Buyers' Guide: Live Streaming Software
When it comes to producing a multicamera live stream, at the most basic level, there are four ways to do it.
The first way is with multiple hardware devices: one to do the switching, another to do the streaming, another to do the titles, and another to do the recording. Then, assemble all of the pieces in a large control room-type situation. Thankfully, these days, we are able to leverage software like Companion and Central Control or hardware like a Skaarhoj controller to make working with an assorted array of gear more unified and to consolidate just those features that we need on a single control surface.
The second way to do it is with an all-in-one tool that integrates several of those features into one device, so that you can combine all of your switching, titling, transcoding, streaming, and recording on one piece of hardware (see go2sm.com/allinone). These (mostly) tablet-based solutions are useful and convenient, but they do not provide the same level of power or control that a computer-based system can offer, and it can be difficult to oversee multiple aspects of a production on one small screen.
The third way to do a live-switched stream is to use cloud switching solutions that can accept multiple cameras from one location or multiple remote locations coming into one production. Tools like StreamYard, Restream, Be.Live, VDO.Ninja, and Dazzl enable cloud-based production workflows where all of the hardware, titles, graphics, encoding, and comments from users and viewers—as well as recording and streaming— operate in the cloud, which is really just a powerful computer that is sitting somewhere else. Most often, these cloud solutions are simplified to enable control through a web browser.
The fourth approach involves dedicated, standalone production software solutions that run on a computer of your choice, and it uses hardware of your choice to accept external inputs of your choice. Inside this computer is where all of the camera switching, graphics, titles, multi-input layering, encoding, streaming, and recording happen. It’s a PC or Mac that you build or purchase off the shelf.
Choosing Hardware for Software-Based Streaming
The software-based approach enables users to scale the cost and size of their hardware to their specific needs. If you’re a gaming streamer and you just need one camera in addition to capturing the gameplay from your computer, then a modest machine will suffice.
However, if you’re an event producer and you have to be able to ingest and manage 10, 15, or more inputs, then you’re going to need a much beefier computer. A house of worship may need only three or four cameras, but it might also require a dedicated audio operator to mix the choir or band in addition to the rest of the service.
I am not going to cover the different pieces of hardware that one could use to bring in camera inputs, because that is a whole buyers’ guide unto itself. There are solutions available from numerous manufacturers with different capabilities and formats, as well as different ways of integrating them into, or alongside, the computer. I will focus on the software tools themselves.
Criteria for Choosing a Software-Based Solution
These software-based production tools have a great amount of overlap between them because they all serve the same core purpose. Why you choose one over another can come down to the way you like to work, because how one software tool lays out or integrates your different source selections, titles, custom layouts, and other media can be vastly different from how other software will organise those same functions. Most also offer the option of using external control surfaces in addition to controlling selections directly with a mouse and keyboard on the computer.
All of these solutions will enable you to switch among multiple cameras; overlay presentations or graphics; create lower-thirds, multiviews, and PIPs; integrate social media comments; leverage transparency and greenscreen sources; encode to multiple streaming destinations; and deliver recording of mix-downs or even unmixed video and audio inputs. They have free trials that let you test them out, but I recommend setting aside time to watch and learn from the copious amounts of YouTube videos to help you get up-to-speed before starting that 14- or 30-day free trial period.
On to the software roundup.
Boinx mimoLive
Boinx mimoLive (see Figure 1) is a Mac-only solution that utilises a unique multi-column approach to build your scenes. This lets you see various assets and settings at the same time as your scenes and live show settings. All of the ingredients of your show appear in a left-to-right, column orientation. It allows nine-channel live broadcasting up to 8K, with unlimited built-in remote web calls. It has instant replay and will handle up to 60p.
Figure 1. The mimoLive virtual control room
mimoLive enables users to record up to ProRes 444 for multiple channels, as well as custom audio mixes and mix-minus for every output. It has a virtual camera output to hook into Microsoft Teams, Webex, and the like. In addition, mimoLive offers control via a web browser on the LAN. As with other apps discussed in this buyers’ guide, there are plugins that provide additional tools, such as a telestrator.
