When the Texas Card House, the first legal poker club in Texas, was looking to create a broadcast-quality, live streaming solution designed to bring its online audience up close and personal views of all of its high-profile tournament action, it turned to 30-year industry veteran Omega Broadcast. Looking to stay within budget while not compromising on quality, Omega Broadcast found the answer it was looking for in Marshall CV503 Miniature HD and CV350 Compact Zoom Cameras.
“We have used Marshall in the past and knew they would be the ideal option for what the Texas Card House was looking to do,” said David Fry, vice president, Omega Broadcast. “Marshall’s products as well as sales and support teams are world-class, and we were thrilled to be working with them again.”
For the project, the Omega team designed and installed a custom frame that hangs above the six-foot by nine-foot poker table, which is specifically allocated for high profile tournaments. All the electronic equipment is housed cleanly within the frame, which includes seven cameras, two microphones, and four lights. The equipment was wired to a back office for private viewing through an additional Marshall camera with an RCP controller. For each high-profile streamed tournament, the game play is recorded with an announcer commentating in the back room. All the streams have a 30-minute delay to protect the integrity of the games.
For the Texas Card House, Marshall’s CV350-10XB cameras are used for views of the players as well as for close ups on the cards and to highlight the Texas Card House logo. With its image sensors, the CV350-10XB camera senses a player talking and switches its direction to that specific player, giving viewers the full hands-on experience of watching and hearing the action. Supporting a 2.5-megapixel 1/3-inch HD high performing sensor, the CV350-10XB can capture the movements of all the players. The CV350-10XB supports RS-485 power connection through a 12V power supply box.
In addition, Marshall’s CV503 cameras are used over the table and for wide shots of the tournament facility. With a 2.5 megapixel, 1/2.86-inch sensor, the CV503 brings clear and full-HD video. The CV503 camera has an interchangeable M12 lens mount. This camera can also be remotely adjusted through RS-485 or a menu joystick.
"The Texas Card House started out with just a couple hundred viewers and thanks to the quality and clarity of the Marshall cameras, they now have 10,000 viewers online,” added Fry. "The company has been so happy with the results, they plan on implementing this innovative technology throughout its other facilities.”
