Quick Start Guide

Quick Start Guide

Get streaming in 15 minutes. Visual step-by-step for first-time setup.

---

Choose Your Profile

+------------------+     +------------------+     +------------------+
|     BUDGET       |     |     STUDIO       |     |    BROADCAST     |
|     ~$3,000      |     |     ~$20,000     |     |     ~$50,000+    |
|                  |     |                  |     |                  |
|  3 cameras       |     |  4 cameras       |     |  8 cameras       |
|  USB capture     |     |  PCIe capture    |     |  SDI capture     |
|  USB audio       |     |  Dante audio     |     |  32ch Dante      |
|  1080p30         |     |  4K30 → 1080p60  |     |  4K60 multi-plat |
|                  |     |                  |     |                  |
|  Small venues    |     |  Pro streaming   |     |  Broadcast TV    |
+------------------+     +------------------+     +------------------+
         |                       |                       |
         v                       v                       v
   budget.yaml             studio.yaml            broadcast.yaml

---

5-Minute Setup

Step 1: Clone & Configure

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/yourusername/multi-camera-livestream-framework.git
cd multi-camera-livestream-framework

# Install dependencies (one time)
make install-deps

# Choose your profile and generate config
make config PROFILE=studio    # or: budget, mobile, broadcast

# Verify configuration generated
ls software/generated/

Expected output:

config.json
config.sh
docs/

Step 2: Hardware Connection

                          YOUR SETUP
                              |
        +---------+-----------+-----------+---------+
        |         |           |           |         |
        v         v           v           v         v
    +-------+ +-------+ +-------+ +-------+   +--------+
    |Cam 1  | |Cam 2  | |Cam 3  | |Cam 4  |   | Mics   |
    | HDMI  | | HDMI  | | HDMI  | | HDMI  |   | XLR    |
    +---+---+ +---+---+ +---+---+ +---+---+   +---+----+
        |         |         |         |           |
        +----+----+----+----+         |           |
             |                        |           |
        +----v----+              +----v----+  +---v----+
        |DeckLink |              |DeckLink |  | MOTU   |
        | Quad    |              | Quad    |  | 8PRE   |
        |(inputs  |              |(inputs  |  |(audio) |
        | 1-2)    |              | 3-4)    |  +---+----+
        +----+----+              +----+----+      |
             |                        |      Ethernet
             +--------+    +----------+          |
                      |    |                     |
                 +----v----v----+         +------v------+
                 | Echo Express |         |   Dante     |
                 | (Thunderbolt)|         |   Switch    |
                 +------+-------+         +------+------+
                        |                        |
                   Thunderbolt              Ethernet
                        |                        |
                        +----------+  +----------+
                                   |  |
                              +----v--v----+
                              | Mac Studio |
                              +-----+------+
                                    |
                               Internet
                                    |
                              +-----v-----+
                              |  YouTube  |
                              |  Twitch   |
                              |  etc.     |
                              +-----------+

Step 3: Power On Sequence

ORDER MATTERS! Follow this sequence:

  1. Audio Interface    [MOTU 8PRE-ES]
     Wait for: ------> LEDs stable (30 sec)

  2. Dante Switch       [Network switch]
     Wait for: ------> Link lights active

  3. Thunderbolt Chassis [Echo Express]
     Wait for: ------> Power LED solid

  4. Cameras            [All cameras]
     Wait for: ------> HDMI output confirmed

  5. Computer           [Mac Studio]
     Wait for: ------> Desktop ready

Step 4: Run Health Check

./software/scripts/health-check.sh

What you want to see:

=== Multi-Camera Livestream Framework Health Check ===

[✓] macOS version: 14.2.1
[✓] Disk space: 234GB free (minimum: 50GB)
[✓] Memory: 89GB available
[✓] CPU load: 12% (maximum: 70%)

[✓] DeckLink detected: Quad HDMI Recorder
[✓] MOTU detected: 8PRE-ES
[✓] Dante Controller: Running

[✓] OBS Studio: Installed (29.1.3)
[✓] Ableton Live: Installed (12.0.10)

=== All checks passed! Ready to stream. ===

If you see failures:

[✗] = Critical issue, see TROUBLESHOOTING.md
[⚠] = Warning, can proceed but investigate

Step 5: Launch Applications

./software/scripts/launch-studio.sh

Launch order (automatic):

1. Dante Controller  -----> Verify audio routing
2. MOTU Discovery    -----> Configure audio interface
3. Ableton Live      -----> Load audio project
4. OBS Studio        -----> Configure scenes

Step 6: Go Live!