Boinx sells mimoLive for macOS on a multi-tiered, annual license basis. The Non-Profit (Only for Individuals) plan is $200 a year and is “limited to Non-Profit usage.” It includes the iPad Remote Surface App with the core features: lower-thirds, pro layer, lower-thirds templates, stingers and outro templates, unlimited streaming in 4K, simulcasting to multiple destinations, multiple mimoCalls, SDI program output, NDI, and Skype call recording.
The Studio (Commercial) plan costs $700 a year and adds a lower-thirds layer pack, a sports graphics pack, ATEM controller support, a Zoom meeting source hook that brings multiple Zoom guests in a room into mimoLive as individual cameras, SDI output with fill and key, and professional support.
For $2,000 a year, the top-tier Broadcast (Mass Media | TV Stations) plan includes everything in the Studio plan and adds Fastlane priority support, a customisable mimoCall user interface, and unlimited broadcasting.
Broadcast Pix ChurchPix
Broadcast Pix has Windows solutions for broadcast and even faith-based productions with its ChurchPix software (see Figure 2), a package touted as an all-in-one video production offering that will enable any church to easily stream its worship services online. It strives to provide an affordable (around $6,000) turnkey solution for churches, including the PC itself, and comes complete with dedicated content and easy-to-use controls. It has two RoboPix PTZ IP cameras with 20x optical zoom, integrated remote control, and mounting brackets. The ChurchPix package also includes the PC hardware and even a network switch for worship production crews that are really starting from scratch.
Figure 2. The ChurchPix user interface
ChurchPix handles up to three IP/NDI inputs for worship applications, PowerPoint, or other sources, and it features a royalty-free library of suitable clips, stills, and graphic templates for faith-based productions. It provides full-motion monitoring and one-touch live production control from a touchscreen or a web browser. ChurchPix will multistream to up to five online destinations simultaneously through the Switchboard Cloud Pro Platform, which requires a subscription. Currently, the package includes no SRT support.
Ecamm Live
Like Boinx mimoLive, Ecamm Live is a Mac-only production solution. It offers a modal interface in that it’s not presented a fixed window, but rather a collection of palettes that you can arrange around the screen as you see fit. Also, you can drag graphics and overlays right onto the program screen itself. With funky borders and shadows built in, it offers a low-key, fun aspect to the video it delivers.
Some producers might be a bit put off by the fact that each video window has overlays over the bottom, top, and/or sides for each of the additional capabilities available for that item (see Figure 3). That’s just how Ecamm Live rolls: putting features for an item right onto that item, so you don’t have to search elsewhere for titles, effects, or audio levels.
Figure 3. Ecamm Live’s on-player controls
Choosing the free Trial option lets you try out all of Ecamm Live’s Standard and Pro features for a full 14 days, but it adds an Ecamm watermark to all of your streams.
The Standard license ($16 a month) takes away the watermark and offers unlimited multicasting to 10 destinations, as well as custom overlays, screen sharing, PIPs, program recording, viewer comment integration, web widget overlays, and chromakey.
The top-level Pro license ($32 a month) adds remote guest capability (Ecamm Live Interview), a virtual mic and webcam for connection to Zoom and other conferencing apps, 4K streaming, live video monitoring to any display, ISO recording, and VIP Tech Support.
ManyCam
ManyCam (see Figure 4) is a macOS-based solution that delivers a complete suite of streaming production tools, such as those for handling multiple video sources, switching between different pieces of media, building layers, and adding PIPs. You can create titles and add web sources, screencasts, and virtual backgrounds. You can also integrate an IP camera or smartphone app, do chromakey, add whiteboards, create video playlists, and apply overlays, 3D masks, drawing, and text. ManyCam features 4K support as well as video recording and NDI input and output. You can leverage custom hotkeys and a handheld remote control app, as well as on-screen toolbars for control. Then, you can use ManyCam Virtual Webcam to treat the output of ManyCam as a source in your business chat application of choice.
