Mixing remotely over the internet during Covid.

macsound

Well-Known Member
As the pandemic isn't going anywhere and the (thankfully) cautious churches in california aren't letting people in any time soon, I'm still sitting home wishing I could be mixing something.

Here's what I'm thinking.
Thought 1: I send the LR feed that's also going to the record/livestream to some other point to point software/service that allows me to listen at home. Then I remote desktop into the computer that's running the Allen Heath SQ app so I have fader control.
Someone else can deal with muting the pastor so timing isn't affected, but I'd be able to make band adjustments.
Thought 2: Setup a VPN server at the church so I can be on the same network when I connect from home. Not sure if Dante and NDI would just fail over the VPN or if I could manually increase the desired lag?

I get that there would be a delay because of the internet, but I could atleast make sweeping adjustments to the mix that currently aren't being done.

What they've been doing for the past 6 months is putting a piece of paper on the console that says don't touch. No mixing whatsoever and I have a massive compressor on the feed that goes to the record so they can't screw it up too badly. Also it's usually the same cast: 1 vocal, acoustic gtr, bass & drums.

Ideas would be helpful. Essentially I want something to do and miss mixing, I'm not trying to defy physics or come up with a "real" solution. There still are people at the church running slides and doing the livestream, I'm just high risk and too smart? to want to be stuck in a booth, no matter how socially distanced they want me to think they've adjusted it.
 
You can't run Dante or NDI over a VPN, but you don't need to. All you need is a computer at church to get LR buss audio, via USB drivers, or soundcard, from the console and send it to you in a method that's reasonably low latency. Try Cleanfeed for sending the audio. It's latency is probably something like 250 mS. TeamViewer would allow remote access to that computer without jumping through IT hoops.

If you want to go a step further, the VPN would allow the SQ app to run on your home computer instead of the remote computer. VPNs require public IP addresses and firewall configuration, so the church's IT person would have to be involved.
 
Change all your networking to meraki gear and then install an x3 at home and it will be like you are on the network with very little lag. It will cost a bit but it is good stuff. It is what we use at work for remote access. No VPN setup on the computer. just sign in as if you were in the building on the domain.
 
Why, if no one is in the building other than tech/production sorts of people, are the live streams required to be live? Could the video and audio be captured beforehand, and then mixed and switched and edited off-line, so to speak, from the comfort of home, and posted/streamed at the proper time?
 
Change all your networking to meraki gear and then install an x3 at home and it will be like you are on the network with very little lag. It will cost a bit but it is good stuff. It is what we use at work for remote access. No VPN setup on the computer. just sign in as if you were in the building on the domain.
A VPN is nice, but not necessary for this. There are plenty of good, VPN capable firewalls besides Meraki. No matter whose hardware you have, you'll still need codecs to get the audio across the internet.
 
Why, if no one is in the building other than tech/production sorts of people, are the live streams required to be live? Could the video and audio be captured beforehand, and then mixed and switched and edited off-line, so to speak, from the comfort of home, and posted/streamed at the proper time?
That's what my church does. There's really little benefit to being live, so I record and edit the service, then upload it to Youtube. It enables us to have some participants do their part from home. Often we have lectors or prayer leaders contribute that way.
 
I've brought that up many times, even offering to edit and help musicians record their parts from home as I've done it for a couple other churches. I've even mentioned that visually, to all the viewers at home, it might make them feel less left out if the content if from the musicians and pastors home.
Not sure why they're so resistant to it.
 
A VPN is nice, but not necessary for this. There are plenty of good, VPN capable firewalls besides Meraki. No matter whose hardware you have, you'll still need codecs to get the audio across the internet.
And meraki in my experience is overpriced, will go dead if you don't pay the annual license fee, and very difficult to deal with when there are warranty issues. One AV client has had a switch with failing POE issues since Jan and there is footdragging ...
 
And meraki in my experience is overpriced, will go dead if you don't pay the annual license fee, and very difficult to deal with when there are warranty issues. One AV client has had a switch with failing POE issues since Jan and there is footdragging ...
Very different to my experience. I had a switch fail during a firmware update and I had a new one within days. I love the fact I can see the traffic on my network who is connected and where right down to the port level. I have not had experience with other gear. I know licenses are expensive however I am currently using MDM for free because of the amount of gear we use.
 
Very different to my experience. I had a switch fail during a firmware update and I had a new one within days. I love the fact I can see the traffic on my network who is connected and where right down to the port level. I have not had experience with other gear. I know licenses are expensive however I am currently using MDM for free because of the amount of gear we use.
For what it's worth, I can do the same thing with Unifi/ Ubiquiti and there's no contract or "service" at all. You just need some sort of server that does the onsite monitoring. They offer a small box that has battery backup built in, a little screen so you can see issues from the rack and a 500GB harddrive that can deal with security IP Cameras. Unifi has been a lifesaver for me because they're so flexible and cheap. So cheap. Like cheaper than lots of consumer gear. But if you want the big stuff, they make that too, and it integrates amazingly well.
 

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