Our work · In-house project · Rutherford County, TN
Murfreesboro Sky Cam: live on YouTube, around the clock
We wanted a camera we could point at and say “that one is ours, and it runs by itself.” So we put a UniFi G6 Pro on a hilltop about 8 miles outside Murfreesboro. Then we built everything behind it ourselves: the live stream, the privacy masking, the weather alerts and the daily timelapses. Nobody was hired to do this and no client asked for it. It is our own project, and it is the best demo we have.
Every 60 secondsChecks for severe weather warnings
Hands offTitles, recordings and timelapses run themselves
See it now
This is the live picture
Sunsets, storms rolling in, fog in the valley and the city lights at night. What you see below is the stream as it goes out, branding and weather panel included.
Customers ask what a camera can do besides record to a box in a closet. We wanted an answer they could watch, not a brochure.
The first plan was a skyline camera. Test photos from the hill settled that quickly: at 8 miles the city is a thin line under a very big sky. So the sky became the subject. Sunsets, storms, fog and the city lights after dark turned out to be better television than the skyline would have been.
It is also our test bench. When we tell a customer a camera can stream, mask a neighbor's yard or build a timelapse without anyone touching it, we know because ours does it every day.
Built in the open
The channel is public. Anyone can check whether it is up, any hour of the day.
Standard hardware
One UniFi camera, one network cable and one small server. Nothing exotic to maintain or replace.
No monthly camera fees
The camera records locally like every UniFi Protect camera we install. YouTube carries the public stream at no charge.
How it came together
From a test photo to a channel that runs itself
Each step was finished and proven before the next one started. That is the same way we run customer installs.
Prove the view
Test photos and clips from the hill, day and night, before any hardware went up. That is what changed the plan from a skyline cam to a sky cam.
Camera and network
A UniFi G6 Pro Turret on a single PoE cable, on its own camera network, framed with the optical zoom.
Encoder and privacy
A small on-site server takes the 4K feed, covers the nearby house and yard, adds the clock and branding, and sends 1080p to YouTube.
Automation
Weather, alerts, titles, recordings and timelapses were added one at a time, each tested against a simulated event before it went on air.
When we moved the camera to a better spot in October 2026, the stream stayed off until the privacy mask had been checked against the new view. Only then did it go back on air.
What it does today
Features, all running without anyone at a keyboard
Live around the clock
A 1080p stream to YouTube, day and night, that starts by itself when the server boots and restarts by itself if the software stops.
Privacy masking, twice
The nearby house and yard are blocked out in the camera and again in the encoder, so a changed camera setting cannot expose them. The camera's microphone is never streamed.
Recovers by itself
If the camera feed drops, viewers see a “We'll be right back” screen while the encoder retries every 30 seconds. Nobody has to restart anything.
Every hour is saved
The stream hands off to a fresh broadcast every 11 hours, which makes YouTube keep each session as a recording.
Titles that write themselves
Each live broadcast gets a dated title. Each recording is named for what it captured, using sunrise and sunset times and National Weather Service data:
Sunset to City Lights Over Murfreesboro
Fog Over Murfreesboro
Severe Thunderstorm Over Murfreesboro
Live weather panel
Current conditions from the National Weather Service station at the Murfreesboro airport, refreshed on screen every 10 minutes.
Severe weather alerts
The server checks National Weather Service alerts for Rutherford County every 60 seconds. A warning or watch puts a red banner on the picture, and a tornado or severe thunderstorm warning also changes the live title. The stream never stops for it, and the banner clears by itself when the alert ends.
Automatic timelapses
A sunset timelapse is cut and posted as a YouTube Short every evening, and storm timelapses are captured when severe weather moves through. The same privacy masks are applied before anything is posted.
Branding built in
Our name, the clock and a subscribe prompt are part of the picture, so the credit travels with the video wherever it is shared.
The Sky Cam shows the sky over Murfreesboro. It is not a warning service. For safety information, follow the National Weather Service and local media.
What this means for you
We can build one for your property
Everything on this page is a service we offer. The camera, the network behind it, the stream and the automation come from one team, and we can manage it afterward.
Construction and job sites
A camera that watches the build and turns months of work into a timelapse.
Progress views for owners and lenders
Timelapse built automatically
Neighboring property masked out
Businesses with a view
Marinas, golf courses, farms, venues and main streets. A live view on your website and YouTube channel that brings people back.
Your logo and message on the picture
Embeds on your own website
Runs on YouTube at no monthly streaming cost
Churches, schools and communities
A weather and campus camera for a congregation, a school or a neighborhood association.
Weather conditions on screen
Private areas kept out of frame
Monitored and kept running by us
What we handle
Site survey, camera selection and mounting, cabling and PoE, network setup, the streaming server, YouTube channel setup, on-screen branding, privacy masking and ongoing monitoring.
What you need
A place to mount the camera, power or a network cable path to it, and an internet connection with enough upload speed. We check all three during the survey.
Price
Quoted in writing after a free site visit, because the mount, the cable run and the features you want decide the cost.
Common questions
About the Sky Cam
How long did the Sky Cam take to build?
One day of planning and one day to deploy. The planning day was test photos and clips from the hill, which is what changed it from a skyline cam to a sky cam. On the second day the camera, the network and the stream went up. The weather alerts, titles and timelapses were added one at a time after that, each tested before it went on air.
What hardware does it run on?
One UniFi G6 Pro Turret camera on a single PoE network cable, on its own camera network, and one small server on site that handles the stream. There are no monthly camera fees, and YouTube carries the public stream at no charge.
How do you keep the neighbors out of the picture?
The nearby house and yard are blocked out twice: once in the camera and again in the server before anything is streamed. The camera’s microphone is never streamed, and the same masks are applied to every timelapse before it is posted.
Can you build one for my business or job site?
Yes. The camera, the network behind it, the stream and the automation all come from us, and we can manage it afterward. For builders, see our jobsite timelapse service; for anything else, request a free site survey or call (615) 439-5260.
The Murfreesboro Sky Cam is owned and operated by Black Pearl Automation LLC. Black Pearl Automation LLC is an independent installer. We are not affiliated with Ubiquiti Inc., YouTube or Google, and the National Weather Service does not endorse this camera.
