Player Cameras

Matches can require every player to publish a webcam for the duration of the game. Officials watch the feeds from the panel, and the camera of whoever is being spectated can appear on the broadcast.

Turning it on

Cameras are a per-match option, set when the match is created or edited:

• Require Webcam: players must connect a camera before the server details are shown, and the match pauses automatically if a feed drops.
• Teammates Can Watch: let players see the cameras of their own team. The opposing team is never included.

Instance-wide defaults for both live under Settings → Application → Cameras & Microphones → Match Defaults. They only decide what a newly created match starts with; an organizer can still change either one per match, and existing matches are unaffected.

Connecting a camera

When a match requires a webcam, a panel appears on the match page and on the check-in button in a draft lobby. A player has two ways in:

• Use this computer: opens the camera page in a popup on the machine they're already on.
• Scan this code with your phone: publishes from a phone instead, so the PC stays untouched.

The camera page shows a preview before it publishes, so a player can pick a device and frame themselves first:

• Pick a camera when the device has more than one; phones and tablets also get a flip button for front/back.
• Reframe the shot: scroll or pinch to zoom, drag to re-centre. The crop applies to the published feed, and is remembered per camera.
• Hide preview mid-match. The camera stays on and stays published.
• Permission denied, no camera, or a camera already in use each explain themselves in place, with a retry.

Keep the page open for the rest of the match. Closing it stops the feed, which is the same as unplugging the camera.

The setup panel can be dismissed to get at the rest of the match page, but the requirement doesn't go with it: a banner stays pinned to the top of the page, and clicking it brings the panel back. Check-in stays blocked until a camera is live.

Who can watch

Viewer	Sees
Organizer or admin not playing in the match	Both lineups
A player in the match	Their own lineup, and only if Teammates Can Watch is on
The opposing team	Nothing, ever

A match organizer who is also playing is treated as a player. Site administrators keep full access.

Watching from the panel

• Watch Cameras on the match page opens the grid, and shows a live count such as 7 of 10 live.
• Each tile shows the player with a Live, Stalled, or Not connected state.
• Listen to mic from any tile to hear a player without starting a call.
• Video call a player from their tile. Their camera page shows you in a small picture-in-picture, so you can talk to them face to face and check a person is really there.
• Camera dots on the lineup rows give organizers per-player state at a glance without opening the grid.
• In the Control Room, player cameras show inside the observer-target slots. Feeds start muted.

Enforcement

5Stack keeps checking cameras for the whole match:

• A dropped feed gets a 30-second grace period.
• Past that, the match pauses with a named reason. The pause blocks .resume until the camera is back, and the scoreboard shows who the match is waiting on. Players can check their own status with .cam.
• Resume is announced, never silent, and an admin can override.
• If the camera relay itself is unreachable, the match is not paused.

On the broadcast

While a player is being spectated, their camera can appear on the live stream. There is nothing for a broadcaster to set up.

Requirements & limits

HTTPS is required. Browsers only grant camera access on a secure origin. A panel served over plain HTTP cannot publish cameras at all.

Feeds are not recorded. 5Stack stores none of the camera video. A camera that appears on a broadcast is part of whatever that broadcast records.

Cameras are small. A feed is capped at 360p and 24fps, roughly 350 kbps, so publishing from mobile data is realistic and a full ten-player lineup costs your server a few Mbps.

A camera proves a feed is flowing, not that a person is there. A virtual camera looping a video passes every automated check. Treat cameras as a deterrent and a broadcast feature, and use a video call when you need certainty.

Cameras use the same relay as voice and live streaming

No third-party video service is involved, and there is no per-player cost. See Voice Chat.