AJA — 5 Ways to a Better Live Stream

This post is brought to you by AJA. To learn more, visit www.AJA.com.

Live streaming is the newest way to reach your audience, but it can be tricky. Do you know the best way to connect to the world? Do you want the best stream possible? By the end of this article, you will be empowered with a better understanding of what it takes to make it happen. Here are five ways to better your live stream.

1. Use a dedicated camera. Ditch the camera on your phone. This will allow you to get better picture quality and opens a world of possibilities optically. You’ll also have more flexibility when it comes to composition. The nice thing is that it’s not hard to achieve. With the AJA U-TAP, you can feed the HDMI or SDI output from your camera to your computer. Use UTAP HDMI for HDMI cameras and U-TAP SDI for professional cameras. SDI is especially nice since it locks the cable from unplugging. It’s typically found on broadcast or cinema cameras.
2. Use multiple cameras. Now that you’ve ditched the phone, more than one angle will give you a more dynamic stream. The extra cameras can cover just about anything and add production quality to your stream. Even simple choices like wide, medium and close up shots will enhance the viewing experience. With AJA’s Io 4K Plus and streaming software like Wirecast, vMix and others, you can connect up to four cameras across SDI for live switching, and it has TB3 and mobility. Or, add the KONA 4 PCIe Video I/O card and streaming software to a desktop workstation for a powerful dedicated setup.
3. Keep it simple as you can. When it’s time to stream, there is nothing worse than having to stop and spend time fixing issues and staying organized. Keeping a simple set up will allow for maximum time creating and streaming content. With AJA’s U-TAP, you don’t have to worry about an extra power cord. It’s USB powered and there are no third party drivers as it recognized as a video input device by the operating system. All you need is the U-TAP, an HDMI or SDI cable to connect your camera and a USB cable to connect to your computer. Another AJA option is HELO, a standalone solution that lets you record, stream and deliver. It’s easy to record and use presets for CDNs, Facebook, or YouTube.
4. Schedule your live stream. Having a reoccurring stream will grow your audience. There is a reason TV runs on a schedule; appointment viewing will gain you the most captivated audience. With AJA’s HELO, you can trigger a pre-planned start and stop time and import simple ICS files. It frees you up to start on time and on point.
5. Be prepared. Set up your stream long before you go live. Don’t get caught flat footed when the platform you’re streaming to doesn’t work the same way it did last time. Set it up well before you plan to stream, so when it’s time to go live, you’ll be on when viewers expect you. With AJA’s HELO, you can use a USB connection and the browser-based UI to setup and configure your CDN connection before you even arrive at your event and can calibrate to the network bandwidth available. It has support for RTP/RTSP, RTMP and Unicast.

If you follow these simple steps, you’ll have a better stream. To learn more about the U-TAP, HELO and Io 4K Plus visit AJA’s website at www.AJA.com.

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