The things you need to consider when selecting a livestream software tool

1. Picking software to
run a business
livestream
A Guide, August 2020
is ff ing hard

2. In 1 hour you’ll understand what to
look for in livestream tools, how to
connect these tools and be able to
select your own.

3. Ask your questions
In the comments!

4. ● There’s video and audio
● It’s public
● It’s… live
Livestream?

5. But Guido, haven’t you seen these?

6. Sure, it CAN be simple
If it’s just you(r talking head)

7. But if you want 4K, invite guests with
screenshares, and want a studio tool
in your browser to do all this...
Good luck

9. Set the stage

10. Who am I?
● Psychologist & Ecommerce optimization specialist
● Podcaster
● Event organizer
● Infrequent livestreamer
● No-code developer
Disclaimer
● Not a pro streamer
● Not paid by any of these tools,
client of some

11. My goal for this webinar
Help people that want to start with streaming and/or go beyond just
streaming their own webcam feed.
Educate you on the considerations/trade-offs so you can make your own
choice.
Give you the selection tool to do it.
Not going to talk about…
1. In depth tool by tool review
2. Mobile streaming
3. Gear/Hardware you need like mics, webcams etc.

12. 1. The confusing landscape of livestream tools
2. Choices and their impact
3. Example cases
4. Conclusion & livestream guide
Coming up:

13. The confusing landscape

14. The confusing landscape
Let’s make it less opaque

15. What you always need for a public livestream
Encoder (Studio)
Compression and control
of sources, scenes,
overlays & transitions
(Multi)stream
Move output to
publication platform(s)
Publication platform
Where your audience can
publicly see your content
Capture sources
Webcam(s), audio,
screenshare(s)

16. The saturated (and confusing) landscape
Encoder (Studio) (Multi)stream Publication platformCapture sources

17. Capture Studio Multistream
Broadcast
platform
Zoom 2 0 1 0
Skype 2 0 0 0
Google Meet 2 0 0 0
(SL)OBS 1 2 1 0
vMix 1 2 1 0
Riverside 2 0 1 0
Streamyard 2 1 1 0
Lightstream Studio 1 2 1 0
Be.Live 2 0 1 0
Ecamm Live 1 2 1 0
Restream.io 1 1 2 0
Switcher Studio 1 2 1 0
Castr 0 0 2 0
Hopin 2 0 1 1
BigMarker 2 0 1 1
Facebook Live 1 0 0 2
Youtube Live 1 0 0 2
LinkedIn Live 0 0 0 2
Periscope (Twitter) 0 0 0 2
Vimeo Livestream 1 2 1 1
Core feature
Available in some way
Not a feature
Trying to
make sense
of it all...

18. To make it more complicated...
1. Branding, overlays & scenes
a. Start/end screen
b. Widgets like a Countdown timer
c. Scene transitions
d. Macros or keyboard shortcuts to switch between scenes
e. Audience interaction like chat
2. Adding (remote) guests with webcam and screenshares
3. Share to multiple platforms
4. You probably need to combine tools...

19. Considerations

20. Choices
And their impact

21. C: Stream destinationA: Sources B: Guests
D: Video Quality E: Studio OS F: “Other”
Elements you’ll need to think about
Connecting apps

22. Input/sources

23. A: Sources
Your own audio & video
All tools do this :)
Screenshare?
Whatever is on your desktop
Include a webpage/URL
Often used for chat or other
interactive elements.

24. Guests

25. B: Guests
Do you want guests?
Video & audio
How do they connect?
Browser or app
Do guests share their screen?
And if they do, do you also still
want to see their webcam feed?

26. Stream destination

27. C: Stream
Destination
Single or multiple?
Simulcast/multistream
RTMP Output
Real-Time Messaging Protocol for
streaming audio, video and data over
the Internet
LinkedIn & Instagram limitations
See next pages

29. Native vs dedicated/SaaS Multistream
1. Most studios natively support streams to multiple broadcast platforms
2. Local tool requires more bandwidth and processing power
3. Want to use local tool and multistream but have limited bandwidth? Go
with a multistream provider
4. Extra benefit of SaaS multistream provider:: go “live” without actually being
live.

