Tips & Tricks For Easier Live Streaming

Several PCMech Premium members do frequent the weekly live show every Wednesday night from 8pm-10pm EST at http://www.pcmech.com/live. You may have entertained the idea of running a live show yourself. If you want to give it a go, here’s a few tips and tricks that will make broadcasting your show much easier.

1. Get a good microphone.

All webcam microphones are terrible. You can have the most expensive webcam on the market, but the audio quality of the mic will still sound like you’re speaking thru a log.

Using a proper microphone will make you sound much, much better.

The cheapest and most cost effective way is to use a headset with a microphone attached. This is what I use personally. I specifically use a USB headset for easier plugging in/out and better audio quality.

The exact headset I use is the Logitech ComfortChat USB. The audio quality is great and there’s absolutely no drivers involved to use it.

If headsets are not your thing, consider a Blue Snowball USB microphone. Bear in mind it’s much more expensive.

2. Use proper software.

On a Mac, the software to use is CamTwist. On Windows, WebcamMax. On Windows you must pay for the software. Worth it? Yes, because everything else sucks.

Correction, not everything else sucks. There is one free app you could use with a particular service. Livestream has freely available ProCaster software. At the time of this writing this is brand new stuff. I’ve tested it and yes it does work. You can not only use your webcam but also screencast easily with it. And it’s totally free. However it can only be used with the Livestream.com service.

3. Learn your software.

Before broadcasting you should learn everything you can about your broadcasting software. You do this so you know exactly what you can and cannot do live instead of fumbling around software while broadcasting.

4. Try different streaming services to see which you like best.

Here’s a few you can check out:

• Ustream
• Livestream
• BlogTV
• Justin.tv

5. It’s okay to be crappy.

The picture quality from a webcam is admittedly terrible. In addition, most live streaming services do not allow pristine-perfect broadcast quality without paying for a “pro” subscription, and it’s usually expensive.

If your picture looks “blocky”/pixelated/grainy/etc., don’t worry about it. As long as you can be seen and your audio can be heard clearly, that’s what matters.

Don’t concern yourself with widescreen, HD quality and the like. Just get out there and broadcast. Live streaming is a “learn as you go” thing.