We’ve been around the block a few times when it comes to live streaming. With some of the team producing their first broadcast in 2011, it’s been really exciting to see the technological advancements over the last 10 years. Here are 5 of our top picks for live streaming in 2021.
• ATEM Mini Pro
The ATEM mini pro is an incredible piece of equipment. It’s tiny but extremely powerful, taking 4 HDMI inputs from any mixture of devices and allowing the user to mix between them, add graphics, control audio, encode and publish to the likes of Youtube all in one box. If you’re looking to pull off some simple small-scale streams, this is absolutely the tool for you.
• Dac-70
Number 2 is for more advanced users – it’s the DAC-70 up/down/cross converter from DataVideo. This is probably the most useful piece of kit we’ve ever purchased, giving you the ability to take any form of video signal from VGA, HDMI or SDI and spit out any video signal you like via HDMI or SDI. You can also embed audio, from an external mixer onto your video output.
• Blackmagic bi-directional HDMI-SDI Converters
I don’t know how many times these guys have saved us in a pinch. They can simultaneously convert any HDMI signal to HD-SDI and HD-SDI back to HDMI. Perfect if you’re running HDMI devices but need HD-SDI for your vision mixer or vice versa, or you need to run an HDMI signal a long way.
• Q-Lab
Q-Lab is a piece of software commonly found in theatre settings. It has a lot of functionality including running sound effects or music tracks for shows, running lighting cues, but more importantly for live streaming, it has the ability to cue up and play pre-recorded video content out to any HDMI device without annoying playhead overlays. You have full control on one screen and the video plays out to your vision mixer. Even better, you can purchase short-term event licenses rather than having to license it for a year at a time.
• EarTec Ultralite HD
These headsets have revolutionised our multi-camera production workflow. Gone are the days of long XLR cable runs for communication between cameras and the director, or dodgy apps which decide they’re going to drop connection at the drop of a hat. These headsets are completely wireless and have an impressive range. Everything is built into the headset, so no annoying belt packs or trailing wires to deal with either!
So there you have it, 5 of our favourite tools for live streaming. If you have a live streaming project you’d like to discuss, feel free to get in touch!
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