Long time lurker, first time poster (with a burner account).

I'm looking to get some insight into how companies (US based) in the live events industry handle overtime compensation for full-time employees who regularly travel and work on-site at events.

I'm defining "overtime" as working more than 40 hours in a week and/or more than 10 hours in a single day on-site.

Does your company offer additional compensation for hours worked beyond 40/week and/or 10/day? If so, how is it structured?

Does your company offer any formal “comp” time after working over a certain amount? If so, how is that calculated and administered?

How does your company classify full-time employees who work events? Is everyone “exempt” or is there a mix between “exempt” and “non-exempt”

Whatever system your company uses, does it seem to work? Do employees generally feel they're being fairly compensated for the additional hours and time away from home? Is overtime compensation (or the lack thereof) an issue with moral, burnout, etc? 

A friend of mine works at an AV company, and they’re currently having conversations about what is fair for full-time employees who regularly work well beyond 40 hours a week. To the best of my understanding, they currently have an informal “comp” time policy, and that’s about it. 

Major bonus points if anyone is willing to share published documentation about how your company handles these issues, and I'd especially appreciate hearing from both employees and managers/owners who have experience implementing these policies.

I’m posting this with a burner account for plausible deniability.

Thanks in advance for any insight you're willing to share!

I’m a college freshman from Taiwan, currently majoring in television production.

I’ve been working as a freelance live/broadcast director and ENG camera operator for about two years, starting when I was in high school. I was an independent-study student in high school, which gave me more flexibility to take on freelance production work.

Since high school, my goal has been to work in live concert production, especially as a broadcast/live director or ENG camera operator.

Right now, I’m studying television production in Taiwan while continuing to take on freelance gigs. I’m expected to graduate in 2030, and after graduation, I’m planning to pursue a master’s degree in the U.S. related to television, live broadcasting, or live production. Ideally, I’d like to find a job in the U.S. after completing my degree.

I have two main questions:

1. Is this plan realistic given the current situation in the U.S., especially for an international student who hopes to work in live television or concert production after graduation?
2. Are there any master’s programs in the U.S. that would be a good fit for someone with my background and career goals? I’ve been looking for a while, but I still haven’t found a program that really focuses on live television, multicamera production, or broadcast directing.

Any advice, program recommendations, or personal experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

It is as if CBS staff does not know that the network uses 1080i, but the Internet uses progscan, so the footage has to be deinterlaced, and not into 30p, but into 60p.

This particular screenshot is from "How some are keeping manual driving alive".

Hi everyone, I’d appreciate your advice!

I work at a TV news channel that broadcasts 12 hours of news daily. We handle a high volume of Zoom calls, sometimes 20–30 calls over a 12-hour shift.

We currently use a Matrox Convert DVI to allow the operator to crop and adjust the framing of each incoming Zoom video feed.

We’d like to eliminate the Matrox Convert DVI while retaining the ability for the operator to crop and reframe the image in real time. What solutions or workflows would you recommend for a professional broadcast news environment?

Thanks in advance for your advice!

Hi everyone,

I'm looking at starting a small NYC-based AV and live streaming company, providing video, audio, lighting and live streaming services.

From what I've read about NY sales tax rules, it seems that if I'm providing equipment along with an operator or technician, it generally wouldn't be subject to sales tax. However, if I'm providing equipment as a dry hire, or the client is operating the equipment themselves, sales tax would apply.

My understanding is that around 99% of the work I'd be doing wouldn't be taxable, as I'd be providing equipment as part of a fully operated service.

However, what about smaller items? For example, if I'm providing and operating a full AV setup but also supplying a presentation clicker for the client to use with their own laptop, would I technically need to charge sales tax on that particular item?

Has anyone running an AV or event production company in NYC dealt with this? Just trying to understand where the line is drawn and how people handle invoicing for mixed services and equipment.

Thanks!

There is a wonderful story called "Oliver's Castle" about someone who made a (PAL) Hi-8 video of "orbs" producing a crop circle in 1996. The video is a circle fade between two analog signals (before and after) with some lights on top that lack motion blur or interlacing. The person later admitted he composited it, apparently on a Quantel Paintbox according to one comment.