Figure 4. ManyCam’s main user interface
ManyCam is available through three plans. The Standard plan ($49 a year) supports one device with video sources at Full HD. Features include PIP layouts, NDI, titles, effects, and whiteboard with no watermark. Custom overlays, desktop capture, and the mobile app are provided. The Standard plan also supports IP camera ingest and one RTMP stream.
Next up is the Studio plan ($79 a year), which adds virtual backgrounds and background blur, as well as chromakey and an edit/preview screen before going live, plus ManyCam Lite for mobile content creation. ManyCam Studio also adds unlimited RTMP streams and H.264 IP camera ingest. It will run on two devices and handle 50 video sources at 4K quality.
The Premium plan ($99 a year) ups the ante to 200 sources at 4K quality on three devices and adds priority tech support to the list.
OBS
Next up is the elephant in the room, OBS (Open Broadcaster Software). OBS Studio is available for Mac, PC, and Linux. It is free and open source, meaning it’s not owned by one person or company. This also means that support and bug fixes are community-developed.
OBS Studio features high-performance, real-time video/audio capturing and mixing. You create scenes made up of multiple sources, including window captures, images, text, browser windows, webcams, capture cards, and more. You can set up an unlimited number of scenes to switch between seamlessly via custom transitions. It has an audio mixer with per-source filters such as noise gate, noise suppression, and gain, as well as VST plugin support.
The Settings panel (see Figure 5) provides access to configuration options to tweak every aspect of your broadcast or recording. A modular “Dock” interface allows users to rearrange the layout exactly as they like. You can even pop out each individual item to its own window. You can also choose from a number of different and customisable transitions and set hotkeys. Studio Mode lets you preview your scenes and sources before pushing them live. OBS Studio also has an API that enables plugins and scripts to provide further customisation and functionality that are specific to your needs.
Figure 5. The OBS Studio Settings panel
One thing to note is that there is also Streamlabs OBS, a variant of OBS that offers more integrated capability upon install, such as viewer comments and the like. OBS Studio is lighter weight, but you’ll have to add plugins and extra resources to get functionality that comes standard with other tools. Streamlabs bakes in some of that functionality from the start, in a more polished-looking interface, but also requires a more powerful machine.
Streamlabs’ real strength is serving the professional live YouTuber who wants to interact with their audience by highlighting when someone sends money. Automated highlights and Thank Yous, as well as custom messages to supporters, help drive interactivity-based revenue. These features gamify the stream for viewers, who can cause things to happen and then see themselves highlighted in the stream when they support the streamer. There are dozens and dozens of apps you can integrate to customise the experience.
Streamlabs offers a free Starter tier and a paid Ultra tier for $149 a year. The Starter version provides themes, overlays, alerts, and widgets for Streamlabs’ desktop and mobile. Ultra adds the Streamlabs Console and multicasting capability. Another key difference is that Starter integrates only one remote guest, but Ultra can handle up to 11. There are also several streamer-centric tools that will be of varying utility to different producers, including Cloudbot, tips, cross-clip, video editor, podcast editor, and Talk Studio.
PRISM Live Studio
PRISM Live Studio is a free, all-in-one program with versions available on Windows and Mac, as well as on Android and iOS mobile devices. The updated Mac version boasts the ability to take advantage of Apple silicon. PRISM Live Studio (see Figure 6) provides the necessary tools for streaming on major platforms.
Figure 6. PRISM Live Studio
For Windows users, PRISM Live Studio v4.0.0, released in 2023, updates the interface and adds all of the functions provided in OBS, according to the company. The app is designed for both horizontal and vertical streaming production, with resolutions up to 4K and support for six streaming destinations.
Like Streamlabs, PRISM Live Studio is definitely aimed at the fun, creative crowd, with filters for audio visualisation, GIPHY stickers, a game mode, and many more widgets, including a drawing mode akin to an on-screen telestrator. It promises low CPU usage, but I don’t recommend gaming on the same computer that’s doing the streaming production.
