TikiLIVE has helped countless content creators go from novices in the world of live streaming to full-fledged content curators in just a few days — and we want to help you too!
While there are many different ways that you can go about streaming content, we hope that this introductory guide will help you at least get started.
Invest in a Video Camera
If you are truly looking to create professional streaming content, you will need a video camera. While there are a huge number of options available online you’ll likely want to look for a camera that has the following:
- HD Support: With the advances in high speed Internet access, HD video is almost a requirement when streaming content online. Even inexpensive camcorders in the <$800 range offer full HD support.
- WiFi Capabilities: A benefit that used to only exist in high end video cameras is WiFi. Having a video camera with WiFi capabilities allows you to instantly stream your content to a variety of streaming providers without transferring it to a computer. Thankfully many of the lower priced video cameras are now beginning to come standard with WiFi functionality.
- Dual-Codec Recording: One problem with video cameras is the video formats may not always be immediately supported by your streaming provider. Some video camera manufacturers have gotten around this problem by adding dual-codec recording functionality which allows you to record in full quality AVCHD format on internal memory while also recording in MP4 format on an external card, which can then be uploaded to most streaming providers.
Choose Your Streaming Provider Wisely
The platform you use to stream your content is critical, yet it’s one of the most often overlooked steps. While this may seem like an inconsequential decision, it really can make or break your entire content strategy. While there are several big name streaming providers that offer free service, you often give up certain features when you choose to avoid paying for premium services. A few issues that you may run into when using a free streaming provider include:
- Buffering Issues: Free providers allow almost anyone and everyone to upload as much content as possible to their servers. This creates a situation that can be extremely hard to manage from an IT perspective. Server admins at these free streaming providers must constantly be monitoring servers to ensure that they are not being overloaded or that traffic is not bogging servers down, which ultimately prevents other users from accessing all sorts of content. This can become extremely frustrating for your end users who are simply trying to access your content. If they begin to experience buffering and slowness you can almost guarantee that they will quickly look elsewhere for similar content.
- Advertising Restrictions: Free streaming providers generate most of their income through advertising. This advertising is often placed front and center inside and around your videos. This can force your users to be drawn away from your content before they’ve even started your stream. This can be frustrating and makes it difficult to sometimes understand why traffic numbers for content on free streaming sites can be so low.
- Lack of Branding Opportunities: Free streaming providers also make it difficult to fully brand your live streaming channels. While you may be able to add your logo in certain areas, it is in the free providers best interest to ensure their branding is front and center. By using a premium live streaming provider, you control your branding from start to finish.
TikiLIVE: A Streaming Provider Set Apart From The Rest
We’ve worked extremely hard to distance ourselves from some of the free streaming providers in the market. Our mission is to deliver an extremely high level of service and better, more accessible support. A few of the features that set us apart from free providers include:
- White Label Branding Opportunities: Take full control over the branding of your online presence. Create your own fully branded IPTV network. Create a WordPress website that is fully integrated into the TikiLIVE platform with the help of our support team.
- Full Advertising Control: While you can include advertising within your videos, this is not at all a requirement with TikiLIVE. We want you to be in full control over your content, which is why we don’t force our members to include advertising within their videos.
- Robust & Secure CDN: TikiLIVE offers a robust content delivery network (CDN) that consists of multiple servers located across the globe to ensure your viewers are always able to experience high level video streaming with little to no buffering issues. While we cannot control the Internet connection speed of end users, we can ensure that our network of servers is always able to deliver high quality content to your growing user base.
- Fully Integrated WordPress Site: Aside from our high powered streaming servers, we also allow each of our users to have a full-fledged WordPress website that is fully integrated into our TikiLIVE platform. This allows you to instantly share your video content to your website while never leaving your TikiLIVE dashboard.
Still Have Questions About Your First Live Streaming Production?
While your very first live streaming production may seem like a tall task, the streaming experts at TikiLIVE are standing by ready to help. Sign up for a TikiLIVE account today and give us a call at (305) 743-6722 if you have questions.
