What is the first step to starting live streaming? This is actually a very common question. Without understanding how live streaming really works, starting one can be very confusing and intimidating.
In this guide, we will discuss a basic checklist of starting your live stream, and by the end, you’d understand the core components of streaming your content online and you can start quickly.
Table of Contents
What You’ll Need to Start Live Streaming
1. Video and audio sources
A continuous stream of data that is going to be played on your live stream is called a video source, for example, data coming out from your live cameras is a type of video source. Similarly, data coming out from your microphones are considered as an audio source.
You can set up your streams in many different ways: with just one camera (with its built-in mic) or even with hundreds of cameras and microphones at once. We refer to different combinations of video and audio sources as ‘layouts’ or ‘scenes’.
Your video source can be:
- Your computer’s webcam
- Your computer’s screen (captured via software)
- Your smartphone/tablet’s camera
- Your professional mirrorless or DSLR camera
And your audio source can be:
- Your computer’s built-in microphone
- A music/audio file
- A USB microphone
- Professional XLR microphone
And more.
To start live streaming online, you will need to capture the signal from your video and audio sources to your computer before routing it to a streaming platform. The thing is, your source might or might not be able to connect directly to your computer. If your microphone has a USB connection, for example, you can directly connect to your computer. However, to connect an XLR microphone, you’d need a sound card or capture card.
2. Encoder
A video encoder’s job is to ‘translate’ signals coming from your video and audio sources into a format that is understood by your streaming platform. Most traditional video sources like signals coming out from a camcorder are not yet internet-friendly. They tend to produce large data files that aren’t suitable for real-time live streaming.
In general, we have two different types of encoders: software or hardware. Further, we can either run the software encoder on a mobile device (smartphone/tablet) or a computer.
- Software encoders
A software encoder is essentially an installed app/software on your computer or mobile device. Today, there are plenty of free and paid software encoder solutions available. OBS, vMix, and Wirecast are among the most popular ones.
If you are a beginner, we’d recommend trying OBS Studio (which is free/open source) and is pretty beginner-friendly while being versatile enough for advanced streaming use-cases. Also, being an open-source platform, there are plenty of guides, tutorials, and discussion forums to help you in learning the platform.
- Hardware encoders
A hardware encoder is a dedicated standalone device that will handle all the encoding needs without the need of a computer. Today’s hardware encoders can process multiple video/audio formats and can handle many different video/audio sources, and can come in different shapes, sizes, and price points.
In general, hardware encoders are more reliable with lower latency and more features compared to software-based encoders but are typically the more expensive solution
3. Internet Connection
This one is pretty obvious: to launch successful live streaming, you’d need to have a fast enough and stable internet connection. Although this might seem simple, getting a reliable internet connection is often the biggest challenge of live streaming.
As a general rule of thumb, a hardwired cable connection is better than a Wi-Fi connection. While today’s 4G or even 5G Wi-Fi connection can be quite fast, they are not as stable as a cable connection.
At the bare minimum, we’d recommend getting at least 1.5 times your stream’s bitrate on your internet connection. The general bitrate value for a live stream is between 1 to 8 Mbps (1,000 to 8,000 Kbps). So, if your stream’s bitrate is 4 Mbps, then you’d need to have at least 6 MBps of upload bandwidth. This will ensure you can have a reliable live stream at all times.
4. Streaming Platform
This is any platform or site that will distribute your site to others. Platforms like Twitch or YouTube are examples of these streaming platforms, and they are also often called Content Delivery Network (CDN).
There are also professional live streaming platforms like Viloud, which will provide you with more control of your live stream, how and where you can target your audience, and how you can monetize the stream.
End Words
While live streaming is a pretty broad topic and each live streaming case might be very different, this is a very basic and generalized checklist for beginners of how to go live. By understanding these basics, you can create your own live streaming setup effectively and ensure a consistent, reliable live stream.
