0
your cart
No items found.
Product is not available in this quantity.
Using the right equipment for tasks that you have to work on is important to get the results you desire. Fortunately, you do not have to collect fancy equipment before you can start your live streaming journey. Sharing your content through a live feed can be daunting if you do not have the right knowledge or equipment. That is why you need to understand the requirement and equipment checklist to make it stick.
Here, we will consider the list of equipment you will need to produce quality live streaming videos, how you should plan your live streaming activities, platforms for content types, use cases of live streaming.
Checklist for live streaming
The list below contains necessities that you will need to capture high quality audio and video while live streaming
The laptop sits at the middle of the technical setup. The technical specification depends on the software you will operate on this equipment. Nowadays, your average computer has a core i7 CPU with at least 8GB of RAM. This should be enough to connect all the equipment together to start your live streaming activities. Your desktop computers are not left out. In fact, several streamers prefer to use dedicated desktop computers with their special GPU stacks to stream their videos and gaming sessions.
The webcam on your laptop might not be the ideal choice if you aim to get the best quality video for your stream. However, you do not have to break the bank to get a good camera that is standard for live streaming. Standard USB webcams are the easiest and most cost-effective cameras for new creators and small brands. You can run a quick Google search to get the average and most popular camera option for your live streaming activities.
Just like your high-quality video, you will also require a high quality audio to go with it. For this reason, you will need a decent microphone in your setup. While this depends on the setup type you have, you can get a shotgun mic for a sitting setup arrangement or a LAV mic if your setup requires you to move.
Lapel microphone option is a dynamic choice that accommodate both stationary and motion setup. These little clip-on microphones can have wires or come in wireless options. You should note that they could be sensitive to sound. Thus, pick up more room noise when you are streaming.
Some accessories make the quality of your live stream better. Adding some of these accessories is a sure way of increasing the quality and output of your stream. You can invest in quality video lighting for boosting video and image quality. Green screens are also useful for adding better visual background to your live stream. Using an audio mixer that allows you to use multiple microphones is a great addition to your stream. This also aids your audio output by managing microphone volumes and audio quality.
Encoders or streaming software takes your video and audio inputs from your setup and transmits it to the streaming platform you select. This is where all the magic happens. You can make your choice from the different software for live streaming. However, there are both free and paid variety of software out there. Before you start using your software choice, you need to configure and test run it to make sure it produces according to specifications.
Now that you have your setup ready, you will need a good internet connection to live stream your content. If you plan on uploading high-quality audio and video in real time, you would require a strong internet connection. For this reason, you might have to consider going for a wired internet connection over your regular Wi-Fi connection. Once you have your internet connection ready, you should run a quick test to see if it holds up.
You can choose to broadcast your live stream to any of the streaming platform options you prefer. However, some streaming platform are sure to get you closer to your target audience in comparison to others. Below are some of the platforms that are synonymous to particular audience
Your content will get attention on platforms like YouTube Live and Facebook Live if it does not fall under a particular niche. For YouTube Live, you should include some strategy for taking your content to specific audience when you find your niche. Facebook Live works perfect when you have a significant number of followers. It is also useful for building a community since there are millions of daily users on the Facebook platform.
In recent time, streaming games directly from consoles is a big deal. Gaming and e-sports are genres that you would typically find taking up majority of the live streaming category. Twitch is the most popular gaming platform in this category. For obvious reasons, it makes streaming easier for gamers with all of its features. YouTube gaming and Facebook gaming are other go-to option you should consider if your content falls under the gaming category.
Are you interested in reaching professionals through your live stream? Well, LinkedIn Live is probably the king in this category. This is a great place to hold professional live streams and have professionals network on the platform.
Several people might think live streaming is all about impromptu delivery and straightforward vibe. What they might be missing is the planning that goes on behind the scenes. This applies to the gamers that streams directly from their console. If you aim to start monetizing your stream, there is every need to plan and prepare for your live streaming activity.
First thing you need to do is to plan your schedule to fit your audience. Picking a niche that your stream is synonymous with is also important. Pick a niche and fit your content to fit into it. Next, define your target audience. To meet the goals that you set for yourself and your streaming channel, you might need to promote your content.
Live streaming can help you achieve key functions for your business. Some of its use cases includes live “QnA” sessions, streaming live events, podcasting, and product launch, among several others. Now that you understand that you do not need fancy equipment to start streaming, using the right strategy and tools is important to get you the results you desire from your live streams.
