Live streaming is a highly effective way to engage with your audience and grow it online. It allows viewers to interact with you directly and follow along with what you’re presenting in real-time. Running a live stream is like having your own broadcast network at your fingertips, but without the upfront investment required to build a studio.
The idea of hosting a live broadcast may seem complex, but it’s pretty simple and almost anyone can do it. If you want to start a YouTube channel, live streaming can be a worthwhile strategy. An iOS or Android smartphone with a reliable internet connection is all you need to start broadcasting yourself live to the world. But if you want to achieve a more professional look, you will need dedicated equipment for the task.
What you need to get started
To create a professional-looking live stream, you’ll need to invest some money in the following pieces of equipment.
Lighting
You need a good source of light that illuminates the subject’s face. Natural light works, but a ring light or a set of photography lights will give you more control of your scene.
Camera
You can use any webcam for live streaming, but a higher-quality camera will deliver a better-looking stream. Many streamers use mirrorless cameras to take advantage of the better lenses they support. Make sure that your camera has what’s known as a clean HDMI out to avoid capturing camera menus in your feed.
Tripod
A tripod is a must-have accessory for a live-stream setup. Almost any tripod will do, but make sure it’s tall enough to keep the camera above your eye level for a more flattering look.
Video capture card
You’ll need a video capture card to capture the camera’s HDMI signal to bring your video feed into your computer from a mirrorless camera, DSLR, or camcorder.
Microphone
A USB desktop microphone is a good choice if you’re sitting at a desk. A lavalier microphone may be a better solution if your presenter needs to move around or stand in front of a whiteboard.
Computer
You don’t need a fancy computer for live streaming, but there are some advantages to having a more powerful machine. Video encoding is a CPU-intensive process, but you can offload that work to a graphics card for faster processing. Also, make sure to have at least 8GB of RAM.
Software
The most popular live streaming application is Open Broadcast Studio (OBS). It lets you combine multiple media sources, such as your video camera, microphone, and even a mirror of your computer screen, and send the combined feed to your preferred live streaming platform. StreamLabs OBS is a great alternative if you’re looking for a more complete package that includes user engagement and monetization features.
Choose your streaming destination
The platform you choose for live streaming will depend on who and where your audience is. Some popular options include:
- Twitch.tv: Video games and hobbies.
- YouTube: Any subject. Although, the YouTube Live service is only available to established content creators.
- Facebook: Any subject. Use Facebook Live at any time on your personal Facebook page or create a scheduled live event to invite guests.
- Twitter: Any subject. Easily reach your followers and increase discoverability with subject hashtags.
- Instagram: Any subject. Use Instagram Live to interact with your existing followers and to reach a bigger audience.
- Website: Any subject. Embedded streams enable businesses and individuals to run live stream events directly from their websites.
- Webinar platforms: Custom landing page for businesses to host live video presentations and product pitch events.
Restream is a cloud-based service that broadcasts your stream to many streaming services and social media platforms, so you can engage your audience on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube simultaneously.
Configure OBS for your stream
Setting up OBS for maximum performance is about as easy as you could imagine. The developers behind OBS created a tool called the Auto-Configuration Wizard that helps you optimize the resolution, bitrate, and encoder settings for your preferred streaming platform.
Most streaming services require a stream key, which securely grants the software access to your account. Some platforms have proprietary security setups, which the wizard will walk you through step by step.
Once the wizard is complete, you will need to set up a scene with your media sources. OBS offers a substantial array of source options. You will need at least one audio and one video source to create a scene. You can find details for refining your settings in the OBS QuickStart guide.
It’s time to start streaming
With all the settings configured in OBS, hitting the button to start your first live stream is all that’s left to do! With any luck, your live camera feed will appear within a few seconds on your platform of choice. Now you’re ready to build your audience and share your knowledge or pastime with the world.
