The Basics of Live Streaming

Live streaming from a smartphone can require no cables at all, just charge up your phone and make sure you have a strong WiFi connection.

But many live streaming systems feature a variety of cables that you should be familiar with, including USB, HDMI, DisplayPort, SDI, Ethernet, Thunderbolt, XLR, audio cables, and more.

Bandwidth is a term used to describe the amount of data transfer speeds available between two locations. For example, if your internet service provider offers your 1 gigabit of download and upload speeds, you would have 1,000 megabits of bandwidth for live streaming. When live streaming, you’re sending video somewhere that will require certain upload speeds.

Because bits are such a small unit of data, bandwidth speeds are usually referred to with the prefixes like kilo, mega, or giga. Kilo means thousand, mega means million, and Giga means billion. So, for example 1 kilobit is the same as 1 thousand bits, 1 megabit is 1 million bits and 1 gigabit is 1 billion bits.

These same prefixes also apply to bytes. It is important to understand however, that bits and bytes are NOT the same. A bit is the smallest unit of computer information, representing either a 1 or a 0. Data transfer speeds are represented in bits per second, and data storage is measured in bytes.

When you talk about bandwidth, there are two different processes taking place; upload and download. Download is the process of retrieving data from the internet, while the upload is the process of sending data from your devices to the internet. This is the same process that happens when downloading a file from the internet, however within the context of live streaming, its application differs greatly.

The main difference between downloading and uploading files as opposed to streams, is that files usually do not require a minimum bandwidth to transfer data properly. File downloads and uploads will simply operate at whatever speed your network's bandwidth allows. Streaming on the other hand, depending on the production setup. When you start live streaming, you generally have to choose a bitrate that encodes your audio and video into a stream of information that uses upload bandwidth. It is essential to know your network’s upload and download speed because these rates can affect the quality of your outgoing streams. You can check your bandwidth speeds by going to Google and searching for “Speed Test”.

The first thing to review in order to determine how much bandwidth you need to live stream is the CDN’s recommended settings. Facebook, YouTube and Twitch are all CDN’s who provide you with RTMP server information to stream with. RTMP (or Real Time Messaging Protocol) information is generally made available as a server name and a secret key. Inside Open Broadcaster Software, for example, in the Stream area you can enter your RTMP information. This is the destination for your live stream and you will need to decide the bitrate in which you should use to live stream. Search for recommended streaming settings for your desired CDN; for example, Facebook recommends a 4000 Kbps (4 Mbps) bitrate using 720p at 30 frames per second.

Once you know the recommended bitrate to live stream, go ahead and run an internet speed test. The easiest way to do this is by type “Speed Test” into Google.com and you’ll instantly receive a report on your computer's internet access.

You can think about your live stream’s resolution as the size of your overall canvas and the bitrate that you select is the amount of data that is used to fill that canvas. You could have a high-quality 1080p stream with a bit rate of 6 Mbps or you can have a low-quality 1080p stream with a bit rate of just 2 Mbps. Years ago, back in the time of SD (320×240 pixels), you could use flash to encode and stream at roughly 500 Kbps (that’s half a Megabit!). But today most audiences will expect a minimum of 720p video and a bit rate of at least 1.5 Mbps.

Pro Tip: If you have limited bandwidth, don’t stretch your canvas with a low bitrate. Try using 720p instead of 1080p and the video quality will actually look better at low bitrates.

Under certain circumstances, you may need to choose between live streaming a single high-quality video stream or multiple live streams of lesser quality. For example, if you have 10 Mbps of upload speed, you may create a 3 Mbps stream to YouTube and a 2Mbps stream to Facebook, while maintaining a healthy 50% of bandwidth headroom. If you are concerned about creating a single high-quality stream then you would only stream to YouTube using 5Mbps.

Keep in mind that you can always record an incredibly high-quality recording to your local hard drive. Many production experts will record a “high bitrate” MP4 file ranging from 12-100 Mbps. The recordings saved to your local hard drive will always be of higher quality than the live streamed recordings available on YouTube and Facebook. The higher the bitrate you use, the larger your file size will become. I generally use between 8-16 Mbps for my standard video recordings.

Note: Always have some extra upload bandwidth available.

This extra “headroom” acts as a buffer to account for any fluctuations in your network and therefore will result in a more reliable stream.

