Logo

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

Wednesday, Feb. 1

Thursday, Feb. 2

Friday, Feb. 3

Saturday, Feb. 4

Monday, Feb. 6

Tuesday, Feb. 7

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.

MHSAA TV

Football Rivalries Top This Week’s MHSAA.tv, Media Partner Broadcast Schedules

By Jon Ross
MHSAA Director of Broadcast Properties

September 22, 2021

A series of football rivalries will be showcased on MHSAA.tv and the NFHS Network, as well as media partners Bally Sports Detroit and State Champs! Sports Network during another busy weekend of broadcasts Sept. 24-26.

This week’s Bally Sports Detroit live cable football broadcast will feature Lansing-area rivals Grand Ledge (4-0) and DeWitt (3-1) at 7 p.m. Friday with first place on the line in the Capital Area Activities Conference Blue. That game can be watched on BSD’s PLUS channel or online on BSD’s website or app. On Sunday, State Champs will broadcast live on its website the annual “Boys Bowl” between Detroit Catholic League Central contenders Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice (3-1) and Detroit Catholic Central (3-1), with kickoff at 1 p.m.

This weekend’s MHSAA.tv football schedule includes more than 165 games, including a number of notable Friday night rivalry clashes. Annual powers Rockford (4-0) and Hudsonville (2-2) are among four teams undefeated in Ottawa-Kent Conference Red play after two league games, and Dearborn Fordson (4-0) takes on Belleville (3-1) in a matchup that regularly helps decide the Kensington Lakes Activities Association East champion. Pewamo-Westphalia (4-0) faces Fowler (2-2) for first place in the Central Michigan Athletic Conference, Edwardsburg (4-0) and Plainwell (4-0) match up to decide the leader in the Wolverine Conference, and Frankenmuth (4-0) and Freeland (4-0) will clash for first place in the Tri-Valley Conference East. While not a league game, Boyne City (4-0) and Traverse City St. Francis (4-0) also will meet in a matchup of undefeated teams.

See links below to those and a few more events of note being broadcast on the Network this week:

FOOTBALL

Sept. 24, 6:35 p.m.: Fowler at Pewamo-Westphalia
Sept. 24, 7 p.m.: Novi at Canton
Sept. 24, 7 p.m.: Belleville at Fordson
Sept. 24, 7 p.m.: Freeland at Frankenmuth
Sept. 24, 7 p.m.: West Bloomfield at Lake Orion
Sept. 24, 7 p.m.: Montrose at New Lothrop
Sept. 24, 7 p.m.: Edwardsburg at Plainwell
Sept. 24, 7 p.m.: Hudsonville at Rockford
Sept. 24, 7 p.m.: Muskegon Mona Shores at Zeeland East
Sept. 24, 7 p.m.: Clinton Township Chippewa Valley at Romeo
Sept. 25, 1 p.m.: Boyne City at Traverse City St. Francis

VOLLEYBALL

Sept. 22, 5:25 p.m.: Kalamazoo Central at Kalamazoo Loy Norrix
Sept. 23, 6:30 p.m.: Maple City Glen Lake at Leland
Sept. 23, 6:30 p.m.: Cadillac at Gaylord

BOYS SOCCER

Sept. 22, 6 p.m.: Midland at Flint Powers Catholic
Sept. 25, 10 a.m.: Berkley at Rochester
Sept. 25, 12:30 p.m.: Auburn Hills Oakland Christian at Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett

The MHSAA.tv schedule total also includes more than 200 volleyball and more than 80 boys soccer matches this week. Click the links below to see all three sports’ listings in full:

Football – Volleyball – Boys Soccer

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.