Custom Hardware Solution for Remote Sports & Studio Broadcasting
2017 – 2019 · YouTube · Facebook · Twitch
Built a reliable broadcast system that could operate from remote field locations, then built a weekly live stream around it.
PBDNA was an ambitious live streaming project that brought professional-quality broadcasts to paintball events. The challenge was creating a reliable streaming solution that could operate in remote field locations without traditional infrastructure.
I designed and manufactured a custom hardware solution combining Raspberry Pi systems, Teradek video encoders, and cellular data connections to enable high-quality live streams from anywhere with cell coverage. The project ran successfully for several years, streaming weekly shows and special events across multiple platforms simultaneously.
Custom hardware and software solution for remote broadcasting using the following pipeline:
Remote locations had variable cellular bandwidth making consistent HD streaming difficult.
Solution: Implemented adaptive bitrate streaming and automatic quality adjustment based on real-time network conditions.
Extended field operations required reliable battery systems for cameras, encoders, and computing equipment.
Solution: Custom battery systems with power monitoring and automatic shutdown procedures to prevent equipment damage.
Outdoor events exposed electronics to dust, moisture, and temperature extremes.
Solution: Designed weatherproof enclosures with proper ventilation and thermal management for all-weather operation.
Live events demanded zero-downtime streaming with immediate recovery from failures.
Solution: Redundant systems with automatic failover and remote monitoring for rapid issue resolution.
Simultaneously streaming to YouTube, Facebook, and Twitch required managing multiple RTMP connections.
Solution: Custom streaming pipeline with format optimization and automatic retry logic per platform.
Managing camera angles, audio, and stream quality from the field required intuitive remote interfaces.
Solution: Web-based control panel accessible via mobile devices for real-time stream management.
Streamed over 50 live events with consistent HD quality and minimal downtime across multiple seasons.
Pioneered custom hardware solutions for remote broadcasting that became a template for future mobile streaming projects.
Extensive learning in video protocols, network optimization, embedded systems, and real-time media processing.
Brought professional-quality live coverage to the paintball community, increasing sport visibility and engagement.
Personal Learning Laboratory: This project gave me deep hands-on experience with the differences between x86 and ARM platforms. It was my first time working with Raspberry Pi, and it taught me a tremendous amount about hardware implementations, power usage, soldering, networking (wired and wireless), and — most importantly — that creative combinations of custom components and code can overcome difficult technical obstacles. I ruined a significant amount of hardware experimenting with this build and enjoyed every step of the process.
Visual documentation of the PBDNA streaming setup and field deployment.
This project demonstrates expertise in combining custom hardware and software for high-resolution wireless streaming.
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