I currently run live streams of amateur sporting events, mainly inside. Currently I am using several Panasonic HS-900k
s connected to a PC desktop via RCA cables and several Easycap DC60+
s (USB 2.0). As you can imagine, the quality from the Panasonic's gets degraded very quickly. Some of the RCA cables are carrying video over 100ft from source to destination.
I am looking to upgrade the connections to SDI via the Blackmagic Decklink
products. That said, I will need cameras that support SDI output, or purchase an HDMI-SDI adapter (~$300).
My budget is approx. $3000 for a single camera, and since I'll only be outputting the stream at 720p max for the foreseeable future (don't want to overburden end-users bandwidth), I really don't need a fancier camera then that.
Obviously there is a big price difference between a new camera and a HDMI-SDI adapter. Is there a big quality difference, or does HDMI-SDI not really lose much quality? Will it provide the same signal as a new camera such as a Panasonic AG-HPX170 P2HD
that provides native SDI-output? I am not looking to output audio from these cameras, just video.