live streaming

Tom came across an old MAVICA digital camera that would record on a floppy disc. He's told it's worth $200 atm. His main question is, can he live stream with it? Leo says no, it's way too old. You can with your iPhone though. Is it legal? Leo says you have the first amendment right to do so, but you're taking your chances recording police officers without their consent. And you certainly don't want to interfere with their law enforcement duties. But if you're in earnest, another option is to get a GoPro and connect it to your mobile phone.

David has been asked if he can help do live streaming. Does he need Wi-Fi for that? Leo says not really, but he does need a cable long enough to go from where he's filming to a computer in order to stream it. If he uses multiple cameras, then he'll need a switcher to control them. It's always best to start with one camera and then expand as he needs to.

Video capture software to do the streaming depends on where he wants to stream. Facebook and YouTube both offer streaming for free. They also offer software to download.

Dan's church is looking to live stream their services, and they are looking for the best cameras to use. Leo suggests going cheap with the cameras. Leo got consumer-grade Canon Vixia cameras for the TWiT studio, and they only cost $400 to $500 now. Dan could just get four or five cameras that can cover every angle, and then he'll just need a video switcher so they can switch between cameras while streaming. He can go look at BlackMagic, which has specialized cameras that are fairly affordable.

Dave is a YouTuber, and when he streams live, it works better using LTE and his smartphone than his webcam and desktop using Wi-Fi. Leo says that in theory, they should be the same. Leo says that his Logitech C930 webcam could be misconfigured. Or, he could consider better lighting. Better lighting is always an improvement and helps the camera to pick exposure, color saturation, etc. At the end of the day, though, his LG smartphone probably just has a better camera.

Neil has cable based internet with 300 Mbps down, which should be great for streaming. But when he tries to use live TV, he finds the buffering makes streaming unwatchable. It's not the same with video on demand, though. Leo says that 300 Mbps is the "ideal" rate and it's always "up to" that amount. Leo recommends running a speed test from SpeedTest.net to see what he's really getting. DSL Reports has a really accurate speed test as well.

Chris needs an app to create a live stream on a budget. Leo just saw a great tool on both Android and iOS that uses camera phones and Wi-Fi to connect and then uses one device to act as a switcher. He should check out Switcher Studio. It does just that, but it's currently iOS only. Cinemaker is another one. It also is just for iOS, but the Android version is coming soon. Chris could also look into Manycam.

Dennis and his wife are traveling to Rome to renew their vows and he wants to stream it live on the internet with their iPad. Leo says it's completely doable, but the sticker is the connection. Cell connections will break them with international roaming. So they'll need Wi-Fi, or they can get a local SIM and use that data. They can use Periscope or Meerkat on a mobile device to stream it. They can also connect a GoPro camera to it. The great thing is that people can send "hearts" and chat online to them directly.

Garrett needs to create a wireless solution for routing camera signals into his board. What does Leo think of Teradek? Leo says it's a great company. Leo uses LiveU. They bond together 3G and 4G cellular to stream more reliably with multiple cameras. Teradek even hardware encodes the video and bonds the 4G networks to send it out.