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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.

42 MIHL Showcase Games to Stream Live

February 4, 2020

By John Johnson
MHSAA Director of Broadcast Properties

The NFHS Network has completed arrangements with LiveBarn for the live video streaming of the 20th Annual MIHL Prep Hockey Showcase this Thursday through Saturday (Feb. 6-8) at Kennedy Recreation Center in Trenton.
 
All 42 games over the three-day event will be available on a subscription basis on MHSAA.tv and LiveBarn. To get directly to the games on MHSAA.tv – Click Here.  Here’s the complete schedule:
 
Thursday - Feb. 6      
5:20 p.m.         Warren De La Salle Collegiate vs. Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett
5:40 p.m.         Grosse Pointe North vs.  Allen Park Cabrini
6 p.m.              Lake Orion vs. Plymouth
7:20 p.m.         Port Huron Northern vs. Rochester United
7:40 p.m.         Ann Arbor Skyline vs. Novi
8 p.m.              Riverview Gabriel Richard vs. Howell
 
Friday - Feb. 7
9:30 a.m.         Grosse Pointe South vs. Salem
9:50 a.m.         Grandville vs. Detroit County Day
10:10 a.m.       Hancock vs. Utica Eisenhower
11:30 a.m.       Orchard Lake St. Mary's vs. Traverse City Central
11:50 a.m.       Brighton vs. Grand Rapids Catholic Central
12:10 p.m.       Flint Powers vs. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central
1:30 p.m.         Calumet vs. Livonia Stevenson
1:50 p.m.         Plymouth vs. Byron Center
2:10 p.m.         East Grand Rapids vs Ann Arbor Skyline
4 p.m.              Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood vs. Hartland
4:40 p.m.         Allen Park Cabrini vs Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern/Eastern
4:20 p.m.         Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice vs. Saginaw Heritage
6 p.m.              Detroit Catholic Central vs. Green Bay Notre Dame Academy
6:20 p.m.         Detroit U-D Jesuit vs. Midland Dow
6:40 p.m.         Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett vs. Big Rapids
8 p.m.              Trenton vs. Cleveland St. Ignatius
8:20 p.m.         Houghton vs. Riverview Gabriel Richard
8:40 p.m.         Port Huron Northern vs. Grand Rapids Christian
           
Saturday - Feb. 8       
8 a.m.              Detroit Country Day vs. Midland Dow
8:20 a.m.         Howell vs. Grand Rapids Catholic Central
8:40 a.m.         Warren De La Salle Collegiate vs. Hancock
10 a.m.            Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice vs. Green Bay Notre Dame Academy
10:20 a.m.       Grosse Pointe South vs. Grandville
10:40 a.m.       Big Rapids vs East Grand Rapids
Noon               Trenton vs. Calumet
12:20 p.m.       Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood vs. Houghton
12:40 p.m.       Traverse City Central vs. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern/Eastern
2:30 p.m.         Livonia Stevenson vs. Saginaw Heritage
2:50 p.m.         Orchard Lake St. Mary's vs. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central
3:10 p.m.         Byron Center vs. Flint Powers
4:30 p.m.         Detroit Catholic Central vs. Hartland
4:50 p.m.         Cleveland St. Ignatius vs. Brighton
5:10 p.m.         Grand Rapids Christian vs. Utica Eisenhower
6:30 p.m.         Detroit U-D Jesuit vs. Salem
6:50 p.m.         Novi vs. Lake Orion
7:10 p.m.         Grosse Pointe North vs. Rochester United
 
The Showcase is part of a week of nearly 600 live events on MHSAA.tv and the NFHS Network. You can Click Here to look at the latest list of all upcoming varsity games.           
 
Now in its 11th 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. Pixellot – The NFHS Network’s automated streaming solution – is used by schools wishing to live stream games but lacking the ability to staff the events. The program also gives schools the opportunity to raise money through advertising and viewing subscriptions.

NFHS Network subscriptions begin at $10.99 a month. 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. School Broadcast Program participants benefit as 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.