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Pixellot Productions On Rise

September 19, 2018

By John Johnson
MHSAA Director of Broadcast Properties

A year ago, Pixellot – the automated production solution for schools wishing to stream live video of their athletic events on the NFHS Network and MHSAA.tv – was in use at six schools across Michigan.

With the new school year underway, nearly two dozen schools are actively streaming events using Pixellot, with half of those schools streaming indoor and outdoor events. Several schools have more than two Pixellot units in place.

“Schools are finding that Pixellot provides a great opportunity to get a lot of their games out to their fans in a way they could never achieve,” said Mark Uyl, executive director of the MHSAA.  “We have some schools which are using a mix of their traditional, student-staffed, School Broadcast Program efforts along with Pixellot to be able to add subvarsity coverage; and schools going exclusively with Pixellot with installations at multiple venues.”

Pixellot units use from two to four High Definition cameras that cover the length of the playing surface and then focus 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 commentary of the public address announcer or the radio style play-by-play of an in-person announcing team also can 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 also can be set up to isolate a camera on a fixed location, which allows for activities like cheer and wrestling to be streamed.

Schools actively engaged in Pixellot productions now include: Ann Arbor Greenhills, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, Brighton, Calumet, Dollar Bay, Frankenmuth, Freeland, Fremont, Grand Blanc, Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian, Harrison, Howell, Kalamazoo Christian, Macomb Lutheran North, Manchester, Norway, Novi, Otisville-LakeVille, Ovid-Elsie, Plainwell, Saginaw Heritage, Saline, Stevensville Lakeshore, Warren DeLaSalle and Williamston. Schools using indoor and outdoor units include Cranbrook Kingswood, Frankenmuth, Freeland, Grand Blanc, Howell, Manchester, Norway, Novi, Ovid-Elsie, Plainwell, Saginaw Heritage, Saline and Stevensville Lakeshore. Additional schools will have their Pixellot units coming online soon.

More than 70 percent of the programming taking place this week on MHSAA.tv will be Pixellot productions, featuring a football game Friday evening with two of the top-ranked Division 1 teams facing off for the top spot in the Saginaw Valley League’s Red division. Grand Blanc hosts Davison at 7 p.m. Both teams are 4-0 overall and 2-0 in league play, tied with Lapeer for first place.

Here’s this week’s MHSAA.tv schedule of video streams being produced by School Broadcast Program members and the NFHS Network:

Tuesday - Sept. 18

Wednesday - Sept. 19 

Thursday - Sept. 20

Friday - Sept. 21

Saturday - Sept. 22

Monday - Sept. 24

Tuesday - Sept. 25

All sporting events – live or delayed - 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.

NFHS Network subscriptions begin at $9.95 a month. 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. School Broadcast Program participants also will be selling Season and Annual Passes at a discounted rate. A portion of every subscription sold by a school goes to benefit its program. 

Highlights of games broadcast during the past week by MHSAA School Broadcast Program contributors feature a pair of close football contests – Marquette’s 36-35 overtime win over Escanaba and Howell topping Novi, 21-17 – and a volleyball match with Lake Orion defeating Oxford, 3-0.

Highlights can be found each week on the MHSAA.tv website, the home page of the MHSAA Website, and the MHSAASports Channel on YouTube.

A complete list of participating schools can be found on the School Broadcast Program page of the MHSAA website.

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.)