Recording a 24-Hour Video Stream with GoPro

[StandInsideM]

Hello,

My friend is attempting to break the World Record for most pull-ups in 24 hours. As such, he needs a video record of it.

Is it possible for me to stream a feed from my GoPro Hero 4 Black to my MacBook Pro and record it? (Tech details below). It doesn't need to be a high-quality recording -- i.e. I'm not going to record it in 4k. 1080p is fine.

What software is best to capture this stream? Can I use the USB cable or do I need the HDMI cable?

Any help or suggestions for recording a full 24 hour stream with GoPro would be appreciated.

Thanks!
Steve

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MacBook Pro running 10.10.2

Model Identifier: MacBookPro11,3
Processor Name: Intel Core i7
Processor Speed: 2.5 GHz
Number of Processors: 1
Total Number of Cores: 4
L2 Cache (per Core): 256 KB
L3 Cache: 6 MB
Memory: 16 GB

 

[xStep]

One thing you need to be concerned about is how much space 24 hours of video will take on a hard drive. There are calculations you can look up. A huge amount of space will be needed.

Once you figure out if you can use your GoPro and what bitrates, do the math and some testing before you do the real recording.

 

[Unami]

you can either use the wifi video stream of the gopro (connect your computer to the gopro's wifi, record the stream in vlc) or get some hdmi-input card (like this: https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/intensity ) to capture the hdmi-stream.

i'd lean more towards the cable - solution because it's probably more reliable.

either way, i'd do at least one 24h testrun before the actual world-record attempt - the gopro is still a toy and probably not made for running this long. although it's pretty reliable most of the times, i've already run into some problems (e.g. cam crashing).

 

[tomnavratil]

I think connection, space and battery are important. As others have stated, use cables where possible rather than wireless and check how much space you need. External drive might come in handy. I would definitely do a trial or two prior to the attempt.

 

[richwoodrocket]

you can either use the wifi video stream of the gopro (connect your computer to the gopro's wifi, record the stream in vlc) or get some hdmi-input card (like this: https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/intensity ) to capture the hdmi-stream.

i'd lean more towards the cable - solution because it's probably more reliable.

either way, i'd do at least one 24h testrun before the actual world-record attempt - the gopro is still a toy and probably not made for running this long. although it's pretty reliable most of the times, i've already run into some problems (e.g. cam crashing).

I had no idea you could record the stream!
I tried doing a time lapse the other day(with my go pro). After running all day at some point it froze and wouldnt respond, so i had to take out the battery and plug it back in.
I guess another option would be to record beforehand and then play back the recorded file, but that would take away the live aspect of it.
I found this in a quick google search http://www.instructables.com/id/Streaming-Twitch-on-your-Gopro-WIRELESSLY/

 

[Unami]

I think connection, space and battery are important.

you won't be able to use a battery anyway for a recording this long. use a usb-cable for power and "the frame" to mount your gopro. this will also help your gopro give off heat.

p.s.: when it freezes, it sometimes keeps on recording.

 

[tomnavratil]

you won't be able to use a battery anyway for a recording this long. use a usb-cable for power and "the frame" to mount your gopro. this will also help your gopro give off heat.

p.s.: when it freezes, it sometimes keeps on recording.

Absolutely, that's the only way to go.

 

[richwoodrocket]

you won't be able to use a battery anyway for a recording this long. use a usb-cable for power and "the frame" to mount your gopro. this will also help your gopro give off heat.

p.s.: when it freezes, it sometimes keeps on recording.

How would using the frame help give off heat? It's made of plastic. More surface area? I'm guessing it's a case of plastic is better than nothing.

 

[kohlson]

Consider some way to have multiple recording devices. It seems as though both the athlete and the camera are on separate but critical paths to achieving the record. I have a feeling that while there may be a chance that the camera may want to start over after a few hours, the athlete may not. Good luck!

 

[StandInsideM]

you can either use the wifi video stream of the gopro (connect your computer to the gopro's wifi, record the stream in vlc) or get some hdmi-input card (like this: https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/intensity ) to capture the hdmi-stream.

i'd lean more towards the cable - solution because it's probably more reliable.

Using the Wifi trick described online doesn't work the same for my GoPro4 as it does for the GoPro3. Unami, I think you're right that recording via the cable is the best way to go -- it powers the camera as well as provides the stream data.

My question though is 'how' to access that cable stream?

(And, if anyone has done it, how to access the Wifi stream of a GoPro 4.)

Thanks everyone for your input! And don't worry, I'll be attaching a big external hard drive to get it all.

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To clarify, let's say I didn't use the HDMI card solution. How do I access the USB cable's stream. Is it possible?

 

[richwoodrocket]

I don't think there's a way to access the stream from usb. There's no out of box use for it which leads me to believe that.
Upon further reading, on this website it says usb 2.0 data rate is not optimal for streaming. Although I'm not really sure that's true, it could be a factor. https://ustream.zendesk.com/entries/52184854-Ustream-Broadcasting-with-a-GoPro-camera

 

[Unami]

you have to use the hdmi-out - the gopro won't stream over usb, afaik. (usb 2.0 data rate is indeed too slow for uncompressed hd - but that wouldn't matter too much as the gopro is capable of compressing the stream before sending it over wifi - you'll get uncompressed 1080p60 over hdmi, though)

@heat: using the frame, it would give off more heat compared to the plastic original housing (because there would be no transparent plastic housing isolating the camera )

@streaming: i only have a hero3, so the wifi trick worked for me. the hero4 seems to do this a bit differently.
have you looked at this:
http://www.reddit.com/r/gopro/comments/2md8hm/how_to_livestream_from_a_gopro_hero4/