Otisville-LakeVille First SBP Using Pixellot
January 31, 2017
By John Johnson
MHSAA Communications Director
A challenge to schools wanting to stream live video of their athletic events to their communities is being able to adequately staff those productions.
“We had signed up for the School Broadcast Program over a year ago and we were really excited to get our games out to the community, and when it came to it, we just couldn’t get the manpower to run the equipment,” said Drew Johnson, the athletic director at Otisville-LakeVille High School in Genesee County. “That first day, we had everything lined up, we were ready to go, and two of our three kids missed school that day for being sick. It was just a hassle.
“So when we heard about Pixellot, it was a quick and easy decision.”
Just three weeks ago, LakeVille became the first school in Michigan and one of the first in the country to install a Pixellot unit in its gymnasium, automating the process of streaming live video on MHSAA.tv and the NFHS Network.
Pixellot is a unit equipped with four High Definition cameras that cover the length of the playing surface and then focus in on the ball and player movement to deliver the action. The unit communicates with the scoreboard to insert a time and score graphic on the screen. Ambient audio is picked up by the device, but the play-by-play of an in-person announce team can also be patched in.
All that has to be done from a school’s perspective is type in the event schedule, and promote the fact that the games are available on MHSAA.tv. Pixellot does the rest. The unit can also be set up to isolate a camera on a fixed location, which allows for activities like wrestling to also be streamed.
“We’re going to do everything that takes place in our gym,” Johnson said. “We’re also excited about being able to record our practices as well.”
Johnson added that the school will look into installing additional Pixellot units at its middle school auditorium for musical events and LakeVille’s outdoor athletic fields in the future.
In its eighth year, the School Broadcast Program gives members an opportunity to showcase excellence in their schools by creating video programming of athletic and non-athletic events, with students gaining skills in announcing, camera operation, directing/producing and graphics.
The program also gives schools the opportunity to raise money through advertising and viewing subscriptions.
All sporting events – Live or On-Demand – are available on a subscription basis only for their first 72 hours online. They become available for free, on-demand viewing approximately 72 hours following their completion.
Here’s the schedule of events School Broadcast Program members plan to stream over the next week for broadcast at MHSAA.tv.
Tuesday, Jan. 31
- JV Girls Basketball - North Branch at Otisville Lakeville, 5:25 p.m.
- Girls Basketball - Goodrich at Davison, 6 p.m.
- Girls Basketball - North Branch at Otisville Lakeville, 6:45 p.m.
- Girls Basketball - Williamston at East Lansing, 7 p.m. (On Demand)
- Girls Basketball - Hopkins at Plainwell, 7 p.m.
- Boys Basketball - Hudsonville Unity Christian at Cedar Springs, 7 p.m.
- Boys Basketball - Birmingham Seaholm at Lake Orion, 7 p.m.
- Boys Basketball - Negaunee at Calumet, 7:20 p.m.
- Boys Basketball - Goodrich at Davison, 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Feb. 1
- Wrestling – Quad at Cedar Springs, 5:20 p.m.
- Girls Basketball - Leroy Pine River at Beal City, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 2
- JV Girls Basketball - Birch Run at Otisville Lakeville, 5:25 p.m.
- JV Girls Basketball – Coopersville at Comstock Park, 5:30 p.m.
- JV Girls Basketball - Oscoda at Rogers City, 6 p.m.
- Girls Basketball - Birch Run at Otisville Lakeville, 6:45 p.m.
- Girls Basketball - Oscoda at Rogers City, 7 p.m.
- Girls Basketball - Gaylord at Alpena, 7, p.m.
Friday, Feb. 3
- Ice Hockey - Grand Rapids Catholic Central vs. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood @ MIHL Showcase, 4 p.m.
- Boys Basketball - Lowell at Cedar Springs, 5:30 p.m.
- Girls Basketball - Burton Atherton vs. Montrose, 5:30 p.m.
- Girls Basketball - Allegan at Plainwell, 6 p.m.
- Ice Hockey - Notre Dame De La Baie Academy vs. Detroit Catholic Central @ MIHL Showcase, 6 p.m.
- Boys Basketball - Coopersville at Comstock Park, 6 p.m.
- Girls Basketball - Lapeer at Davison, 6 p.m.
- Boys Basketball - Allegan at Plainwell, 7 p.m.
- Boys Basketball - Burton Atherton vs. Montrose, 7 p.m.
- Girls Basketball - McBain at Beal City, 7:30 p.m.
- Girls Basketball - Coopersville at Comstock Park, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 4
- Ice Hockey - Notre Dame De La Baie Academy vs. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood @ MIHL Showcase, 12:40 p.m.
- Ice Hockey - Novi vs. Detroit Catholic Central @ MIHL Showcase, 6:50 p.m.
Monday, Feb. 6
- JV Girls Basketball – Hillman at Rogers City, 6 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 7
- JV Girls Basketball - Grand Rapids West Catholic at Comstock Park, 5:30 p.m.
- Girls Basketball - Midland Dow at Mt, Pleasant, 5:30 p.m.
- Girls Basketball - Greenville at Cedar Springs, 7 p.m.
- Girls Basketball - Grand Rapids West Catholic at Comstock Park, 7 p.m.
- Boys Basketball - Midland Dow at Mt. Pleasant, 7 p.m.
- Boys Basketball - Chassell at Calumet, 7:20 p.m.
Be sure to check the Upcoming Events page at MHSAA.tv for schedule additions every day.
