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The portable FrogBox v1 kit

How our streams looked with the portable setup - tripod-mounted camera, rigged and de-rigged every match.

The new permanent setup

The permanent Sightstream installation - fixed Hikvision PTZ camera, remotely managed, nothing to put up on match day. 1080p and much more control over image quality, contrast, saturation etc. for a great picture.

How the Bledlow Ridge setup works

Every ground throws up its own puzzle, so here's how ours was solved. We're lucky to have FTTC broadband at the pavilion - but the best camera position turned out to be on the opposite side of the field. So power comes from the scoreboard, run about 40 metres in armoured cable to the camera site. The camera is mounted at the top of a 4-metre scaffolding pole, with the grey cabinet at its base housing all the electronics. The link back to the clubhouse is wireless - a dedicated bridge that comfortably supports the 6Mbps the video stream needs.

None of it is exotic - but it's exactly what the site survey works out for your ground: where the picture is best, where the power can come from, and how the signal gets home.

More than the hardware

One thing we're upfront about: the Sightstream offering is much more than just hardware. As we've demonstrated at our own club, anyone with the will, the time, basic networking skills and ChatGPT can put something like this together. But not everyone wants to offer the round-the-clock support when it's needed - and there are pitfalls and setup challenges that we've already had to overcome, so you don't have to.

A permanent camera is built on industry-standard streaming protocols, and it's platform agnostic - should the club wish to move to NV Play and PCS Pro, the camera comes with you. Out of season it can be used as a security camera. One cheeky groundsman even spread the rumour it was a dog fouling monitoring system!

All the kit is bought new, with the manufacturer's warranty and our own support on top, and it's professionally installed. (DIY installation is also possible - please ask for more details on this.)

How is the kit delivered?

The kit is a camera, microphone and electronics cabinet and mounting kit - including a managed switch, RTMP encoder, 4G modem (for remote management) and UPS - all delivered pre-built and configured. Installation involves connecting the kit to your network and power supply, and then configuration of the PTZ presets. This all sounds simple - but the simplicity of installation depends on the ideal placement of the camera, the availability of power, and the mounting hardware required. That's exactly what the site survey establishes for your ground.

What does FrogBox think about this?

A fair question. We've been up front about what we're doing: we've told FrogBox that we've been asked about this setup for other clubs, and they know. Ultimately, we've delivered video into their encoder all season without a hitch, and they know we're now long-term customers - so what can they be unhappy about? We love our FrogBox service, and we've just doubled down on it. Every Sightstream install keeps the club on its FrogBox streaming pass: the Frog does the streaming, we make sure nothing ever has to be rigged again.

Remarks and plans for the future

A few honest notes on what you're watching. Both cameras are 1080p, but due to the superior placement of the permanent camera, the resolution and contrast appear much better than the consumer camcorder provided in the v1 FrogBox kit. A permanent mount lets you put the camera exactly where the picture is best: higher, more stable, and properly lined up, rather than wherever the tripod happened to end up that day. Wind noise can be an issue on any exposed ground - it depends a lot on placement, and it's one of the things we look at in the survey. Sound is the area we're actively working on: the goal is proper ambient match audio from a weatherproof microphone built into the installation. And expect what you see here to keep improving - that's rather the point of a permanent installation: when we upgrade something, every club on a care plan gets the benefit.

Like what you see?

Book a site survey and get a real working demonstration with the actual kit - your own ground, live on screen - plus a written report on what a permanent installation would look like at your ground.