A decade ago, if you were streaming you were ahead of the curve, regardless of the quality. Nowadays, you’ll be judged according to a much stricter standard, and so outputting a mediocre stream isn’t enough.
If you think about it, the bar is higher. Modern smart devices are getting better at capturing stunning quality images and video, and editing software is more affordable, more user friendly, and more widely adopted than ever. Streaming apps, too, constantly pump out new content shot with cutting edge equipment, and most people watch it on their 4K TVs at home.
Put it all together, and your live stream gets judged by the same bar. Here’s the thing; you likely agree with them.
Perhaps you’re a business broadcasting regular events for your customers. Or maybe you’re a school with a mix of athletic and academic live streams, or even a nonprofit or church with a large community of people watching from home every week. You care greatly about the mission of your organization and you want your stream to look amazing and meet the expectations of your viewers. You just don’t want to spend $30,000 on new gear to make that happen.
That’s what this post is all about, equipping you with a handful of practical ways that you can take your stream up a notch without having to pull out your credit card for a big purchase. Let’s get into it.
1. Light
2. Research
3. Ask
4. Separate
5. Train
6. Switch
7. Simplify
Final Thoughts
It's a shame how many camera setups get installed once and never move again. Sometimes they land in the perfect spot thanks to a seasoned expert, or due to plain dumb luck. Otherwise they get tucked into an inconspicuous corner so they don't distract in person attendees, and they end up living in the shadows, like Batman, never quite seeing the light of day.
That's a real loss, because plenty of rooms have windows on just one wall, and a small shift in camera position could capture a lot more natural light, along with richer, fuller color. And sometimes a room has plenty of windows already, but the blinds stay shut through every event. What a shame, and what a cheap fix. Open the blinds, and you've likely improved your stream without spending a dime.
You could absolutely invest in artificial lighting to dial in your stage, field, or studio. But if you have usable natural light and you're trying to save money, try that first. It's worth reading up on common church lighting problems and easy fixes too, since a lot of the same shadow and glare issues show up whether the light source is a window or a stage fixture.
Here's another common pattern. Organizations spend weeks comparing prices and specs, sometimes even paying an expert to recommend the perfect camera for their space. Then the camera arrives, gets set up with the basic factory settings, a little pan, a little tilt, a little zoom, and that's it.
Can a camera work fine on auto settings? Sure, sometimes. Is it working anywhere close to its potential? Probably not. So here's a fix that costs nothing but time: block off four to eight hours to watch every video and read every guide you can find on your specific camera model. That's half a day to a full day of focused research, and I'd bet you walk away with a few big changes and a long list of small ones.
If you're a seasoned pro, you might already know most of what you read. Even then, you'll probably pick up a tip or two. And if you're curious how your current camera stacks up against what's out there, our breakdown of the best cameras for church live streaming is worth a skim, even if buying isn't on the table right now. This overall exercise will likely give you new confidence that your camera is just fine, all you have to do is find a few ways to get more out of it.
To borrow an overused car analogy: don't let your camera sit in the garage like a Porsche that only ever gets driven around the block in first gear. Learn how to drive stick, and you'll get a lot more out of it. No more underusing the great gear you already own.
I don't want to generalize, but a lot of AVL folks lean introverted. Trust me, it takes one to know one. I've spent much of my life faking extroversion pretty convincingly. After a big event, I'm ready to curl up and recharge by myself, not to start conversations with people I don’t know well.
And yet, one of the most valuable things anyone responsible for a live stream can do is ask people, in person or online, about their experience with the stream. I get it, the idea of asking someone to critique anything you put a lot of effort into can feel uncomfortable. Especially in this instance, as they probably don't have your training or experience. But, that's exactly why their feedback can mean so much.
Maybe they think the drums are too loud, the main speaker sounds quiet online though their volume is fine in person, or they find close up shots way more engaging than wide ones. Sure, you have your opinions rattling around in your own head, but if that's the only input shaping your live production decisions, you're missing out on the lowest hanging fruit: the people who actually experience your final product regularly. We've written before about asking regular viewers for honest feedback on your audio, and the same principle applies well beyond audio.
Whether it's a small group conversation, a one on one chat, or a five question online survey, you'll walk away with a real list of things to improve, straight from the people who tune in every time. Likely without needing to spend a penny.
