Thanks for the additional thoughts.

On video composite: I've done that, before, and I do like how easy coax is to work with. TV cards, in my experience, can be a bit sketchy on Linux, but the right one isn't terribly hard to find. My main concern would be picture quality. Analog cameras just aren't as crisp and clear as digital ones, and in this venue, with its poor lighting, etc., we've had problems, in the past. Although they were also using a camcorder from about 1995...I'll see if I can get it working with digital, but if not, coax is nice and reliable.

USB2/3 cables: Ah, marketing. I was guessing that it was something like that, but it's good to have confirmation from an unimpeachable LQ source. :-D I've noticed that some USB2 cables are definitely better than others, so this makes a lot of sense.

You could actually run cheap hub to hub by the way.

What do you mean?

There are IP cameras that you can connect to with ethernet (or wifi) that do alright in low light. Although more common for security than streaming events. And some of those run on power over ethernet so there's literally only one cable running to the camera.

If you can find it there's the HD cams with component video out which is HD quality. But I think they are only making them with HDMI out nowadays. If you can get a pc within 50' then you can capture from the HDMI output. Then stream from the pc.

IMO you need to do a better job of stating requirements.
If cost is the primary concern, then maybe a (stationary) USB webcam is what you'll have to settle for.
But since you mention selling recordings, you have to assume that at some point, someone is going to want to adjust the camera, either between shows or even during a live event.
So unless there's someone up in the rafters, you're going to need remote control of pan, tilt, and zoom.

Unless you want to run multiple cables (for video, control, power) up the rafters, you're then pretty much constrained to an IP camera powered by PoE (that uses just one cable).

Regards

Sorry to be cheeky but, erm: pan, tilt and zoom are available through USB. I have no idea how bad they may look though.
I have to say I'm waiting to see this footage whichever set-up is used to film it -- sounds like a fun club and regardless of hardware the footage and implementation should be interesting.

You need to read the specifications.
Such cameras typically need an external power source. USB power is not sufficient.
The control of pan, tilt and zoom seems to require a serial (RS-232C/422 or RS-485) link.
So that camera requires three cables.

Regards

I am happy to be put right on that, though sad that the power source is needed.

No assessment on picture quality, but there are 60FPS HD surveillance cameras.

https://www.google.com/search?q=hd+v...rk+poe+camera+

Regards

Thanks for the thought you all are putting into this! I've got some parts on order, and am experimenting with what I currently have. So far, I've gotten the USB-ethernet extensions, and tested them with a crappy webcam I happen to have lying around (an ancient Logitech QuickCam). They claim to work out to 150ft., but initial tests result in my camera's stream occasionally freezes with my 100ft. CAT5e cable, but works perfectly with my 70ft. one. I crimped these, myself, so it's possible that the longer cable's jacks have gotten a bit wonky since I last used it; will experiment some more...

To clarify requirements:

-The venue's owner is trying to do this for under $500, including all computer parts, cables, labor to set up, camera, microphones, etc.. This puts some tight constraints on what can be done. I may be able to talk him into a rental agreement, instead, which would make things a little more flexible, but result in it taking a longer time for me to make a profit on the job. So, unfortunately, price is the #1 priority.

-That being said, it's only worth doing if the video and audio quality are decent. I've ordered a Logitech 920C camera. The camera has built-in stereo microphones that folks say are surprisingly good; and the video quality is 1080p. Will require some testing before I know whether it will work well enough. Interestingly, the camera is USB2, not 3. With any luck, this means that it won't require a particularly high data transmission rate in order to get the best quality...which would imply that, perhaps, the adapters/ethernet won't cause problems. One hopes.

-Camera will be installed in a stationary position in the rafters, and pointed such that the whole stage is in view. It won't need to do any panning/adjustment, once we get the angle right.

-It must run flawlessly on Linux, so I can use scripts to record, copy, and join audio/video streams. Additional hardware may be added later (like input from proper microphones running through a mixer, additional cameras, etc.). V4L2Loopback kernel module + gstreamer-backend + AVConv/FFMPEG will be used to allow simultaneous streaming and recording without having to do so from different input sources. (One of these days, I'll get around to writing a proper HowTo about this...)

-Recordings must fit on USB drives that are cheap enough to sell to customers for ~$10, while still making a reasonable profit. AVConv/FFMPEG should be able to tweak compression/quality enough to make this doable. Each concert will last around 6 hours...except for special events, which could last a LOT longer. ;-)

$500 is not enough for what you're wanting. And probably wont fit on $10 usb sticks. Well compressed 1080p is about 1GB per 5 minutes. 6 hours * 12 five minute blocks per hour == 72GB. I don't know of any $10 sticks that hold 80GB+. You could probably squeeze that down to 720p and fit under 64GB. But still not within your budget or time constraints. Even at DVD quality (720x480 or 854x480 scaled) you're looking at 3 discs * 4GB each, so 16GB sticks which might be in your budget. But probably not what people would spend $10 on.

Actually, there is a significant difference between USB2 and USB3 cables. USB2 has just 4 wires while USB3 has an additional 5 wires (for a total of 9).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB_3.0#Pinouts

Typically the higher the bandwidth the shorter the distance. A few years ago I played with a remote touchscreen display that used USB and I also used an ethernet extender. I only tested it to 100 ft and it worked as expected but I am not surprised that video only works to 70 ft. Of course it depends on the quality of the USB signals. An active USB extension/repeater cable my be required since it will boost the signals levels. I've never played with one so guarantees on how well it works. I would as a precaution make sure you do not route the cable near high powered spot lights if the venue is so equipped.

Although the quality of the microphones in the web cam might be decent I do not think it is designed for distance and I would not expect the best results from the rafters.

I meant you can chain usb hubs one after another. We do it on a few systems.

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