A mobile version features various chat and other overlays. It’s not a multicamera switching app, but for handheld streaming, it looks to be a pretty powerful little solution offering both horizontal and vertical layouts, custom avatars and backgrounds, and your choice of chat templates. Mobile devices can also be used as a remote control for the desktop app.
PRISM Live Studio uses Medium as its blog platform, and announcements about both Mac and Windows updates have been made as recently as January 2024. While PRISM Live Studio may not offer the deep feature sets that other solutions do, the fact that it’s free enables anyone to try it out at length and decide if it fits their needs.
Vizrt TriCaster
The Vizrt TriCaster, developed by NewTek before it was acquired by Vizrt in 2019 (and fully absorbed into the Vizrt brand in 2023), is one of the first computer-based solutions and needs to be included in any discussion of computer-based live production software—even if it is primarily tied to the company’s own custom Windows hardware. TriCaster Now is a cloud solution, but we will focus on the software included with the hardware. A key feature of both components coming from one company is that there’s only one phone number for any hardware or software issue, as opposed to having to try to diagnose a computer issue on your own.
Depending on the size of the hardware, TriCaster can handle from four to 32 inputs and from two to 48 outputs. With its long-standardised interface, TriCaster serves almost every live production need. It offers multiple mix/effects busses, an audio mixer, media and animation buffers, video playback decks, keyers, virtual sets, compressor presets, multiple multiviewer and control monitor outputs, web inputs, data links to external sources and databases, PTZ control, macros, tally, genlock, MIDI, NDI, Dante, AES67, Skype TX integration, software control panels, ISO recording, replay, and more.
Additionally, TriCaster is such a standard that you can often hire in an experienced TriCaster operator to run it for a show. While there are subscriptions available for certain services, and licenses for Dante and other third-party capabilities are extra, the TriCaster hardware and software are a one-time purchase. The hardware cost ranges from $5,000 for the TriCaster Mini Go to more than $30,000 for the TriCaster 2 Elite. This doesn’t include the dedicated external hardware control surfaces either, which make complex shows a lot more manageable than trying to do them on the computer screen.
Pricing may cause some to shy away at first, but when you’re looking to custom-build a high-end PC, adding third-party video and audio I/O hardware, and then purchase dedicated production software— or if you are looking to license it for several years, and all of the pieces come from different companies, plus the time it takes for integration and ironing out any problems— the TriCaster cost for turnkey capability is a good value for an established tool.
While being Windows-based, TriCaster comes in Vizrt’s own custom configuration that does not auto-update, so you won’t be bricked by some random overnight Windows update. You do have access to Windows on TriCaster so you can manage your media and recordings in a standard Windows desktop interface. The other reason TriCaster is included in this list of software-based solutions is because the TriCaster Vectar is the TriCaster software and interface in the cloud (see Figure 7), on some other computer, or as a hybrid solution in which multiple operators can be working on different parts of the production with multiple control surfaces in different locations.
Figure 7. Vizrt TriCaster Vectar
Telestream Wirecast
Telestream Wirecast (see Figure 8) is a Mac and Windows live production solution that has been around for more than 20 years and has shifted from a purchase to a monthly subscription of $35 a month for the Studio version and $46 a month for Pro. There doesn’t appear to be any downloadable trial version. Also, please note that any Wirecast purchases are non-refundable and will auto-renew.
Figure 8. Telestream Wirecast
Wirecast, in version 16.2 at this mid-February writing, can handle unlimited live camera sources, with a free wireless camera app for iOS devices. It supports NDI, screen capture, web source display, PTZ control, control surface integrations, remote guests, layer-based compositing, ISO recordings, virtual camera/microphone, and built-in multistreaming with presets for YouTube, Facebook, RTMP, and more. There’s built-in chromakey, animated graphics and overlays, and more than 500,000 unique stock media assets preloaded. There’s also a scoreboard feature with clocks and timers, social media comment integration, and multiview templates, playlists, and other automation features.