30. No RTMP, only works through select partner software
Sidenote on

31. Sidenote on

32. Video Quality

33. D: Video
Quality
Resolution

34. Resolution
720p
1280x720
1080p
1920x1080
4K
3840x2160
More detail
Higher bandwidth requirement
Less detail
Lower bandwidth requirement
8K
7680x4320
480p
720x480

35. Resolution

36. D: Video
Quality
Resolution
720p / 1080p / 4k
Framerate

37. 30FPS 60FPS
Less motion blur
Higher bandwidth requirement
More motion blur
Lower bandwidth requirement
120FPS15FPS
Framerate

38. D: Video
Quality
Resolution
720p / 1080p / 4k
Framerate
30FPS or 60FPS
Impact on your system
Encoding & bandwidth

39. So we can (roughly) go from 720p @ 30FPS to 4K @ 60FPS. Let’s look at some
example bandwidth requirements:
Resolution Framerate Upload requirement
720p 30 FPS 2 Mbps - 5 Mbps
1080p 30FPS 3.8 Mbps - 7.4 Mbps
4K 60FPS
24.2 Mbps - around 61.5
Mbps
Resolution & framerate
only

40. Note:
For business settings, audio quality is
usually more important than video
(exception: screensharing)

41. Studio OS

42. E: Studio OS
Local
You are the main point of failure
Usually more features
Browser/SaaS
You (and guests) need a modern
browser (usually latest Chrome)
Mobile
Android or iOS

43. Other

44. F: “Other”
Customization options
(Video) overlays, scenes,
transitions
Shortcuts
Keyboard shortcuts, streamdeck
integration
NVENC hardware encoding
In case you have local software

45. Connecting apps

46. Works locally
compressed streaming over
the internet
RTMP
visually lossless streaming
over local network
NDI
Simple URL inclusion.
Webcam, chat, interactive
elements
Browser screen
Use studio output as webcam
in another app
Virtual cam
If all else has failed...
Display/Window capture
Connecting apps
Works over the internet

47. Connecting apps
RTMP
NDI
Browserwindow
Virtual Cam
(Screengrab)
NDI
Local PC for
recording
Local PC for streaming
Virtual
Cam
Guest PC
Internet
browser
(Chrome)
Internet
browser
(Chrome)

48. Note on sources and studio overlays

49. Note on sources and studio overlays

50. Cases

51. Cases

52. It CAN be simple
If it’s just you
again:

53. Case:
Host a multiplatform stream with 2-4 (non techy)
speakers that can all share their screen and have
unified overlays/scenes to switch between.

56. 9:54
CTA
Here
Live
Audience
Chat

57. CTA
Here
Live
Audience
Chat

58. Welcome,
the stream is about to start

59. CTA
Here
Live
Chat
Welcome,
the stream is about to start

60. What would I need for this?
1. Scenes + overlays
2. A system that supports guest screenshare
3. Browser login for guests
4. Stream to LinkedIn Live, Facebook group and Youtube OR have at least on
RTMP output.

61. Case resolution

63. Encoder (Studio) (Multi)stream Publication platformCapture sources
Cost:
$599 license fee + $99 yearly for updates (optional)

64. Encoder (Studio) (Multi)stream Publication platformCapture sources
Cost:
$49/month
or
or

65. Conclusion

66. Recommended tools: Local
1. Obs.ninja OR Skype + (SL)OBS + Restream.io
a. Pros: Open source, most flexible, loads of tutorials and plugins
available, platform independent, Streamdeck integration
b. Cons: Learning curve, no official support, no live comment bubble
c. Tip: Get a decent pc with NVIDIA+NVENC encoder
2. Skype + Ecamm Live + Restream.io (note: OSX only)
a. Cons: You’ll need a powerful Mac to pull this off, no LinkedIn
3. vMix
a. Cons: no guest screenshare (it’s in beta though), no LinkedIn

67. Price, Scenes, Guest screenshare,
1080p
Pro
separate audio and video file
recording
Pro
No shortcuts, No LinkedIn, Only static
overlays, a bit buggy at times
Con
No guest screenshare, no
scenes/overlays, only 720p
Con
Recommended tools: Cloud

68. Recommended tools: Multistream
1. Restream.io
a. Has the most streaming options, incl. LinkedIn

69. Costs (complete setup)
Tool combo Yearly cost
obs.ninja or Skype + (SL)OBS + Restream €417 (recurring)
Skype + Ecamm + Restream €539 (recurring)
vMix + Restream €594 (on-off) + €417 (recurring)
Lightstream + Restream €621 (recurring)
Riverside + Restream €397 (recurring)

70. Go do it yourself!

71. LiveStream.Guide
Compare livestream software tools

73. Closing

74. Pro workaround ideas
Workaround 1: Use different input streams for webcams versus screenshare so
you can control them in your studio.
Workaround 2: use different pcs to capture and use NDI:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Jytk7-W580
Workaround 3: you could run OBS/vMix in the cloud

75. Final comments/tips
1. Include links to other streams in the description and/or first comment.
2. Comments are a bit of a mess, hard to include all of them.
3. Still review the suggested platforms on livestream.guide, it will still have
some shortcomings.

76. livestream.guide/producthunt
Like it? Vote!
Questions?
Put it in the comments

77. Resources
1. Livestream.Guide
2. Interested in the hardware I use? kit.co/gxjansen
3. Bitrate requirements per resolution and framerate:
support.google.com/youtube/answer/2853702
4. Use Skype and OBS through NDI: youtube.com/watch?v=iJ1_ZplBFoU