Best Live Streaming Equipment for All Budgets

While live streaming isn’t as widespread as video-on-demand, it built a steady footing in the industry during the COVID-19 pandemic, becoming a common practice in business, entertainment, and education. Even in 2023, live streaming remains relevant, with 24% of global viewing time on the Internet spent watching live content. With its growing popularity, more and more content creators and broadcasters are turning to live streaming as an additional revenue stream. Whether you’re a professional or just getting started, here is a detailed guide on the best live streaming equipment for all budgets.

Why Should Publishers Start Live Streaming

Live streams have become the norm in many business spheres. With live courses, conventions, conferences, and even church live streams, it’s no surprise that live streaming has a global reach of 28% (weekly usage). With this in mind, taking their events online can aid many broadcasters in expanding their audience, increasing content engagement, and ultimately, boosting their revenue.

Benefits of Live Streaming for Publishers

Incorporating live streaming into your content strategy offers the following advantages:

• Enhanced Audience Engagement — Nowadays, viewers seek immediate and interactive experiences with content creators. Commenting, participating in chats, polls, and similar. By going live, publishers can improve engagement. In addition, they can get immediate feedback from their audience and establish a sense of community and personal connection.
• Various Monetization Opportunities — The main goal for every publisher is to boost their revenue from their content. With live streaming, publishers can earn from pay-per-view events, ad placements, sponsorships, merchandise sales, and more.
• Time-Sensitive Event Coverage — What makes live streaming different from VOD is that live streams can focus on time-sensitive events, such as breaking news and announcements, gaining more attention due to the immediate public interest. 
• Content Repurposing —  Live streams can be repurposed into on-demand content, extending their shelf life and reaching those who missed the live broadcast.

 

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Best Live Streaming Equipment on a Budget

Live streaming costs can be rather high. So, for smaller publishers and content creators who have just gotten into streaming and do not have the available resources, here is some of the most affordable quality equipment on the market.

Camera

For an entry-level camera, publishers can expect to spend up to $700. For instance, a digital mirrorless camera like the Panasonic Lumix G7 is a great choice. With 4k video recording, in-built wifi, and fast autofocus, the camera offers excellent image quality at an affordable price. While this model is not specialized for live streaming, it has all the necessary features for a quality broadcast. Overall, the Panasonic Lumix G7 can be a suitable choice for beginners on a tighter budget.

Microphone

One of the most popular and affordable quality microphones for beginners is the Blue Yeti USB. For its price, it delivers professional-grade recordings suitable for podcasting, streaming, voiceovers, and music recording. What makes it a good choice is the fact that it’s pretty versatile, with multiple modes (cardioid, bidirectional, omnidirectional, and stereo).  https://www.newsfor.id/

Lighting

Natural light is great for shooting during the day. However, for any other time, a lighting kit setup is necessary for a quality stream. One of the more economical options for a lighting kit is the Fovitec Fluorescent Studio Lighting Kit, which includes three softboxes, three stands, and three 45W fluorescent bulbs, creating the standard three-point lighting setup.

Mobile Streaming — All in One

Don’t forget that live streaming from your phone is always possible and probably the most affordable solution for smaller creators. Instead of spending most of your budget on expensive equipment, getting a phone that offers you a quality camera, lighting, and microphone all in one is far more practical.

If you’re interested in mobile streaming, TargetVideo’s mobile live streaming solution can help you deliver high-quality streams with minimal lag to ensure the best streaming experience for your audience.

For broadcasters who are willing to invest in equipment but first want to test the waters with a few medium-budget solutions, the following is some of the best intermediate streaming gear.

Camera

At this tier, publishers can expect to spend up to $1600 for a high-quality camera. One of the more inexpensive solutions is the Sony A6400, a great choice due to its portability, image quality, and value. However, it lacks image stabilization, which can be an issue for some broadcasters.

Another great choice, more on the expensive side though, is the Sony A7 II, the most affordable full-frame sensor camera. This camera has excellent image stabilization, a hybrid autofocus system, and is compatible with a wide range of lenses. However, one of the drawbacks of this camera is its short battery life, so it’s not the best option for on-the-go shooting.

Venturing into professional entry-level camcorder territory, some of Canon’s XA series models also fall into the intermediate price range. For instance, Canon XA11 has optical zoom, image stabilization, long battery life, and excellent autofocus, all for a relatively affordable price.

Microphone

The Shure SM7B is a dynamic microphone excellent for broadcasting, podcasting, recording, and live streaming. It’s often considered a professional-grade microphone with a higher price point, but it offers high sound quality and features that make it a worthwhile investment. Most notably, Shure microphones are highly regarded for their durability.

Lighting

GVM Video Lighting Kit is an excellent lighting kit with RGB multi-color and bi-color temperatures. It is app-controlled, making it relatively easy to use, and depending on the budget, you can choose between two or three-panel light kits.

Encoder

Encoding and transcoding are necessary steps to ensure the delivery of quality streams to users. Encoders (devices or software) are used to compress raw video files into manageable formats. However, hardware encoders can be expensive. So, as an alternative, a video switcher with an in-built encoder like the ATEM Mini Pro is a viable solution. It’s a portable, sleek device that streams in 1080p and is reasonably priced.

If you lack the required knowledge and want to avoid the extra costs, live streaming software apps can do the work for you, the only thing you need is a capture card on your computer. There is even free software available, such as Streamlabs OBS.

Best Live Streaming Equipment for Professional Broadcasters

For publishers who are ready to invest a hefty amount in live streaming and have a professional team behind them, here is some of the highest-quality equipment available.

Camera

While high-priced, the Panasonic AG-CX350 4K Camcorder is worth every penny. It’s a feature-packed versatile 4K camcorder with a large sensor, advanced image stabilization, and a range of professional-level inputs and outputs (for audio, streaming devices, switchers, etc.). However, in terms of live streaming, publishers need to make sure that their streaming software is compatible with the camcorder to connect your camcorder to the streaming platform of your choice.

Microphone

Neumann TLM 102 Microphone is known for its clear and detailed sound quality. While it may be one of the more expensive microphones out there, it’s great for recording vocals, instruments, and podcasts. It is a great choice if you’re aiming for high-quality audio for your live streams.

However, it is important to note that this microphone is a professional studio microphone. This means it’s quite sensitive and can pick up any background noise. In addition, publishers should also note that, since it is a studio microphone, it requires phantom power (usually 48V) to operate.

Lighting

While designed for small-scale interviews and video productions, the IKAN IBK23150 V3 Small Interview Kit is a great lighting kit for streaming as well. It is portable, easy to use, and consistent with quality. This all-in-one kit includes bi-color LED lights, light stands, and softboxes.

Encoder

For this tier, we recommend the VeCASTER HEVC Pro, one of the best professional hardware encoders out there. It supports industry-standard video codecs like H.264 and H.265 and allows streamers to seamlessly broadcast HD streams.

Start Live Streaming with TargetVideo

Deliver smooth broadcasts with TargetVideo’s versatile live streaming solution. With adaptive HLS streaming, you’ll be able to ensure fast delivery and keep users engaged with high-quality broadcasts. In addition, you’ll be able to stream to multiple platforms simultaneously and stream on the go from your mobile device with our mobile live streaming solution. Lastly, you’ll be able to maximize your revenue by monetizing live streams with high-quality ads from our Premium Demand. Start live streaming with TargetVideo.

 

 

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