How to Choose Between Live Streaming Cameras
How to Choose Between Live Streaming Cameras
Without an ounce of doubt, live streaming is one of the most lucrative strategies being adopted by businesses these days. Regardless of the size and type, live streaming is being used by all kinds of brands to reach out to their customers. While we talk about live streaming, one most important thing one needs to focus on is the quality of the video. Video quality should never be compromised as it may seriously affect the interest of your audience in your brand. But how do you ensure that your live stream video is of the best quality? Here are some insights on how to choose the best camera for live streaming and make a professional video:
There are some important factors you must decide upon before choosing the best camera for live streaming. Firstly it is the money you are ready to shell out. The amount you plan to invest into buying a camera and other equipment is a very important decision to make. Other factors include – checking if the camera works well with your laptop or computer hardware and the type of video marketing (is it exclusively used for live streaming). Once you decide on these things, you are ready to choose the best web camera for live streaming.
Let us now discuss the three types of cameras that can be used for live streaming content:
- IP Cameras:
IP Cameras are used when there is a necessity to connect to a network. Every IP camera, as the name suggests, has an IP address associated with it. These are ideal for 24-hour usage as they are powered by POE (Power over Ethernet) capacity. For all intents and purposes, they are very versatile as they are independent of the computers being used.
The minimum cost of a good quality IP camera is nearly $80 and the cost might go up depending on its specifications. One disadvantage with the IP cameras is that the protocols used by them are not suitable for streaming content live. However, making use of an encoder with the IP camera can make live streaming possible.
- Web Cameras:
You must have already been aware of the web cameras if you are an active user of a desktop computer or a laptop. Laptops have built-in web cameras and most of the desktop computers are no exceptions. If they are not built-in, these web cameras are connected through USB cables or Wi-Fi. Unlike the IP cameras, web cameras do not have any internet addresses associated with them. Webcams are easy-to-use and do not require any external power sources. The cost of a good webcam will be around $100 or more.
Webcams are not so recommended to capture high quality images, though they are suitable for streaming live content. Web cameras have limited sophisticated features and do not support functionalities like zooming and variable focus. You might also want to know about the sensors, microphones and lighting features equipped with the webcams before you actually decide on using them to your advantage.
- Professional Cameras:
HDMI (High Definition Media Interface) and SDI (Serial Digital Interface) cameras that use capture cards will serve as the best live streaming camera options. Capture cards which convert the video signals into usable formats are essentially of two types – Internal and External. Moreover, different capture cards are used for working with analog and digital video signals. Thus, before you decide to buy a professional camera, it is important to know the specifications of the capture card. These professional cameras have many intriguing features that can help you stream live videos with utmost quality. Their prices may hike up to $1000 or even more based on the features they offer. You are recommended to have some prior experience before you actually get your hands on the professional cameras in order to ensure maximum utilization.
We hope that our insights on best choices of best cameras for live streaming can help you out in choosing one that will fulfill your requirements. Watch out this space for more interesting content on video streaming.
