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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.

Highlight Reel: Boys Basketball Finals

March 26, 2016

By John Johnson
MHSAA Communications Director

The winter sports season concluded Saturday at the Breslin Center with four title games in the 2016 MHSAA Boys Basketball Tournament, presented by Sparrow Health System.

Below are links to video highlights from Saturday’s games. Click on the final score to watch s game in its entirety and purchase DVDs. 

Class A

Detroit U-D Jesuit 69, North Farmington 49

Thomas Takes It - Billy Thomas led North Farmington in the Class A Final against Detroit U-D Jesuit with 23 points – two of them coming on this third quarter steal.

The Cassius Collection - Cassius Winston had 31 points and nine rebounds for Detroit U-D Jesuit in the Class A Final against North Farmington. Here's a montage of plays from the FOX Sports Detroit broadcast.

Class B

Detroit Henry Ford 61, Stevensville Lakeshore 47

Steal & Sprint To The Hoop - Detroit Henry Ford had a big run to finish the first half against Stevensville Lakeshore in the Class B Final. Jeremy Crawley makes the steal here and streaks down the court for two of his 18 points.
 
Cutting Into The Lead - Here's a sequence from the fourth quarter of the Class B Final where Stevensville Lakeshore makes a run.

Class C

Flint Beecher 63, Grandville Calvin Christian 61

Block You Very Much - Midway through the fourth quarter of the Class C Final, Levane Blake of Flint Beecher comes up with a monster block against Grandville Calvin Christian.

Squires Take The Lead - Grandville Calvin Christian took its last lead at 61-60 with 1:14 remaining when Tony DeWitte got an old-fashioned three-point play.

Class D

Powers North Central 59, Waterford Our Lady 48

Jets Defense - Powers North Central makes its living off defense - here's a steal by Dawson Bilski converted into a layup by Bobby Kleiman.

Lakes Rising - Waterford Our Lady mounted a second half rally against Powers North Central. Here's a nice feed from Andrew Kline to Devin Senerius during that run.

The Boys Basketball Finals are presented by Sparrow Health System. 

PHOTO: Flint Beecher's Jordan Roland (3) drives past a pair of Calvin Christian defenders during the Class C Final.