Live streaming question

mjbphotos

Moderator
So I got myself a cheap Logitech webcam ($27 at Wallyworld). The mic sound is not horrible, but not good either.

I haven't set it up on my recording computer yet (Win 10), so have done no experiments, just wondering if anyonehas the quick answer form experience.

Will I be able to set up Skype (or whatever streaming thing) with the camera for video and audio through my Focusrite, so I can use decent mics?
 
Yeah, that'll work out fine. It's been a while since I've live-streamed, so my memory is a little fuzzy on it.

If you grab OBS and spend some time fiddling with its settings, you can set it up to stream the video from your webcam and the audio from your mic inputs. There are controls for things like video and audio quality/bitrate, and audio/video sync. You can "practice" by recording to a video file instead of streaming, so you can check what the streamed product will look and sound like.

Things get tricky if you want to do something like play live through an amp sim hosted in your DAW, or play along with a mix that's playing in your DAW. Doing that without massive latency requires an audio interface that has a loopback function.

But if you want your audience to just hear what's being picked up by the microphones, it's relatively easy and configurable in OBS.
 
Thanks, I doubt I will do a live stream playing songs (but you never know). My upload speed is not good (though I pay for about 5X what I actually have).

>>Yes, in Skype it was easy to select the Focusrite interface as the input device. Thinking of doing some practicing with another person via SKype, the latency doesn't seem bad, but will see. I was on a Zoom call with multiple people earlier this week and everyone had a different delay.
 
Oh OK I see. So it's more of a remote rehearsal kind of scenario. OBS is more geared towards broadcasting out to an audience through YouTube or Facebook or Twitch. It's not really built for 2-way communication.

I know that there are a few collaborative apps out there, but I honestly have no idea how well they work.

Being a Reaper guy, I'd like to try NINJAM by Cockos. Looks like a terrible UI but knowing Cockos, I bet it works great. There's an article on Sweetwater's site with a little bit of detail on different apps and considerations (Are Online Band Practices Possible? | Sweetwater). I have no idea if any of them support a camera, though. If video is a must, then you're probably already doing the best thing with Skype. Maybe Webex would work for that too?
 
Back
Top