Due to COVID-19 many sporting schedules are relegated to almost exclusively no spectator events, coaches are looking for ways to live-stream these events for their fans.
In this blog post, I’ll try to describe an easy to follow process to provide a decent stream.
Things you’ll need…
A computer that is running Windows, Mac, or Linux. Sorry I’m not sure Chromebooks can run the software needed.
2 x USB Webcam ($22 per on Amazon) – One for the match and one for the scoreboard
20ft USB extender ($14 on Amazon) – to get closer to the scoreboard
Initial Steps
Plug the match webcam into your computer and point it towards the game or match
Plug the scoreboard webcam into the USB extender. Get it close to and pointed at the scoreboard
Plug the other end of the USB extender into your computer
Open the OSB software
Set up the stream sources
From OBS, find the sources panel at the bottom and click the plus button.
Then click Video Capture Device
Name it camera1 and click ok
Under Device, choose one of your cameras and click Ok.
Now, follow the same steps for your second camera and name it camera2.
Under sources you should have something like this:
You can click the eye button circled above to disable one camera at a time. Using that eye button, find out which camera is your “match camera” (the camera pointed at the mat). Click the name of that camera, and click the “down” button at the bottom of sources to move that camera to the back of the scene. In my example, camera2 is my “match camera” and needs to be on the bottom.
Now, select camera1 and resize it to a smaller size, then click and drag it to the corner of the screen. In my example here, you can see me live-streaming the ultimate match between Spider-Man and Thanos.
Now, with your cameras set up, you can hook OBS up to a live stream service like Facebook or Youtube.
Share the stream via Facebook Live-stream
Now, on the bottom right, click Settings, then Stream and select Facebook Live
From here, you can click get stream key and it will take you to the facebook streaming page where you can copy a stream key and paste it into these settings.
After applying your stream key, you can click start streaming from the bottom right.
Final Thoughts
Creating a match or game stream with two cameras and a laptop can be pretty easy.
Kids tend to have filthy mouths, so make sure any kid manning a camera knows what they say can be heard on the live-stream or elect to have no sound by muting the cameras.
Making great coffee at home can be easy and can be affordable (less than $100 for tools). I really love Americano’s (also known as a Long Black). My local coffee shop sells a small Americano for $3. An Americano is just a double shot of espresso with hot water on top and at home can be made for around $0.35 per small cup, saving you $2.65 per cup and giving you much more flexibility with all of the beans choices out there.
With some added equipment, setup can also be used to make latte drinks.
Note on Espresso
What we’re making isn’t exactly espresso. Espresso is made with a fine bean grind and 6-8 bars of pressure (over 600 lbs of pressure). Real espresso is very costly to make (beginner machines costing more than $500 and beginner grinders costing more than $300) and requires much more precision when measuring beans and grind sizes.
We will be making a very strong coffee concentration that is cheaper to make and is much more forgiving if you’re lax on timing and grind size. Unless you’re an espresso snob, you won’t notice the difference and it will still taste better than your local Starbucks espresso.
If you like milk based drinks like lattes, here is an automatic milk frother for $40. Combining that with a sweetener like stevia and flavor syrup like chocolate, you can make lattes.
I highly recommend Coastal Blend by Coastal Coffee Roasters. They sell 5 lbs of whole bean coffee for $55. 5 lbs in grams is 2267.96 divided by 14 (14 g per cup for the recipe below) = 161 cups. $55 divided by 161 cups = $0.34 per cup.
Prep
The only prep to do is to set your grinder to a “medium fine” grind setting.
For the Javapresse, put the grind handle in place and hold it while tightening the black grind adjuster all the way clockwise. Don’t overtighten the knob, just tighten until it feels like you’re all the way down. Now, loosen the knob counterclockwise a total of 6 “clicks”.
French Press, Cold Brew, Percolator, Coffee Cupping
Medium Coarse
10-12
Chemex, Drip Coffee Makers, Vacuum Pots
Medium
7-9
Pour Over Brewers (Including Ours), Aeropress
Medium Fine
4-6
Moka Pots, Pour Over Brewers, Aeropress
Fine
1-3
Espresso, Turkish
Steps
Step 1: Grind your coffeeand boil your water
Using the Aeropress provided scooper put 1 rounded scoop (around 14g of beans) into your grinder.
At the same time start boiling water in your kettle.
Scooping beans into the Javapresse hand grinder for use in the Aeropress.
Then put the handle on your grinder and grind. This takes me around 5 minutes while also pissing around letting the dogs in and out 6 times and telling my 1 year old daughter no when she tries getting into the cabinets.
Javapresse with the handle on and beans inside ready to grind.Javapresse final coffee grind.
Step 2: Brew the coffee
I use the “inverted method” when using the Aeropress. Take the cap off and the metal screen out of the Aeropress. Pull the plunger down to 1.5. Flip the Aeropress over ready to add your grounds.
Aeropress ready with plunger down in inverted style.
Add your grounds and fill with your hot water leaving a tad bit of room at the top.
Coffee ground and hot water added to Aeropress.
Once the water is filled start a timer. While the timer is running, carefully stir (making sure it doesn’t spill over) with the Aeropress provided stir stick.
Carefully stirring grounds while timer is running for 30 seconds.
Once your timer hits 30 seconds, place your stir stick to the side, place the metal screen on top, and carefully twist on the cap being sure not to spill the coffee.
Metal filter on Aeropress.Cap on Aerorpress ready to plunge.
Now carefully flip the Aeropress over on top of your cup and press down hard and fast. Don’t go too hard and fast that you flip your cup and make a mess.
Plunging Aeropress.Final product.
Once it’s pressed all the way down, you’re done! Carefully lift the Aeropress off the cup (some coffee will still drip off) and enjoy. You’ve just made a coffee concentrate that simulates a double shot of espresso.
Step 3: Add extra stuff
If you like Americano’s like I do, add hot water on top. If you enjoy lattes, add your frothed milk, sweetener, and syrup (chocolate, caramel, etc) as needed.
Cleanup
Cleanup with the Aeropress is very easy. Take the cap off and remove the metal filter, push your “coffee puck” into the trash can, and rinse the Aeropress off in the sink with water. DO NOT put the coffee puck down the sink. You will likely clog your pipes.
Coffee puck going into the trash.
Final Thoughts
This whole process takes maybe 10 minutes. If you consider the time you spend getting in the car, driving to the coffee shop, and sitting in line, 10 minutes does not seem too bad.
You don’t have to be a barista to make good coffee at home. Coffee at home can also be better and cheaper than from a chain like Starbucks or even from your local coffee shop.
For full transparency, all amazon links are associate links. Meaning, if you click the link and make a purchase, I get a small kickback.
