We’re Live-Streaming!
It took an idea, excitement and 7 months to get the proper internet speeds.
You need to first run a Speed Test – Here is a link to a great one!
From there you can evaluate where you’re at and where you need to be. Here is a great link to give you an idea of the upload data speeds you need to be for 4K and 1080p streaming- 4K Livestreaming. Another great article to get you more familiar here.
We are now running Hargray’s Fiber Internet to have the bandwidth the livestream in 4k.
The Gear We Use:
*Note these are affiliate links which mean if you purchase from this link it’ll give us a reward and not cost you anything additional!*
Panasonic 4k Camcorder – https://amzn.to/2Xdf4O0 Also have options for HD camcorder. We use a camcorder because of the zooming capabilities, small footprint and no need to change lenses. Do NOT skimp on this and go with a knockoff brand – quality will suffer.
Camcorder has a mini HDMI port going out, so we have a standard mini to regular HDMI cable. Also has an audio jack which can be connected by audio cable to your soundboard OR an external mic (see below).
Fluid Head Tripod – Allows movement up down, left right, etc. We use Coman brand fluid head and tripod combo here. For a more sturdy fluid head that Molly uses in her professional work Manfrotto Fluid Head goes on top of any other standard tripod. This allows for a full range of motion.
Any Laptop Computer – We use a donated HP Laptop or anything equivalent (Molly prefers Apple, but the HP laptops are priced much better). I would recommend getting at least 16GB RAM and 1TB hard drive.
External Microphone – We have run into grounding issues with our soundboard picking up AM radio frequencies. Therefore we are currently using a Rode Mic – we have the smallest one here. It sits right on top of the camcorder and picks up everything going on around the room. A slightly larger size is here. It comes with an audio cable that you plug into the camcorder. Everything goes OUT of the HDMI cable.
Camlink – This is a device is how you livestream from your camera or camcorder instead of a webcam. It’s a small thing that looks like a flash drive, and the HDMI cable plugs into and then it goes into the laptop. The livestream sound/video combo won’t work without it… Not 1000% how this magic works but I know you can’t do it without.
We use Vimeo Premium as our host. It is the only option with livestream capabilities, we connected our Facebook, Youtube and embedded the livestream video on our website. Do your research and see if another program works better for you. This is a chunk of change annually.
OBS Software – Another piece you need to connect to vimeo is a free open source software called Open Broadcaster Software. This is another connection between the camera or camcorder and the livestream.
This is one of the youtube videos I watched to understand HOW this all works! She’s great at breaking it down and understanding the whole process. Search youtube for more tutorials!
Why Trinity Moment
Importance of Livestream is capturing moments like this.