Live video streaming involves encoding, transport, transcoding, distribution, and playback. If that sounds like a lot, it's because it is.
The funny thing, though, is that live video streaming can actually be the easiest part of your event workflow if you choose to automate everything that was just mentioned. After all, you have plenty going on with your live event already.
Why add manual oversight of your live stream when you don't have to?
From a viewer’s perspective, live video streaming involves clear audio paired with high resolution video in real time. Unlike your viewers, you don't have the luxury of relaxing and simply enjoying the broadcast. Instead, you're simultaneously managing all of the elements of your live production.
When it comes to live streaming, audio frequently gets overlooked. But here's the truth: bad audio can instantly make even the most professional video completely unwatchable. That's why, whether it's you or someone on your team at the mixer, audio demands dedicated attention from well before your event begins until it's over. It's even more common to have two people managing audio if you're running separate mixes for your in-house and live stream needs.
High-quality video might be as simple as a single camera staying put for your whole event, or it could involve multiple cameras connected to a video switcher, each with its own dedicated operator. Regardless of your setup, video production typically requires one or more people to focus intensely on getting the job done right.
Live video streaming can look a lot different depending on the equipment and service that you choose to utilize. You'll typically use either a software or hardware video encoder to send your video and audio data to the cloud. From there, it's processed into various quality levels and delivered to a video player, allowing your viewers to simply click "play" for a smooth broadcast. While starting and ending a broadcast often just means clicking a button on your encoder, many services also require additional manual steps to ensure everything streams correctly.
“Make the fire, fix the breakfast, wash the dishes, do the moppin’, and the sweepin’, and the dustin’!”
–Jaq the mouse, in Cinderella
When your event comes around, you might find yourself relating to Jaq's endless list of chores. That's because there's a huge amount to oversee when you're managing both an in-house and online event experience simultaneously.
A wireless mic suddenly dies from dead batteries. A musician moves, causing sharp, unexpected feedback. Or the volunteer at your audio board accidentally tweaks the wrong channel and has no idea how to fix it.
Meanwhile, a camera operator might zone out and forget to follow the speaker, or another frames a shot poorly, unaware it needs adjusting.
Then, there's the glaring typo on a slide visible to everyone but your slides director. The scoreboard updates incorrectly. The fog machine meant for a dramatic moment was never plugged in. Oh, and a key volunteer simply didn't show up and forgot to tell anyone.
These kinds of scenarios, and countless others, can quickly turn a media director's job from hectic into downright chaotic.
Live streaming often piles on even more manual work—and inconveniently, that work tends to stack up during the busiest moments of your event.
For example, you might schedule the stream beforehand, but then have to wait for the precise start of the event to manually hit "Start." Next, you'll need to log into your social platforms and individually configure each destination for live streaming, which can be harder than it sounds. At the end of the event, you'll be rushing back to hit "Stop" on your encoder at just the right time, then wait for the archive to process, and finally upload the video wherever it needs to live.
What if all of this could happen on its own without any manual intervention at all? You’d have fewer things to stress over, fewer volunteers to find and check up on, and a better shot at overall consistency and success.
At BoxCast, we’re big believers in automating whatever you can — not just to save time, but to remove human error from the equation. That’s why we’ve built our live streaming platform to be automated from the very beginning. Hopefully, this means you’ll only have to wash the dishes and do the moppin’, while the sweepin’ and the dustin’ takes care of itself.
Simply schedule your event or a series of events as far in advance as you like, and you're good to go. You can even schedule recurring events up to 100 times in advance. We'll automatically start and stop each stream right on time.
You shouldn't have to log into five different platforms before every event. Instead, you can choose your destinations ahead of time, and we'll take care of sending your stream to your website, app, and social pages right when your event starts, every single time.
If you're using a BoxCast encoder, you don't need to hit "start" or "stop" manually. Your stream will simply begin and end at the exact moment it's scheduled.
If you're using a different encoder, you can start streaming from your hardware or software well before your event's scheduled start time. We'll receive your feed, but we won't actually broadcast it until the precise moment your event is set to begin. No more last minute scrambling to hit “Start.”
Once your live event ends, we save the recording to your account and publish it for viewing almost instantly. You won't have to wait for a large download or re-upload a thing.
You don't need to become a post-production editor extraordinaire. We'll have AI select key highlights from your stream and generate a text summary for each moment. This allows you to quickly approve, download, and share them to social media.
If your camera's rolling, you've basically done your part. From live stream start to archive upload, our platform simply makes everything work.
Beyond everything we’ve covered so far, the real power of automated streaming goes even deeper than the simplicity gained or the tech itself. Whether it’s the culture of your team or the positive evolution of your organization’s brand, the ripple effect that comes from automated streaming goes much deeper than you might initially realize.
Your organization has a brand to build and protect. Few things undercut that faster than a stream that starts late, ends early, or looks like it’s being run by people who are distracted or overwhelmed. On the flip side, when your tech feels seamless and your stream runs like clockwork, it sends a powerful signal: this team org what they’re doing. Automation gives you that consistency—and the professional edge that comes with it.
When things keep going wrong, it’s easy for a team to get frustrated or even discouraged. But when you start stacking wins—clean events, smooth streams, no last-minute scrambles—it builds confidence. Automating your streaming workflow helps eliminate those recurring mistakes, so your team can focus on what really matters. Over time, those little wins add up to something bigger: momentum.
Recruiting volunteers is tough, and managing a big team of them is even tougher. When your live stream handles itself, that’s one less role to fill—and one less person to train or supervise. A smaller team often means stronger connections, better communication, and less chaos. Ocean’s 11 is a classic, but in real life, 7 is much easier to wrangle, even if you don’t have Brad Pitt and George Clooney.
At the end of the day, it’s all about your viewers. Automation means fewer hiccups and smoother streams, which means a better experience for the people watching on phones, tablets, laptops, and smart TVs. It’s easy to get caught up in the tech side of things, but the ultimate goal is simple: deliver great content to real people, wherever they are.
Live streaming is just one part of your production, but it can easily take up more energy than it should. BoxCast changes that as the most complete automated streaming platform available, designed to take care of the technical heavy lifting so your team can stay focused on the bigger picture. When your stream just works, your whole event runs smoother. So lower the stress behind the scenes and change your video game difficulty from “All Madden” to “Rookie.” Hey, at least that makes one thing on your plate easy.