Physical Deployment
Physical Deployment
Section titled “Physical Deployment”A standalone Phrame system you can install at a sports ground: off-the-shelf cameras and hardware, powered and networked over a single self-contained rig, largely independent of the internet, remotely monitored, and streaming straight to YouTube, Twitch, and TikTok.
This page describes a deployment concept (initiated June 2026). It is a hardware/packaging design effort rather than a software module — the goal is to define the devices, power/networking, and enclosures that turn Phrame into a drop-in field system.
Why it matters
Section titled “Why it matters”Most live production assumes a gallery, a crew, and a fat internet pipe. A huge amount of sport — grassroots, academy, regional — has none of that. The opportunity is a system that shows up on a trailer and just works.
- Off-the-shelf, not bespoke. Built from hardware anyone can buy, keeping cost and lead time down and serviceability up.
- Self-contained. Power and networking are distributed across the rig so it operates as a single unit — largely independent of the web.
- Automated with manual assist. Aimed at live production that mostly runs itself, with a person able to step in.
- Straight to audience. Outputs to the platforms fans already use — YouTube, Twitch, TikTok.
- Managed from anywhere. The deployment is remotely observed and managed, so no permanent on-site technical presence is required.
In one line: broadcast-grade live sport from a box you install at the ground — off-the-shelf, self-powered, and remotely run.
How it’s built
Section titled “How it’s built”The deployment is assembled from readily-sourced components in a few categories:
| Category | Role |
|---|---|
| Cameras | Network PTZ cameras with optical zoom and auto-tracking, powered over PoE or 12 V (e.g. NDI PTZ cameras). |
| Power & network distribution | PoE switches and inline extenders to reach cameras over long cable runs; PoE-to-USB-C for small single-board computers; UPS units for supply resilience inside enclosures. |
| Compute | A Phrame node running the pipeline locally, sized for on-site encoding/streaming. |
| Environmental protection | Weatherproof enclosures and acrylic camera domes to protect off-the-shelf gear outdoors at a competitive price. |
| Uplink & delivery | An internet uplink for streaming out and for remote monitoring/management. |
Power is a central design constraint: high-power PoE switches (e.g. 802.3bt, 90 W/port) with long-distance low-speed modes can avoid inline extenders, and UPS/boost strategies can smooth peak draw (motor movement + encoding) against a low average by charging continuously and shedding load when devices are idle.
The project maintains a working list of candidate PoE devices, cameras, enclosures, and vendors.
Under consideration
Section titled “Under consideration”The physical-deployment project is currently a design and sourcing effort, not a code deliverable. It collects:
- the services and devices that make up a deployment;
- vendor/product links for sourcing them;
- candidate enclosure designs providing environmental protection for off-the-shelf devices at a competitive price.
Open questions being worked through include: how to spread a fixed PoE power budget across enough devices; whether a single enclosure should house multiple devices (and the switching that then implies); and how aggressively to power devices down when they are not required. Detailed planning material (topology sketches and a device candidate list) lives in the project repository.
Part of the Phrame documentation system — one Markdown source, multiple audiences, a code-generated house-style diagram.