How to livestream with Quickchannel - and what you need to get started

Introduction

Live streaming is one of the most powerful ways to reach and interact with your prospects, customers and employees. It provides an excellent channel to deliver information, capture and convert leads and connect with your customers while offering an interactive user experience unmatched by other forms of content. With a variety of engagement tools that hosts can employ audiences can really get involved with the discussion and engage with your content offering.

As an expert in the delivery of both live and on-demand video communication, Quickchannel makes it easy for organisations to effectively engage their audience during internal and external live events with a multitude of features from polls to chatrooms and even the ability to invite multiple guest speakers to host. If you choose Quickchannel as your streaming platform you also have the added ability to edit your videos for a high quality end result. This doesn’t just mean you end up with the highest spec of video, it also allows you to cut excerpts of your videos for social sharing and content repurposing while remaining safe and secure on a fully GDPR and WCAG compliant platform.

So it’s clear that live streaming can offer a host of benefits to your company but to make the most of those benefits you need to be sure that you’ve done everything possible to ensure an amazing audience experience. Simply put, the most basic streaming setup that an organisation needs in order to go live is a camera, a microphone, a good internet connection and the right streaming technology for their organisation and their audience. If you choose to add accessories, it can improve the quality or experience of a live stream without too much additional effort. If you'd like some tips on professional broadcasting and how to bring your topics to life for a virtual audience, you should check out our white paper: 'Ways to make your video conference successful'.

When it comes to streaming, there are a number of different methods and technologies that you can use for optimum delivery and engagement. Below are the most common ways of live streaming and recording using Quickchannel:

A hardware encoder is a device that has been designed for the live streaming of videos over the Internet. It captures, compresses, and converts audio-visual data into the correct format for streaming and recording. A hardware encoder is not only easy to use but it will provide great quality for both the production capture and the live stream itself.

When streaming with a hardware encoder Quickchannel recommends using a studio. Some other spaces you could utilise are an auditorium, lunchroom, or another similarly capable space ideal for webcasts. This tends to be the most professional setup type although you may require further investment in hardware and studio equipment. Alternatively, users can find a quiet space with as little background noise as possible.

Set-up: High quality camera, microphones and video/audio mixers if needed.
Examples of hardware encoders: Crestron, Epiphan, Matrox, Newtek, Teradek, etc.

Software encoders are programs that run on your computer or another computing device. These encoders are typically the cheaper encoding option and have become popular among beginner broadcasters for the ease of use and low-cost starting investment. They are easy to set up and users find that they can easily update encoding software whenever a new version or upgrade is available - without interrupting their seamless use of the program.

The main drawback of using software encoders is that they lack the overall speed that hardware encoders can offer. This is largely because a computer is often being used by multiple programs at the same time and therefore can’t devote all of its resources to encoding - thus slowing the process down.

Set-up: Computer + High quality camera and microphones
Examples of software encoders: OBS, Wirecast and Vmix

WebRTC is the tool that allows users to stream directly from their browser.

WebRTC stands for Web Real-Time Communication, which allows both voice and video communications to be seamlessly integrated directly by allowing peer to peer communication.

You can stream live and record directly from your browser using WebRTC. With no plugin, no downloads, and no complicated technology this is a simple way to stream from anywhere to anyone.

Set-up: Laptop or smartphone with built-in (or external) webcam or microphone.

Quickchannel enables you to stream via existing video conference solutions or conference hardware. This allows you to turn your conferencing solution into a broadcast studio to ensure effective communication both internally and externally.

All meeting participants can use the tools available in the virtual meeting room to share information including voice, video, screen sharing, etc. You can start and stop the streaming and recording with one simple click, or you can choose to schedule your stream in advance and ensure that you market and draw in the maximum number of viewers.

With dedicated plugins to optimise the experience, Quickchannel supports a wide range of video conferencing platforms via RTMP or SIP protocols.

Set-up: Laptop or conference room
Quickchannel partners: Cisco (Webex & CMS), Lifesize, Pexip and Zoom

The number one benefit of using a mobile webcasting solution is that you can go live from your phone or tablet to your viewers in mere seconds.

Apps like Stream-labs and Broadcast me can be connected to Quickchannel and are great for on-the-fly broadcasting, remote/off-site broadcasting and easy-to-stream daily devotionals.

Set-up: Just you and your smart-phone or tablet!
Examples of apps: Stream labs and Broadcast me

*Depending on technology

If you have any questions about the solutions introduced in this article, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Test Quickchannel’s streaming and recording platform for free and see how it can increase and optimise your livestreams. Our free demo is just a few clicks away!

Why not head over to our pricing page to see all the exciting features we have on offer and see which package could best suit your streaming needs.