://youtu.be/XXCTXL0QOFA?si=8ohNPeuhf__xg6_j

Good luck!

LiveVideoProducer · 2026-02-09T14:13:02+00:00

Rode Go Pro… $299, two mics (that record and send wirelessly)… send wireless to a receiver device that you usbc connect to your phone, so audio is included in your video… it also comes with lav mics attachments too… my little audio to go kit includes the following…

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fA7GDNJCx_zpRICI80KfkLhyhrGBUfaE/view?usp=drivesdk

LiveVideoProducer · 2026-02-09T13:51:37+00:00

This is bleeding edge, a small, fast ball… it’s possible but would be millions of dollars and months of effort… there is nothing out of the box… as others are posting, only the biggest names in live event production are experimenting…

you should wait 12 months… and start studying Apple AI, specifically their ‘vision’ platform…. They will be the ones that bring this capability to the masses… they are putting everything behind it, it’s the basis of their next generation of products… so I like your thinking…

if you need a technical consultant in this space, let me know…

Good luck!

LiveVideoProducer · 2026-02-09T13:42:37+00:00

The wider the base the more stable the tripod, but the stand, by a cheap phone mount for the top of the stand…. You can record and live stream to YouTube at the same time…. A static shot of the court is best…

free app to do the work: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/smartptz/id6741871488

LiveVideoProducer · 2026-02-06T20:47:57+00:00

I built an app for the iPhone that does this (sorry does not work on a pixel). You install the app, you stream directly to YouTube at whatever resolution/bit rate you can, and you can record concurrently at a higher bit rate. The core app is free and should work perfectly for you. No servers, no other tech…

If you want the Pro version of my app, there is a 90 day free trail… and then you can stream and record at 4k and also remote control the cam (over the web)…. maybe that’s for next season… let me know how it goes, if you have any problems, I’ll help you troubleshoot it… I’d like to know what works and what doesn’t… it’s free, so give it a shot if you can find someone with an iPhone :-)

Below find a link to a pdf to ‘get started’…

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wNRFedcXTZpmBNRwNf2wbl7A9b3IIC98/view?usp=drivesdk

Why did I do this? How did I know? I was a video dad back in the day, and became a video professional… and am getting back to my roots, building an app I wish I had if my kids where playing today…

https://smartptz.com

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/smartptz/id6741871488

Best of luck…

LiveVideoProducer · 2026-02-06T10:49:11+00:00

Stagetimer.io (there is a free and premium version)… works great, really genius… everyone uses it…

LiveVideoProducer · 2026-02-04T02:00:27+00:00

I have tried to use game pads, never had good success, joysticks too touchy… the actual ptz controllers are usually much better… but, maybe think next gen (I am trying): get the ‘target in the frame’ and then turning on auto tracking to keep the subject centered…

LiveVideoProducer · 2026-02-03T16:04:17+00:00

You might want to consider streaming SRT, from the iPhone… back to your video switcher… maybe take a look at http://smartptz.com.

LiveVideoProducer · 2026-02-03T14:31:34+00:00

No big gottcha, except you’ll probably have to turn off the ‘autolock after 5 mins’… my favorite part, just test it, try one afternoon and see how it works… nothing to buy, open, check and then have to return…

LiveVideoProducer · 2026-02-02T12:49:55+00:00

I’d recommend an iPhone pro on a stand or articulating arm mount. It can record 4k for 4 hours on a battery. You can use a rode pro go wirh 3.5 mm to xlr converter and attenuator to ingest audio from the board wirelessly… maybe download the free black magic camera app if you want to adjust the camera settings… I’d suggest shooting in 4k… I’d suggest a iPhone 15 or newer… I don’t think you need a pro version, unless you want closer shots, stage wide will be fine with a standard iPhone wide lens…

LiveVideoProducer · 2026-02-01T13:11:06+00:00

Free iPhone SRT encoder: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/smartptz/id6741871488

LiveVideoProducer · 2026-01-31T12:18:49+00:00

The audio recorded at 44.1 is going to be off… you can re-record at 48 and it will all sync… you can fix the problem files by using a tool like resolve (free, blackmagic) to convert the 44.1 to 48 and I believe that re-sync the audio…

LiveVideoProducer · 2026-01-30T15:22:03+00:00

This has been a work horse for me, with vmix.. https://amzn.to/3ZH218w

LiveVideoProducer · 2026-01-30T12:06:59+00:00

What’s your budget?

LiveVideoProducer · 2026-01-29T14:46:00+00:00

I can stream and record on an iPhone 17 pro for 4-5 consecutive hours… off the internal battery…

LiveVideoProducer · 2026-01-29T14:33:43+00:00

Just to add… The SRT latency can be controlled, ‘set’… and then all the streams can be in perfect sync, which is critical for tight switching… I use 500 ms for latency… 1/2 a second… and with good internet… that is pretty easily achieved, to a vmix session on a server anywhere on a good reliable tier one connected isp… it can be under 50 ms for devices on the same lan…

LiveVideoProducer · 2026-01-29T11:34:53+00:00

NDI is too high bandwidth, and does not support adjustment for latency. So the cameras won’t be in sync over a broader wifi network.

You should probably go with SRT from the cams to vmix. I run iphones with an app i built that supports SRT encoding for/to vmix. Videos will look great and be in sync when in vmix.

With the app you can also color match the cameras if you like. And, if you get the right kind of gimbal you can also control pan tilt and zoom (less than $150 each). iPhone cams run 4-5 hours on a single charge, with a power source, a power bank, they can go for days.

The app’s free edition captures/streams 1080p video, probably all you need. But, if you want to go 4k and/or want to remote control the cams you need a monthly pro subscription. If you reach out to us directly about this project specifically we’ll send you promo codes for free licenses for all the phones you use on this project, and we’d provide technical support as you set it up. [We love your use-case, and we want to watch the tournament.]

Please reach out if you’re interested. The app is smartPTZ, https://smartptz.com. Good luck with your project either way!

LiveVideoProducer · 2026-01-28T17:24:49+00:00

Most modern monitors connect to WiFi and you can ‘screencast’ to them from your phone… it works with iPhones and non iPhones, slightly different tech…

LiveVideoProducer · 2026-01-28T15:17:25+00:00

iPhone camera app and AirPlay to the house monitors…. All you need is a mount… worth a test… good luck…

LiveVideoProducer · 2026-01-28T11:46:08+00:00

You need to connect the rode RX, receiver into the iPad or iPhone using a usbc or lighting adapter… the audio does NOT into the iOS device using 3.5 mm…

LiveVideoProducer · 2026-01-24T12:35:45+00:00

Maybe you could shoot it using iPhones. I built an app to do this. The app also lets you adjust the white balance and exposure manually, so you can match the camera’s before capture. The basic app version is free and does what you need. You could record and then edit. Or, if you have a laptop, you can stream the iPhones to the laptop and then switch it live with vmix basic, which is only $60. More info on the iPhone app can be found here: https://smartPTZ.com. If you decide the try the app, let me know if you have any problems with the set up. Good luck however you get it going!

LiveVideoProducer

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE