Basic Tools for Live Webcasting
Your website is the ideal place to capture customers, and there’s no better way to engage your visitors than with a live video webcast. For customers, streaming live video is a great way to drive traffic to your site by promoting an event or new product launch. For employees, it can be an ideal tool for videoconferencing, live video training, and remote presentations.
Webcasting has come a long way in the past 10 years. There’s no more expensive hardware or professional video equipment -- all you need is a computer, a fast Internet connection, and a camera to communicate with your customers, employees, and anyone else on the Web. Here are the basic tools you need to conduct a live webcast from your business website.
Webcast Software
Once upon a time you needed expensive hardware to capture and stream your live webcast. Now all you need is a software program to do all the hard work for you. A simple Internet search will bring up tons of webcasting software. The type of software you choose depends on your budget and what you want to accomplish. For more professional, polished-looking videos, try a software program like Wirecast or Brightcove. Wirecast ($499) is like having a mini TV studio right inside your computer. It supports multiple cameras to effortlessly switch between screen shots, 3-D graphic transitions, and broadcast-quality title themes. It also has the ability to add multiple layers, such as an audio background track, title, and company logo. Brightcove (starting at $99 per month) is less user-friendly when it comes to producing creative-looking video, but it does offer some features Wirecast doesn’t, like high-definition videos, customizable branded video players, and the ability to analyze your webcast’s performance. For those looking to make money off their webcast, Brightcove also provides flexible advertising options to let you add audience-targeted ads. Both Wirecast and Brightcove provide live encoding and allow you to stream and store your live broadcast through their remote servers, which takes the burden off your own servers and ensures pristine website performance.
Webcast Video Capture
Just like the software you choose, the type of camera you use to capture video for your webcast will depend on how much you want to spend and what kind of quality video you want to produce. The simplest and cheapest way to shoot a live webcast is using a webcam. Some webcams even offer HD resolution. An even simpler option is using webcasting software such as Qik, which lets you broadcast a live stream from more than 140 different Internet-enabled phones. Capturing video from a phone, of course, will result in a poorer quality video compared to other capture devices. For higher quality videos, a digital video camera or HD video camera will give you the professional appearance you’re striving for.
Webcast Content Delivery Networks
Another option for streaming live webcasts is hosting your webcast on a content delivery network (CDN). CDNs utilize a network of global servers with access to hundreds of networks around the world to ensure your content takes a direct path to the end user. In other words, your viewers are more likely to experience smooth, continuous, immediate, and reliable play no matter where they are in the world. Examples of good CDNs for live webcasting are Livestream and Ustream. Both allow you to upload your webcast to one of their topic-specific channels and create live webcasts in minutes using your webcam or DV camera. With Livestream you can embed your webcast player on most social websites, and it lets up to 100,000 viewers watch your channel. Livestream is free if you don’t mind having ads placed on your webcast, or you can upgrade to the Channel Plan for $350 per month for HD-quality, ad-free webcasts. Ustream is totally free and lets you broadcast to an unlimited audience size. It also allows you to customize your webcast pages and schedule your webcasts so viewers can find you easily. Upgrade to Ustream Watershed and you have access to fully customizable players with a variety of features, including chat, privacy, and analytics. Watershed offers two pricing plans: monthly plans starting at $49 per month or pay-as-you-go pricing.