If you've read anything else I've written (I'm Brett, by the way), you're either thinking "yep, called it" or "come on, you've said this ten times already." That’s fair. But like a parent reminding their kids to wash their hands every night before dinner, I keep bringing this up because it's genuinely really important, and unfortunately still commonly overlooked.
Video gets all the attention in streaming, but great video paired with bad audio is unwatchable. This usually happens when broadcasters just pipe the house mix straight into the stream, without ever considering what it'll sound like through the tiny speakers on an iPhone or a MacBook. Camera operators naturally focus on the visual side of the stream. Audio just doesn't get the same attention, even though it should.
The easiest, and cheapest, fix is to build a separate mix bus for your stream audio, one you adjust based on how the stream actually sounds, not how the room sounds. If you run a digital mixer, there's a good chance a free companion app straight from your mixer brand lets you walk the room with headphones on and mix specifically for what your online audience hears from a tablet.
I did say this post is about not spending a ton of money, but Mixing Station Anywhere is inexpensive enough at $99 a year that it's worth a mention. It gives you full access to your stream's live audio and video from anywhere, so you can mix from a quiet space where you can actually focus without the house mix muddling what your ears hear.
Back to the people side of things. My brother in law is an audio engineer and touring musician. My friend's wife is an audio engineer too. Another close friend is a genuinely talented worship leader. I could keep going, but the point is I happen to know a lot of people who understand audio and video better than I do.
Now, I'm not assuming that everyone has the exact same network I do, but there's a decent chance you know someone with real education and experience in Audio and/or Video. It's worth sitting down over coffee for an hour just to pick their brain. If they went to school for this and they care about the craft, chances are they'd love to sit down, hear what you're working with, and share a few practical tips based on your specific setup.
Sure, YouTube and Reddit can teach you a lot about signal flow or switching four cameras with one operator. But someone who knows you and knows the craft, giving you advice tailored to exactly where you're at? That's another no cost (or low cost, I get it, coffee can cost $7 now) way to uplevel your stream.
If you have kids or grand kids, then you’ve probably seen “Zootopia.” And if you've seen "Zootopia," you probably remember the super catchy Shakira song from the soundtrack. That's the spirit of this tip: to try everything.
Your camera angles, musician placement, podium mic choice, even where your person doing audio mixing sits, have probably stayed the same for a while. It works and it's fine, so why change it? Once again, that’s fair. But if you're itching to improve your stream, consider experimenting a little. Try a new camera angle. Mix from a tablet in the front right of the room instead of the back left behind the board. Swap the podium mic for a different kind that you already have and you’re not using just to hear the difference.
None of this requires new equipment, just a little creativity and a willingness to try new things before deciding they aren’t optimal. Sometimes you'll go right back to your old setup. Other times you'll stumble onto something you actually like better. That's trial and error doing its job, and it's a low cost, low effort way to find real improvements. So do what Shakira sang about.
Time for some age-old wisdom: less is more. Maybe you've got 12 mics on the drum kit and eight cameras with eight operators. You invested a lot to build that setup, and you had to fight for the budget to make it happen, so of course you want to use it.
However, a lot of stream quality issues come down to production complexity. Too many variables have to line up perfectly for everything to look and sound great. So if your production feels like a chaos tornado at every event, or your volunteers keep no-showing and you're constantly scrambling for coverage, it might be time to turn the difficulty down a notch, from expert to hard, or hard to medium. Who even enjoys playing on “All Madden” anyway?
You don't have to cut everything. Just pick one or two things to simplify. Run three cameras instead of four. Use ten graphic overlays instead of 15. Lightening the load often sharpens your focus enough that you actually accomplish more, even while doing less. That way, you're not outkicking your coverage.
Full disclosure: I put this list together from a lot of personal experience, but I only did it in about ten minutes of brainstorming while listening to Lord of the Rings lofi in my backyard on a perfect 74 degree afternoon in Cleveland, Ohio. Should have worn more sunscreen.
Hopefully a couple of these ideas struck a chord, and you now have one or two things worth trying at your next event. And remember, the fact that you're even reading an article like this says something. You're not “ho hum” about creating a great stream. Your authentic care is the most important ingredient in making it happen.
So kudos to you. With a little effort, and without spending much (or any) money, you can absolutely take your live stream from good to great.
Want a second set of eyes on your setup? Talk with a BoxCast streaming coach about what's possible before you spend a dollar on new gear.