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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: Hockey Finals

March 13, 2016

The MHSAA Ice Hockey Finals at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth produced plenty of exciting moments over the weekend. Here are some from this year’s Semifinal and Final games. 

Click the final score to watch the entire game and order DVDs.

Division 1 Final – Detroit Catholic Central 3, Brighton 0

A Stop & A Half - Here's a couple of great saves by Brighton goalie Logan Neaton during a first period power play by Detroit Catholic Central. Neaton made 26 stops in the Division 1 Final. 

Streaking In For A Score - Detroit Catholic Central's second goal of the game came off the stick of Nick Macari, who was streaking down the left side.

Division 2 Final – Romeo 6, Livonia Stevenson 4

Stevenson Takes A 4-2 Lead - Livonia Stevenson built a 4-2 lead in the second period on this goal by Nate Sudek.

Jenuwine Breaks The Tie - On the power play, Romeo's Logan Jenuwine scores what proves to be the game-winning goal. Jenuwine had two goals in the contest.

Division 3 Final – Hancock 4, Grand Rapids Catholic Central 2

King of The Hill - In the closing seconds of the first period of the Division 3 title game, Danny Hill of Hancock scores shorthanded to give the Bulldogs a 3-0 lead.

Chase Keeps CC In It - Grand Rapids Catholic Central countered with two goals in the second period, the latter on this power play tally by Chase Madden, which cut the Hancock lead to 3-2 at the time.

Division 1 Semifinal – Brighton 4, Grandville 1

Foran Feeds Clifford - From the left point, Brighton's Nick Foran sets up Joey Clifford for the first goal of this Division 1 Semifinal against Grandville. 

Something To Cheer About - Grandville gets on the board in the third period with this goal by David Breazeale. 

Division 1 Semifinal – Detroit Catholic Central 4, Detroit U-D Jesuit 3

Austin Powers It In - Austin Evans had two goals for Detroit U-D Jesuit in the Cubs’ Division 1 Semifinal against Detroit Catholic Central. Here's the first goal, in the opening period. 

CC’s Fourth Goal - Late in the second period, Michael Considine of Detroit Catholic Central scores what proves to be the winning goal against Detroit U-D Jesuit.

Division 2 Semifinal – Livonia Stevenson 5, Hartland 1 

Kowalske Scores - Livonia Stevenson got two quick goals in the first period against Hartland. Here's the second, by Ben Kowalske with 10:51 left in the first period.

Eagles Get On The Board - After blasting away on the power play, Hartland gets its goal from Luke Cowan with 13:03 left in the second period.

Division 2 Semifinal – Romeo 5, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern/Eastern 2 

Pretty Feed For Second Bulldogs Goal - Romeo gets a couple of bang-bang goals in the first period 34 seconds apart. Here's the second one, with Frank Ruffino taking a nice centering pass for a tally.

On The Top Shelf - Josh Boverhof gets Forest Hills Northern/Eastern on the board in the second period with a power play goal that goes top shelf. 

Division 3 Semifinal – Hancock 2, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood 1 

Bulldogs Take Lead - Hancock gets the first goal of the game on a 5 on 3 power play. Luke Rautio was given credit for the goal. 

Cranes Tie It Up - C.J. Regula makes a great play for Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood late in the second period to tie the score. 

The Bulldogs Are Movin’ On - Late in the first overtime period, Alex Nordstrom scores for Hancock on a power play.

Division 3 Semifinal – Grand Rapids Catholic Central 3, Chelsea 2 

Bulldogs Strike Quick - Chelsea scored the game's first goal just 39 seconds in when Sean Cox knocked in a rebound.

Winner! Winner! - Jack Pendery gets the game-winning goal in overtime for Grand Rapids Catholic Central against Chelsea.

PHOTO: Detroit Catholic Central players line up to block a Brighton shot during Saturday's Division 1 Final. (Click for more from Andrew Knapik.)