Live Streaming

I have had several people ask me about live streaming and how to do it. So, here is a little step by step guide as on how to set it up :)

1. First off you need to have a live streaming account. For these instructions I will talk about Justin.tv since that is the site that I use. Simply go to Justin.tv and set up an account. Voila, you are now able to live stream.

2. Internet is very important in the ability to live stream. You want to head on over to speedtest.net and check your speed. Upload is the one you will be looking at. If you have less than 5mbps you will not be able to live stream in HD. If you have less than 3mbps then you will not be able to live stream with out lag issues! If you are finding that your speed is lower than you expected, contact your ISP and upgrade your plan. I pay about $120 a month for my internet alone but I have an 11.7 mbps upload speed.

3. PC! This one is kind of important as well. You want to make sure you have a good processor. I recommend at least a 2.0ghz. If not then your HD will not look as good. You also want to have enough memory if you plan on editing and recoding videos. The nice thing about Justin.tv is that it records your videos for you. You can also highlight videos and upload them to youtube!

4. A capture card. There are only two that I recommend. If you have a PC and are looking for an internal cap card, then you need to get a Black Magic Intensity Pro!

Hands down its the best card out there for HD streaming. You simply plug in the HDMI cable from your xbox to the BMIP and then another HDMI from the BMIP to your television. This card does not have HD cables so if your used to using those then you need to get a different Cap Card.
For the external type, I recommend the BlitzBox. You can use the HD Cables for input and output and hook it up to the PC using USB!

This device has a capture card inside and its very easy to set up.

5. Software!! There are so many different kinds of software out there. Justin.tv works really well with Adobe Media encoder and you can DownLoad that for free! Another program that lets you customize more is Wirecast. I have seen wirecast run from $300 to $800 depending on where you get it from. I personally use Wirecast because I can throw in splash screens, add in video clips and text with just a click of a button. You can also set up your live stream to show the game play, your web cam and add in your mic so people can hear you!

I hope that helps! I will be posting the setting for the adobe media encoder and how to set up your mic in a later Blog :) If you have any questions plz leave a comment. xoxo