by Michael Palmrose
I recently had a friend of mine tell me about a webcast horror story:
“The web conference I was participating in this morning was intended for a leadership team for a very high level organization. There were over 10 viewers tuning in from various parts of the United States. When I joined the video conference, I realized that the video was coming from someone holding a laptop in the front row, using an internal webcam. The camera was never pointed at the speaker and the audio was so garbled, it was extremely difficult to make out what the speaker was saying. The sound was echoing. The video quality was so low, you couldn’t even read the presentation slides.”
Have you ever struggled to see or hear speakers during a video conference? These types of issues might not be a bandwidth issue, but an equipment issue. There are many benefits to companies and government entities utilizing professional video conferencing or webinar systems like Zoom or Webex. However, their internal communications teams may not be pairing the right audio and video technologies with these video conferencing services.By incorporating professional livestreaming equipment into a Zoom or Webex conference, your video and audio quality may improve drastically.
Not sure what the webcasts are like for your remote employees? Send out a survey using surveymonkey.com or Google Forms to get their feedback on the sound and audio quality of your latest webcast.
If you can’t afford to hire live streaming videographers, here are a few tips for improving your webcast:
If you can get away with using a laptop as the recording device, there are things that you can do to help the viewers appreciate what’s happening, have the speaker or speakers wear a headset or use a computer-friendly microphone.
Make sure everyone mutes their microphone when they’re not speaking.
Use the best internet connection you can. Wired connections can be better than WiFi.
Close the applications you are not using on your computer if your computer is being used as part of the webcast.
Something to keep in mind is that professional cameras with Network Device Interface (NDI) technology can easily be integrated into Zoom and Webex. This is their video-over-IP (VOIP) technology. This means that if you have tried everything to improve your webcast by using internal resources and still have no luck, it’s time to reach out to a professional live streamer.
It doesn’t matter whether you have 10 people tuning in or 1,000 people tuning in - if you are looking for professional-level quality, you should be looking into professional services that specialize in event live streaming. Here is what a professional live streaming video agency should provide you with:
Video quality without any significant buffering or delays from the central location of where the main speaker or speakers are located. This can be the main stage, a CEO conference room, a presentation room, auditorium, etc.
Ability to cut to multiple cameras if there are multiple speakers on stage.
Proper lighting for staging at the central location or home base of the webcast.
Professional microphones for multiple speakers on stage.
Setup and professional recommendations on how to improve video and audio quality overall.
Are you struggling to get high quality video and audio with your webcasts? Let us know how we can help by filling out the form below.