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Pixellot Productions On Rise

September 19, 2018

By John Johnson
MHSAA Director of Broadcast Properties

A year ago, Pixellot – the automated production solution for schools wishing to stream live video of their athletic events on the NFHS Network and MHSAA.tv – was in use at six schools across Michigan.

With the new school year underway, nearly two dozen schools are actively streaming events using Pixellot, with half of those schools streaming indoor and outdoor events. Several schools have more than two Pixellot units in place.

“Schools are finding that Pixellot provides a great opportunity to get a lot of their games out to their fans in a way they could never achieve,” said Mark Uyl, executive director of the MHSAA.  “We have some schools which are using a mix of their traditional, student-staffed, School Broadcast Program efforts along with Pixellot to be able to add subvarsity coverage; and schools going exclusively with Pixellot with installations at multiple venues.”

Pixellot units use from two to four High Definition cameras that cover the length of the playing surface and then focus 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 commentary of the public address announcer or the radio style play-by-play of an in-person announcing team also can 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 also can be set up to isolate a camera on a fixed location, which allows for activities like cheer and wrestling to be streamed.

Schools actively engaged in Pixellot productions now include: Ann Arbor Greenhills, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, Brighton, Calumet, Dollar Bay, Frankenmuth, Freeland, Fremont, Grand Blanc, Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian, Harrison, Howell, Kalamazoo Christian, Macomb Lutheran North, Manchester, Norway, Novi, Otisville-LakeVille, Ovid-Elsie, Plainwell, Saginaw Heritage, Saline, Stevensville Lakeshore, Warren DeLaSalle and Williamston. Schools using indoor and outdoor units include Cranbrook Kingswood, Frankenmuth, Freeland, Grand Blanc, Howell, Manchester, Norway, Novi, Ovid-Elsie, Plainwell, Saginaw Heritage, Saline and Stevensville Lakeshore. Additional schools will have their Pixellot units coming online soon.

More than 70 percent of the programming taking place this week on MHSAA.tv will be Pixellot productions, featuring a football game Friday evening with two of the top-ranked Division 1 teams facing off for the top spot in the Saginaw Valley League’s Red division. Grand Blanc hosts Davison at 7 p.m. Both teams are 4-0 overall and 2-0 in league play, tied with Lapeer for first place.

Here’s this week’s MHSAA.tv schedule of video streams being produced by School Broadcast Program members and the NFHS Network:

Tuesday - Sept. 18

Wednesday - Sept. 19 

Thursday - Sept. 20

Friday - Sept. 21

Saturday - Sept. 22

Monday - Sept. 24

Tuesday - Sept. 25

All sporting events – live or delayed - 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.

NFHS Network subscriptions begin at $9.95 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 also will be selling Season and Annual Passes at a discounted rate. A portion of every subscription sold by a school goes to benefit its program. 

Highlights of games broadcast during the past week by MHSAA School Broadcast Program contributors feature a pair of close football contests – Marquette’s 36-35 overtime win over Escanaba and Howell topping Novi, 21-17 – and a volleyball match with Lake Orion defeating Oxford, 3-0.

Highlights can be found each week on the MHSAA.tv website, the home page of the MHSAA Website, and the MHSAASports Channel on YouTube.

A complete list of participating schools can be found on the School Broadcast Program page of the MHSAA website.

Hoops Qtrs/Regionals Back on MHSAA TV

March 11, 2019

By John Johnson
MHSAA Director of Broadcast Properties

For the third straight year, MHSAA.tv will stream all 16 games of Tuesday’s (March 12) MHSAA Boys Basketball Quarterfinal Round.

Most of the games will be streamed by schools participating in the School Broadcast Program and will consist of single-camera coverage with natural sound and a scorebug graphic.

Here’s the complete schedule.  All games start at 7 p.m. (EDT) unless otherwise indicated:

Division 1
Detroit U-D Jesuit v. Roseville at U-D Mercy  - 7:30 PM
East Kentwood v. Okemos at Caledonia 
Howell vs. Saginaw at Grand Blanc 
Ypsilanti Lincoln v. Detroit King at U-D Mercy  - 5:30 PM

Division 2
Harper Woods Chandler Park v. New Haven at Ortonville Brandon
Haslett v. River Rouge at Chelsea 
Ludington v. Alma at Mt. Pleasant 
Grand Rapids South Christian v. Hudsonville Unity Christian at Calvin College 

Division 3
Flint Beecher vs. Detroit Edison at Port Huron  (St. Clair County Community College)
Hanover Horton v. Erie Mason at Tecumseh  
Iron Mountain v. Sanford Meridian at Petoskey  - 6 PM
Pewamo-Westphalia v. Cassopolis at Richland Gull Lake  

Division 4
Big Rapids Crossroads v. Frankfort at Cadillac 
Dollar Bay v. Pellston at Escanaba  
Genesee Christian v. Southfield Christian at West Bloomfield  - 6 PM
Wyoming Tri-unity Christian v. Bellevue at Charlotte  

In addition, there will be coverage Monday (March 11) and Wednesday (March 13) of selected Girls Basketball Regional games.  Here’s the complete schedule: 

Monday, March 11

MHSAA Div. 2 Girls Basketball Regional | Freeland vs. Corunna at Mt. Morris  - 5:30 PM
MHSAA Div. 1 Girls Basketball Regional | Waterford Kettering v. Walled Lake Western at White Lake Lakeland  - 5:30 PM
MHSAA Div. 3 Girls Basketball Regional | Hart vs. Houghton Lake at McBain  - 6 PM
MHSAA Div. 3 Girls Basketball Regional | St. Ignace v. Hillman at Pellston  - 6 PM
MHSAA Div. 1 Girls Basketball Regional | Hartland v. West Bloomfield at White Lake Lakeland  - 7 PM
MHSAA Div. 2 Girls Basketball Regional | Frankenmuth vs. Central Montcalm at Mt. Morris  - 7 PM
MHSAA Div. 3 Girls Basketball Regional | Oscoda v. Lake City at McBain  - 7:30 PM
MHSAA Div. 3 Girls Basketball Regional | Newberry v. Mackinaw City at Pellston  - 7:30 PM

Wednesday, March 13

MHSAA Div. 2 Girls Basketball Regional Final | At Mt. Morris  - 6 PM
MHSAA Div. 3 Girls Basketball Regional Final | At McBain  - 6 PM
MHSAA Div. 4 Girls Basketball Regional Final | At Pellston  - 6 PM
MHSAA Div. 1 Girls Basketball Regional Final | At  White Lake Lakeland  - 7 PM

The continued Basketball coverage is part of six straight weekends of live MHSAA Championship coverage on MHSAA.tv, and online viewers can catch every weekend of action for one low cost of $9.95. 

A subscription purchased this week will be good for coverage of the Boys Basketball Semifinals on Thursday and Friday (March 14-15) and next week’s Girls Basketball Quarterfinals and Semifinals.

In its 10th 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 events. The SBP also gives schools the opportunity to raise money through advertising and viewing subscriptions.

A complete list of participating schools can be found on the School Broadcast Program page of the MHSAA website.