The NFHS Network has announced new pricing for 2016-17, eliminating the Day Pass and lowering the cost of a Month Pass to $9.95. Subscribers will have access to all live video and streaming statistics across the country. All content becomes available for free, on-demand viewing 72 hours after being shown live. Some schools also will be selling Annual Passes at a discounted rate. A portion of every subscription sold by a school goes to benefit its program.
A complete list of participating schools can be found on the School Broadcast Program page of the MHSAA website.
Fans also can access scores of games in-progress on the NFHS Network website via ScoreStream. Click on the Scores button in the upper right corner.
A weekly staple on the MHSAA.tv website and the MHSAASports Channel on YouTube is back for another year with highlights of selected games last week produced by members of the Association’s School Broadcast Program.
This week’s highlights package consists of clips from last week’s Bark River-Harris at Powers North Central boys basketball game in which the Jets set a state record for consecutive boys hoops victories, an ice hockey game pitting Detroit Catholic Central at Brighton in a battle of two of the top teams in the state and a demonstration of Pixellot in action during a boys basketball game with Millington at Otisville-LakeVille.
Schools interested in becoming a part of the School Broadcast Program should contact John Johnson at the MHSAA Office.
PHOTOS: (Top) A laptop shows the variety of angles for the Pixellot and the calibration of its four cameras. (Middle) This Pixellot hangs at midcourt at Otisville-LakeVille High School.
Another Championship Week on MHSAA.tv Begins with Volleyball Quarterfinals
By
Jon Ross
MHSAA Director of Broadcast Properties
November 16, 2021
All 16 Volleyball Quarterfinals scheduled for Tuesday (Nov. 16) will be broadcast on MHSAA.tv to kick off a busy week of Michigan High School Athletic Association tournament events also including Semifinals and Finals in volleyball, Finals in Lower Peninsula girls swimming & diving and 8-player football, and Semifinals in 11-player football.
The winners of Volleyball Quarterfinal matches will advance to this weekend’s Semifinals and Finals at Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek. Division 1 and 4 Semifinals will be played Thursday (Nov. 18), Division 2 and 3 Semifinals on Friday (Nov. 19) and all four Finals will be played Saturday (Nov. 20).
Visit the Volleyball page of the MHSAA Website (https://www.mhsaa.com/Sports/Girls-Volleyball/2021-Finals) for full details, and see below for the Quarterfinal schedule with links to broadcasts:
Division 1
► Davison vs. Bloomfield Hills Marian – 7 p.m.
► Rockford vs. Hudsonville – 7 p.m.
► Ann Arbor Skyline vs. Northville – 7 p.m.
► Dearborn Divine Child vs. Macomb Dakota – 7 p.m.
Division 2
► Cadillac vs. North Branch – 7 p.m.
► Lake Odessa Lakewood vs. Onsted – 7 p.m.
► Grand Rapids Christian vs. Niles – 7:30 p.m.
► Detroit Country Day vs. Pontiac Notre Dame Prep – 5 p.m.
Division 3
► Muskegon Western Michigan Christian vs. Watervliet – 7 p.m.
► Royal Oak Shrine Catholic vs. Reese – 6 p.m.
► Calumet vs. McBain – 6 p.m.
► Pewamo-Westphalia vs. Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central – 7 p.m.
Division 4
► Battle Creek St. Philip vs. Adrian Lenawee Christian – 6 p.m.
► Allen Park Inter-City Baptist vs. Ubly – 6 p.m.
► Ironwood vs. Indian River Inland Lakes – 6 p.m.
► Traverse City Christian vs. Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart – 6 p.m.
Once Semifinals and Finals matches are determined, those links will be found by clicking Volleyball.
The Lower Peninsula Girls Swimming & Diving Finals will be competed at three sites, with preliminaries Friday and championships in all events Saturday. Visit the Girls Swimming & Diving page of the MHSAA Website (https://www.mhsaa.com/Sports/Girls-Swimming-Diving) for full details. Competition begins at noon both days, and all three meets will be broadcast both days, with announcers detailing the action as well during Saturday’s championship events:
► Lower Peninsula Division 1 at Holland Aquatic Center
► Lower Peninsula Division 2 at Oakland University
► Lower Peninsula Division 3 at Calvin University
The 8-player football season concludes Saturday with championship games in both divisions at Superior Dome at Northern Michigan University. Both games will be broadcast live on MHSAA.tv – the Division 1 Final between Adrian Lenawee Christian and Suttons Bay kicks off at 11 a.m., and Division 2 between Colon and Powers North Central will begin approximately 2 p.m. Both will re-air on MHSAA media partner Bally Sports Detroit’s primary channel Nov. 25, with Division 1 at 7 p.m. and Division 2 at 10 p.m.
Bally Sports Detroit also will continue its weekly live cable TV broadcasts with Saturday’s 11-Player Division 1 Semifinal between Sterling Heights Stevenson and Belleville. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. on BSD’s primary channel, and the game also may be watched on the BSD website and app.
For a complete schedule of 11-Player Semifinals to be broadcast live Saturday on MHSAA.tv, click Football. Links to broadcasts will be added throughout this week.
NFHS Network subscriptions begin at $10.99 per month. Subscribers have access to all live video and streaming statistics across the country. School Broadcast Program participants benefit as a portion of every subscription sold by a school goes to benefit its program.
More than 400 MHSAA member schools are participants in the School Broadcast Program, now in its 13th year, producing games using traditional hands-on student crews or via Pixellot cameras installed at stadiums and gymnasiums across the state. A complete list of participating schools can be found on the School Broadcast Program page of the MHSAA Website.