Before his admission, an (armchair) video expert claimed it had to be real because he had examined the tape technically and could not find the telltale signs of it being composited from a digital source. But the only information I have on what he did is that he looked at the "vertical interval, blanking pulse, sub carrier, and pedestal".

I have only the most basic understanding of video, so can the engineers here comment?

What sort of signals in these basics of PAL would be there simply because the signal is digital sourced?

Hello everyone. I was hired as executive for finance and operations at a church this year. We have a problem in that the Tricaster pro they've been using is about to die, and it was cost prohibitive to begin with. There's a paid AV person who runs the whole thing solo in the absence of volunteers.

All of the alternatives we've looked at to date would require 2-3 people to operate, and many people are too intimidated by the technology to volunteer. The sound is done on an Allen & Heath sound board, and slides and camera are currently done picture in picture with camera view switching for livestream. Does anyone have software suggestions that can handle slide progression on the in-room projector and camera angles on livestream in one program? And can that program be operated by one person? I'm at a loss as to how to fix this.

Hello!

Does anyone know or have the Epiphan Pearl 2 operating system ISO. The SSD is bad and I wanted to replace the disk but the repair department of the company I work at just put in a new disk and threw the old one away. So now it's a expensive piece of metal with a display that says no boot device. Otherwise I need to get a new SSD from Epiphan but I bet that will be very expensive.

Thanks!

Edit: clarified things.

Tiles worked until accidentally entering NovaLCT's Smart Settings wizard. We didn’t complete it or knowingly save changes, but the panels went black.

Imported rcfgx from a fresh tile, which restored output and receiving card/module info, but now tiles display alternating horizontal bands: one with correct image (green in this example, which should cover the whole tile) and the other white with faint vertical colors.

We’ve tried:
-Comparing receiving-card settings and extended driver properties with a healthy panel; visible settings appeared to match.
-Comparing exported rcfgx files and found differences in less-accessible fields, including DriverFunction, RamA/B/C/D, correction values, and embedded binary data.
-Verified scan mode, decoding, cabinet dimensions, and data-group settings.
-Tested solid-color patterns through both NovaLCT and the processor; the stripes remain unchanged.
-Tested an affected panel individually with the same result, not a mapping/screen configuration issue.
-Tried Data Group Exchange without resolving the stripes.

We’re trying to get the original factory rcfgx from the distributor, but does anyone know how to fix this? What would entering smart settings have changed that isn’t corrected by restoring with a known-good rcfgx?

Hell everyone,

I have been leading AV for a big event for the last 5 years. Its a tech event where we usually run 8 to 12 stages in parallel with speakers cycling in and out of the stage for our 8 hours a day. We do this event once a year and its usually 4 days long.

As you can imagine, the amount of post production we have to do for such an event is quite large, it usually comes around to 400 - 500 individual videos, one per talk, plus also reels. I have a background in software engineering so since I joined the team I had a big focus on automating things and so I build a fully autonomous pipeline to edit this videos. Obviously the editing is not the same as doing it manually in post prod, the automation basically clips the livestream feed and then does some minor editing like adding intro, outro, lower thirds and some audio normalisation and then it published to youtube, so if the operating crew does a mistake during live, you need to fallback to manual editing.

Overall this has worked quite well for us internally, and I wanted to know if anyone thinks that this could potentially become a product that we could sell to other av vendors. I have done some research and I found things like grabyo and such but there are more focused on the sports industry I think.

Thanks for reading and just to clarify, this post is not a hidden self promotion post to sell AI slop, im genuinely interested in the opinion of the people of this subreddit.

peace

Hi all,

I have been facing difficulties in understanding how to play an URL via a web browser in Vizrt Trio 3.1.4 and Engine 3.1.4. Would anyone have any insights on how I could do it?

Thanks,

I need something that works on both Mac and Windows, preferably directly in the browser without installing anything. It would also be great if it records locally, so bad internet does not destroy the recording.

I have had good results with Zoom, but some companies block it or do not allow employees to install it.