In order to take full advantage of your network bandwidth you will need hardware with matching or superior bandwidth capabilities. This means buying a motherboard and/or switcher with an ethernet port that is rated for your bandwidth speed. You will also need to make sure your ethernet cable is rated for these speeds as well to get full access to your available bandwidth. Ethernet cables are usually rated based on their bandwidth capabilities. For example, CAT4 cabling is capable of providing 16 megabits per second, while CAT5 cabling can reach 100 megabits per second. CAT5e and CAT6 are rated for up to 1000 megabits per second and CAT7 is rated for 10-gigabit applications.

Almost any computer can be used to live stream today. With that being said, every computer has it’s limitations with what it is capable of handling. If you are going to use software like OBS, Wirecast or vMix on a computer you should always start by consulting the minimum recommended specifications for the software.

For example, Wirecast recommends an i5 computer processor @ 2.5 Ghz for streaming in 720p and an i7 computer processor @ 3.0 Ghz for 1080p streaming. Each of these specifications also requires a minimum of 4GB of ram and 2 gigabytes of free hard drive space.

In general, you should consider using an i7 processor with 16 GBs of RAM and a solid state hard-drive for any new live streaming project with more than one or two cameras. AMD currently offers better price to performance than Intel and they offer significantly better processors for live streaming than any other company at the moment.

CPU core count/thread count, as well as clock speed, are of equal importance for live streaming as well as most computing applications in general. So a CPU with the most cores/threads and highest clock speed within your budget is your best bet to achieve optimal performance.

Note: Different CPUs have different thread-to-core ratios. It is important to compare the thread count of CPUs that have the same amount of cores. For example, one 8 core CPU may utilize 8 threads, while another different 8 core CPU may use 16 threads. More threads is almost always better when comparing CPUs with the same number of cores. So the 16 thread 8 core CPU will likely outperform the 8 thread 8 core CPU. Most CPUs do not utilize more than 2 threads per core, however many utilize only 1 per core instead of 2.

OBS stands for Open Broadcaster Software, a free, open source live video production software that’s supported by a large community of developers from around the world.

What is OBS used for?

OBS can be used for live video production, live streaming and video recording. When you first download and install OBS, a setup wizard will ask you if you would like to optimize the software for recording or live streaming because it has the ability to mix together many different audio visual sources into a live video production environment. OBS also supports many plugins which can extend its functionality to include features such as NDI support, VST plugins and Stream Deck controls.

Engaging video content is a content that prompts audiences to participate in the conversation. It’s content that is worth sharing and it stimulates curiosity for the audience. Engaging content is generally presented in a way that follows basic storytelling rules. Good storytelling allows viewers to imagine that they are the hero of the story. Viewers are able to consider how the content you are presenting will help them in their lives. In this way, broadcasters can create stories with a compelling hook, an interesting middle and cliffhanger ending that will keep viewers coming back for more and

Okay, it’s time to review 10 quick tips to hosting a great live stream. If you have been following along in our Back to Basics Live Streaming Course, you already know what you need to live stream. You know about cameras, software, social media networks and audience engagement ideas. Now we’d like to cover some of the most important tips the StreamGeeks have learned about live streaming over the past couple of years.

When putting together the equipment for live streaming, the first item you look for should be a camera. While you also may need a microphone, software, and other encoding hardware, considering the type of camera you need for live streaming is the most important step in building a live video production system.

What is a PTZ Camera? It’s become a buzz word in the tech industry, but many people may not know what the term PTZ camera means. PTZ cameras are pan, tilt and zoom video cameras that allow an operator to control the camera

An SDI camera is a camera that features an SDI video connection. SDI video connections have a locking connector that can connect one end of a video device to another. SDI cables can connect devices such as a recorder, a production system or a streaming encoder. SDI cameras can output video using an SDI cable connection.

NDI cameras are able to communicate using the Network Device Interface or NDI protocol. They can connect to a LAN (Local Area Network) and seamlessly integrate with hundreds of software applications including OBS, Wirecast, and vMix.

SRT is a video transport protocol designed to send high quality video over the public internet. SRT stands for Secure, Reliable, Transport. SRT can be used with many popular video production solutions including OBS, Wirecast, and vMix. In fact, there are over 450 members in the SRT alliance. SRT is used by video producers small and large to enable remote productions from all around the world.