Budget and Shopping List

The prices on this page are what volunteers have paid in recent seasons. They change often, so treat them as a guide for budgeting rather than a quote. Several regions buy whenever prices dip, rather than all at once.

All of the tables assume the event already has a computer, plus the microphones, speakers, and cables it uses for the in-person event.

Bronze Tier

This is what it costs to add a stream to an existing event setup.

Bronze Streaming Equipment

Item

One Field

Two Fields

IP camera and PoE splitter (one per field)

$60

$120

Tripod or light stand (one per field)

$40

$80

Cat 6A network cable, about 100 feet (one per field)

$20

$40

5-port PoE switch

$26

$26

Audio-to-USB adapter cable

$20

$20

100 foot fiber optic HDMI cable, for the venue projector

$42

$42

Total

$208

$328

Silver Tier

Add these to the Bronze equipment.

Silver Additions

Item

Approximate Cost

Second camera for the awards area: an IP camera and stand, or a PTZ camera

$100 to $300

Wireless microphone kit with two microphones

$135

USB audio interface with two inputs

$150 to $200

Compact powered speaker, if the venue has no usable sound system

$300

Dedicated streaming laptop, one for the whole event

Varies

Gold Tier

Gold setups are usually built up over several seasons, often from equipment owned by individual volunteers. These are the pieces volunteers commonly use.

Gold Building Blocks

Item

Approximate Cost

NDI PTZ camera (most events use three to four)

$300 to $500 each

PTZ camera controller

$300

Wireless microphones, two channels per kit

$120 per kit

Antennas for better wireless microphone reception

$330

8-channel analog mixer, or a digital mixer for multi-division championships

$220 to $500

In-ear monitors for the emcee

$330

Mini PC for FTC Live, OBS, and audio routing (one per division stream if each division is streamed separately)

$640

Dante audio-over-network adapters

$160 to $200 each

NDI decoder for a remote display

$170

Taller light stands, about 13 feet

$65 each

Equipment You’ll Reuse

Some purchases pay for themselves over many events, and others don’t:

  • Good to buy: IP cameras, PoE switches, stands, network cable, and microphones. They’re used every season and rarely break.

  • Good to borrow first: mixers, speakers, projectors, and laptops. Schools and venues often have them, and you may find you don’t need your own.

  • Store it together: keep each field’s equipment in its own rolling tote (about $100) with a printed packing list. See Day-of Checklist and Troubleshooting.