What is the best universal option where you can just send the guest a link and have it work?

I hate teams in so many ways so that is not a option

Hello,

I'm looking for recommendations for media server solutions for live corporate events.

The client currently primarily uses either Resolume Arena or QLab.

They will continue to use QLab but are looking for an alternative to Resolume for larger shows.

We are looking for something timeline and cue based, as there are challenges programming complex shows with Resolume's clip/column approach.

Ideally the solution will have a software-only licensing option for the client to run on their own hardware. Also ideally it should have a client/server model where the physical outputs are separate from the control machine, and the option to control from a laptop during rehearsals so the operator can sit with the end client. Although this could be KVM/VNC if needed.

I am familiar with Disguise and Pixera, and their style of workflow would be a good fit. I have also used Pandoras box but only 10+ year old versions so I'm not sure what it's like now.

Disguise is significantly out of budget and Pixera is pushing the upper limits.

What other solutions should I be exploring? Answers from people with first-hand experience preferred please.

This will be used on corporate events; conferences and awards, driving primarily LED walls and TVs. Projection requirements are rare or unlikely. Currently their shows are pushing 6-8K canvases over 2-4x 4K outputs.

Thanks in advance!

Edit for Clarity - this for live event playback to LED walls, involving mapping with non-standard ratios, and multiple outputs each of a different size and shape, not standard broadcast playback of 16x9 content.

I'm an instructor looking for a camera to record my iPad screen and stylus handwriting from a fixed overhead position. Screen recording isn't an option, so I need a physical camera.

Requirements:

• Clear 1080p video and good audio from a built-in microphone.

• Reliable, uninterrupted 2–3 hour recordings without overheating.

• Budget: $250 maximum.

• Preferably recent hardware released in 2024 or later.

I've considered the IPEVO V4K PRO, but I'm unsure about software support since it's from 2021

I'd appreciate recommendations based on real-world experience rather than just specs alone. Thanks.

cool project, haven’t tested it.

Can ZoomISO output audio from everyone in a meeting except two specific participants, without muting those participants in the meeting?
Headphone jack, USB audio interface, or HDMI with an audio extractor would all work. Ideally, newly joining participants would be included automatically.
Has anyone tested this?

Hey everyone!

I recently picked up a Sony A7 IV, and I'm working on integrating it into my streaming setup.

Here's what I'm currently working with:

• Sony A7 IV with the 28-70mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens
• Elgato Cam Link
• SmallRig dummy battery
• Amaran and Nanlite lighting
• OBS Studio
• Twitch streaming at 1080p60

I have a background in professional video production, so I'm familiar with exposure, lighting, camera settings, and color grading. However, I'm still figuring out how to translate that experience into a live streaming workflow.

I'm particularly interested in hearing from people who have used Sony Alpha cameras with OBS.

My main questions are:

1. Camera output and capture workflow

Since my final stream will be 1080p60, I'm curious whether there are any practical advantages to configuring the A7 IV for 4K HDMI output and letting the signal be downscaled, rather than using 1080p directly.

I'm also wondering how the camera's recording format settings (XAVC S HD vs. XAVC S 4K) relate to the HDMI output when using a capture card.

2. Picture profiles and live color grading

I'd like to develop a consistent, slightly cinematic look for my streams and gameplay content.

For those using Sony cameras, do you prefer working with a standard picture profile or something like S-Log3 for live production?

I've experimented with LUTs I normally use in DaVinci Resolve for my professional video work, but the results haven't translated particularly well to OBS.

I'm interested in understanding whether it's more practical to:

• Get the image as close as possible in-camera.
• Apply color adjustments directly in OBS.
• Create a custom .cube LUT in DaVinci Resolve for the live feed.
• Use Elgato's software for any part of the color pipeline.

I'm not looking for a universal preset or a list of magic settings. I'm more interested in understanding the technical trade-offs and hearing about workflows that have worked for others using similar hardware.

I've wanted to get into streaming for years, and with GTA VI coming up, I'm finally getting serious about creating my own content.

Any experiences, suggestions, or resources would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!