The Studio version supports just two remote callers and one stream out. The Pro version adds built-in streaming to multiple destinations, up to seven remote guests, ISO recording, PTZ camera control, sports production tools, multi-track audio recording, and a 1–17 slot multiviewer output. If those are core features you’ll need, then the higher-end Pro version is what you’ll be looking to use.
Wirecast has a unique layer design that always makes it clear which layer is on top of another. This is very different from the hardware-based interface of the TriCaster or the scene-based interface of tools like vMix. But it’s a design that suits some producers perfectly. There’s not just one way to visualise how live production comes together, and different designs will appeal to different people. It will just cost you a $35 or $46 1-month license to find out if Telestream’s paradigm is for you.
vMix
StudioCoast Pty Ltd.’s vMix, which I’ve written about extensively in Streaming Media (go2sm.com/remote), is a Windows-only app that has also been around for a long time. Unlike the standard interface of a TriCaster or the layer-based approach of Wirecast, vMix “inputs” are multi-layered “scenes” that you can use simply as a camera input or as a 10-layer scene with multiple sources—camera, titles, overlays, data, backgrounds, and more. vMix has a simple-looking but very deep interface that lets you add inputs and then apply triggers or actions to create complex sequences or to automate repetitive tasks (see Figure 9).
Figure 9. vMix
Your capabilities and resolutions are dependent on the particular tier of the app you purchase. vMix is not sold on a subscription-based model. You can purchase the four-input (scene) Basic HD for $60, the 1,000-input HD for $350, the 4K version for $700, and the Pro version for $1,200. After your purchase, you get any updates free for 12 months. After that, if you want to get a newer version, a $60 “Version Upgrade” fee covers you for another whole year regardless of which version you’re using. But the version you have will continue to work even if you stop paying.
In response to user requests, vMix has recently added a $50 a month Max license of the Pro version that will cease to work if the subscription stops. This is handy for those with more basic packages who need the capabilities of the top Pro tier, but only for one event. A $50 Max license basically gives you the $1,200 vMix Pro for 30 days. With a low initial cost of entry of just $60 and a very generous 60-day trial period for the $1,200 Pro version, vMix makes it easy to really take time to learn and dig into it before deciding if it’s the right tool for you. Some of the key features in vMix are the ability to take in as many as eight remote callers using vMix’s own remote caller service, vMix Call, without relying on any third-party service. The company has also completely integrated Zoom, enabling a room full of
Zoom participants to be ingested as individual cameras with individual audio control as well. vMix works with numerous control surfaces directly or through third-party apps like Companion and Central Control. Another option is to connect through vMix’s own web interface, Custom Panel Maker, or other hooks to the vMix API. This is one of the advantages of using long-established tools.
The higher vMix tiers can also deliver up to eight cameras of 4K instant replay, up to four SRT outputs, and up to four hardware outputs, four virtual outputs, and two fullscreen outputs. It has an integrated animated titling engine, social comments integration, and a MultiCorder that will record as many channels as your hardware is capable of handling. Although vMix provides recommended hardware specifications for different tiers of the app, users must source and build the appropriate machines—as well as I/O hardware—on their own.
vMix can leverage the GPU to handle many live production processes. The more you demand of vMix, the more expensive a hardware configuration you will need. There are VARs that specialise in vMix systems and can deliver the hardware and software together.
Vimeo Livestream Studio
In 2017, online video platform provider Vimeo purchased Livestream, purveyor of the feature-rich streaming software package Livestream Studio. Now, Livestream Studio for Mac or Windows comes as part of a $65 a month Advanced Vimeo subscription. Vimeo offers a rather short 7-day trial period to determine if Livestream Studio works for you. Livestream Studio (see Figure 10) allows you to connect cameras via hardware interface, USB, NDI, Mevo, mobile app, RTMP, and more, and you can live switch up to 4K with graphics, media, transitions, and more, viewable on multiple control room monitors.