IN OBS STUDIO:

1. Verify all camera sources visible
   +--------+--------+
   | Cam 1  | Cam 2  |
   +--------+--------+
   | Cam 3  | Cam 4  |
   +--------+--------+

2. Check audio meters (should show signal)
   Audio Mixer: [||||||||    ]  -12 dB (good!)

3. Click "Start Streaming"

4. Verify on platform (YouTube Studio, Twitch Dashboard)

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Quick Reference Card

Keyboard Shortcuts (configure in OBS)

Key	Action
F1	Emergency scene (tech difficulties)
F2	Mute all audio
F3	Start/stop stream
F4	Start/stop recording
1-4	Switch to camera 1-4

Status Indicators

Indicator	Meaning
OBS: Green circle	Stream active, healthy
OBS: Yellow/Red	Dropped frames, check Stats
Dante: Green	Clock synced
Dante: Red	Clock error, audio will fail
MOTU LEDs stable	Audio interface ready

Emergency Contacts

Issue	First Action
No video	Check HDMI cables, camera power
No audio	Check Dante Controller routing
Dropped frames	Lower bitrate, check network
Stream disconnect	OBS auto-reconnects; if persistent, check internet

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Profiles Comparison

Feature	Budget	Mobile	Studio	Broadcast
Cameras	3	2	4	8
Capture	USB	USB	PCIe	SDI
Audio	USB	USB	Dante	32ch Dante
Resolution	1080p30	1080p30	4K30→1080p60	4K60
Platforms	1	1	1	3+
Cost	~$3k	~$2k	~$20k	~$50k+
Use Case	Church, school	Field, travel	Studio, events	Broadcast TV

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Common First-Time Issues

“DeckLink not detected”

1. Check Thunderbolt cable (both ends)
2. Power cycle Echo Express chassis
3. System Report → Thunderbolt → should list device
4. Reinstall Desktop Video drivers

“No audio in OBS”

1. Open Dante Controller
2. Check routing matrix (green checkmarks)
3. Open Ableton, verify tracks armed
4. Check OBS audio source settings

“Stream keeps dropping”

1. Use wired Ethernet (not WiFi!)
2. Run speed test: need 10+ Mbps upload
3. Lower bitrate: Settings → Output → 4500 kbps
4. Check for network congestion

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Next Steps

When you’re ready for…	Read…
Pre-stream checklist	RUNBOOK.md
Camera configuration	CAMERA-SETTINGS.md
Audio setup details	AUDIO-DANTE.md
Troubleshooting	TROUBLESHOOTING.md
Full architecture	ARCHITECTURE.md

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One-Page Cheat Sheet

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    STREAMING CHEAT SHEET                     │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                              │
│  STARTUP:                                                    │
│    1. Power: Audio → Network → Chassis → Cameras → Mac      │
│    2. Run: ./software/scripts/health-check.sh               │
│    3. Run: ./software/scripts/launch-studio.sh              │
│    4. Verify: Dante routing, camera sources, audio levels   │
│    5. Stream: OBS → Start Streaming                         │
│                                                              │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                              │
│  DURING STREAM:                                              │
│    Monitor: OBS Stats (View → Stats)                         │
│    Watch: Dropped frames (should be 0)                       │
│    Watch: CPU usage (should be <70%)                         │
│    Check: Platform dashboard for viewer issues               │
│                                                              │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                              │
│  SHUTDOWN:                                                   │
│    1. OBS: Stop Streaming                                    │
│    2. OBS: Stop Recording (if active)                        │
│    3. Save: Ableton project                                  │
│    4. Run: ./software/scripts/shutdown-studio.sh             │
│    5. Power off: Cameras → Chassis → Audio → Mac (optional)  │
│                                                              │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                              │
│  EMERGENCY:                                                  │
│    F1 = Safe scene (tech difficulties)                       │
│    F2 = Mute all                                             │
│    OBS crash? → Relaunch, scenes auto-restore (~30 sec)      │
│    Internet down? → Phone hotspot via USB                    │
│                                                              │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

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Need help? See TROUBLESHOOTING.md or FAQ.md