Live Streaming 101
If you’re running a live event, adding streaming can add a whole new dimension. Live Streaming has become the chosen way to engage a wider audience for your live events.
Here at Flash Streaming, we have streamed everything from concerts for Keene and Radiohead to corporate presentations and seminars. Streaming weddings and church services are also extremely popular.
If you’ve not looked at live streaming before it’s good to know that there are a few rules of thumb for producing a great end result.
Equipment
For this type of project you will need the following in place as a minimum:
1. Camera(s) Either one or more cameras, depending on size and complexity of the event. The camera supplies an audio and video feed to a PC set up as an encoder (multiple cameras will require a mixing desk)
Great end results really start with a great camera….
It may sound obvious but you cannot produce a really good end result with a usb webcam! If you only want to broadcast a 'close up' shot from your office then a webcam may suffice.
For larger venues and events a better camera will be required.We often get asked what sort of camera you should be using. This is very hard to judge and will depend on type of event and, largely, your budget. ‘Retail’ DV cameras start around the £300 mark, professional kit like the Z1 above start around £1500-2000.
2. PC / Encoding card / encoding software.
Essentially you need a composite video feed and unbalanced XLR audio from your camera or mixing desk. This needs to be fed to a PC with a capture card and streaming software in place. This PC then sends the stream to our servers for distribution.
A reasonably high end PC with Windows XP installed will suffice as the base for an encoding machine. For the encoding card we recommend the Osprey 210 Capture Card - this can be purchased from us.
The Adobe Flash Encoder software can be obtained free and allows you to stream your live broadcasts to our streaming servers for distribution. You can also use this same software to record your broadcasts locally for later use.
Connectivity
You will need to ensure the upload speed of the network at the event location is sufficient for streaming - A 320x240 player size will require around 300k upload speed to look professional.
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We can of course provide producers, camera operators and encoding engineers (with all necessary equipment)– allowing you to concentrate on running your event.
If you would like details of our live event services or some more information about running encoders and streaming services at your own events just give us a call on 01242 587734 or email me – blog@flashstreaming.co.uk
Until next time.....