Figure 10. Vimeo Livestream Studio
The software leverages Vimeo’s ability to integrate with multiple CDNs and social media, as well as RTMP wherever else you want it to go. Vimeo also offers the ability to self-host on white-label pages that are perfect for client-facing corporate work. As with any good computer-based broadcast production app, you can build multi-layer PIP scenes, apply downstream overlays, chromakey, connect multiple data sources, control PTZ, and do ISO recording.
It also provides hardware acceleration, browser sources, media playback, and more. In addition, you can control Livestream Studio from any Chrome browser with Studio WebControl—even on mobile devices—which gives you greater freedom to delegate tasks. Livestream Studio is one of the few software apps that touts the ability to leverage multiple internet connections directly for bonding as well as live ad-insertion hooks to Google DoubleClick.
It has its own built-in RTMP server and Dropbox integration and lets you leverage all of the Vimeo OVP and virtual event platform capabilities as well. The Vimeo Advanced plan already incorporates numerous Vimeo features, like ad-free streaming, brand control for your player and apps, password protection, player embed restrictions, registrations, branded invite and reminder email notifications, CRM integrations, and ad-free hosting of up to 500 videos. If more control of the viewer experience— in addition to live production—is something you need, you can get both with a single subscription to Livestream Studio in Vimeo Advanced or Vimeo Premium.
XSplit Broadcaster
XSplit Broadcaster (see Figure 11) is a Windows app that takes yet another look at designing custom scenes and delivering them live to the world. It has an internal Layout Wizard to help with custom layouts, as well as the ability to handle multiple scenes. It boasts intuitive audio management, including built-in noise reduction, and lets you change the audio setup on a scene-by-scene basis.
Figure 11. XSplit Broadcaster
XSplit Broadcaster will leverage your PC’s installed GPU to assist with chromakey, custom transitions, and image masks, and it lets you have different records for different scenes at the same time for easier postproduction. As with Streamlabs OBS, there are XSplit Broadcaster-compatible third-party plugins for a gamepad visualiser, a whiteboard, DSP effects, replay, and more.
Broadcaster can stream to multiple destinations at the same time. These will be multiple streams from your computer, so you’ll need enough bandwidth to launch all of them simultaneously. The same goes for most all of the apps described here, with the exception of Livestream Studio, which leverages Vimeo in the cloud to handle that.
Pricing is interesting, with XSplit Broadcaster offering a free version so you can get to know it. The free option is limited to four scenes with a watermark. The Premium version costs $15 a month or $60 a year, with an option for a $200 purchase with lifetime updates. Premium removes the watermark and adds unlimited scenes, a Skype video camera, audio mix preview, multicasting, source transitions, a preview window, and more.
XSplit also bundles XSplit Broadcaster with its VCam software, which enhances the capability of webcams, offering better background removal, zoomed tracking from 4K webcams, plus logos and graphic overlay. For game players and self-producers, the two packages can integrate nicely.
Final Thoughts
So that’s a look at 12 options you can pick from when looking to produce live-switched video. With nearly all of them, you can get started for free and pick your computer platform, as choices abound for each. The main cost you’ll incur with these products is not the software itself, but the computer you run them on, as these are all solutions you download and run on your hardware right in front of you. No internet connection is required if you want to produce a multicamera talk show for later edit and upload.
Streaming, of course, as well as remote control, remote guests, and more, all require a robust connection to the internet, but these are not cloud-based solutions, so the hardware you have in front of you needs to be capable of supporting what you are asking the software to do. If you don’t ask much, then lower-end hardware will suffice.
Higher demands will require more computing horsepower. If you lack the time or expertise to build your own PC, I find that gaming PCs offer an easy way to get higher-end pre-built machines that work very well for all but the most advanced video ingest, processing, and streaming demands. Then you can augment your setup with external control surfaces, monitors, and more to make it comfortable for how you want to work.
No two producers do things exactly the same or have the same exact needs. This is why having a selection of tools is important. Go find one that works for you, and have fun creating.
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