Looking for suggestions on getting started with internet broadcasting

Hello all,

I am new here, with newbie questions. I am in the process of planning to start a show to be streamed on the internet, and am looking for a software (at a reasonable price) for that. So far, I have come across the following, are there any others I need to look at:

o Vidblaster
o Wirecaster
o WirecasterAdobe Visual Communicator (is that even the right software for broadcasting?)

Here is what I would like to start off with
o Use Google Plus Hangout on air to stream the show (or ustream)
o Be able to individually show the participants on each window (like the way vidblaster can do that. Does Wirecaster do the same?)
o Be able to use green screen
o Be able to use graphics, for lower third etc
o I will also use it for non-live events, such as webinars and interviews (side by side picture of two people)

I think that should be a good start and I would like to learn and improve from there.

I have a low budget, would use my own laptop, I have a Yeti microphone and looking to buy Logitech C920 webcam (or would another webcam be better?)

Any good places that have tutorials on vidblaster, wirecast or similar software? I have seen couple on vidblaster, but none on wirecast. From the tutorials, vidblaster looks easy to use, but some of the comments here about Vidblaster's cpu usage makes me not sure if that is the right software. Plus, the home version with only 7 module, would that be enough?

Does that make sense to you? Any suggestions, recommendations, advice would be greatly appreciated.

One more questions, I know there is a trial download for both Vidblaster and Wirecast. Does anyone know how long the trial is valid for?

Thanks for your help,

Rayhan

Rayhan,

A good source for information, demos and tutorials on VidBlaster is my weekly show, That VidBlaster Guy! and the archives of past shows (www.ThatVidBlasterGuy.com). Last time I checked the Trial Edition is unlimited use, but equal to the Studio Edition (25 modules). Try it out and limited yourself to 7 modules to simulate the Home Edition.

I use the Logitech C920 webcam for my show, so you can see the quality. The newest version, the C930, will be available in a few months and might be worth the wait.

A good source of tutorials for VidBlaster, Wirecast and others would be YouTube. Just search on YouTube like you would on Google and your search will return all sorts of tutorials.

Feel free to contact me with any VidBlaster questions.

- Tom

Thanks Tom, I didn't know Logitech was coming out with a new webcam, I think I will wait for that.

I have seen some of your videos on YouTube and found them helpful. I will try and make it to your show this Tuesday.

Any suggestion on the CPU usage for Vidbalster?

Also, on the Vidblaster forum, I noticed you answered a question about issues with audio, and you suggested using a mixer. Is that a must? Can I use my usb yeti directly into my laptop to work with Vidblaster?

Regards,

Rayhan

CPU usage depends a lot on the resolution that you are using. Standard definition (640x480 4:3 or 864x480 16:9) should be no problem for an i7 CPU. Some have done HD on i7s though with desktops and video capture cards.

I don't have much experience using VidBlaster without a mixer, so you would need to do some testing to be sure. That's the great thing about the Trial Edition -- you can test most any scenario.

Thanks Tom, will play with the trial version.

Regards,

Rayhan

Rayhan. How has it been working out for you ?

Hello Podnutter,

I have downloaded VidBlaster and have been playing around with it. There is a bit of a learning curve (to be expected). For now, I will be using Google Hangout to broadcast and as I learn VidBlaster and Wirecast decide which one to go with.

What has your experience been?

Rayhan

You may also want to try Wirecast.
It's a very deep compositor.
Each shot can have up to 7 layers inside it. That includes video and audio layers.
Each shot can be combined with up to 4 other Master Layers.
This makes transitions from one complex composite to another very easy.
VidBlaster does have a lower price entry point though. Some like its module based setup.

Wirecast also has direct SDK integration with various input cards rather than just generic integration.
One example is the Matrox VS4 which has 4 SDI inputs but also can do a separate ISO recording for each camera source.

BTW Wirecast can be used as a source in Google Hangout (maybe VidBlaster can too?).
Of course with Wirecast's Desktop Presenter, Google Hangout can be used as a source into Wirecast.
Desktop Presenter allows you to use video and audio as a source on the same computer or even from the same local network.
Have a webpage with video and audio on one computer playing into Wirecast on another computer using only a Gigabit Ethernet Network.

Thanks cseeman, will give wirecast a try as well, it is in my list to do. Do you know what the trial period for wirecast is? The issue I have is I don't yet have a green screen and if the trial period is only 30 days, I rather wait to download that after I get my greencreen, so I can test that as well

Rayhan

Also try vMix http://vmix.com.au/download.aspx and xsplit http://www.xsplit.com/. They all have strengths and weaknesses. And unfortunately all require you to spend time learning what they do and how they do it.

There's no timed trial with Wirecast. Fully functional with watermark.

BTW if you really like some features in one and the other, I've known people who use VidBlaster and/or XSplit with Wirecast for example. Wirecast can see the virtual camera out of both (and maybe the other way around?). The point is, while it will cost more, you may even be able to mix and match.

Thanks AndrewSeabrook. Just downloaded Xsplit and watched a few tutorials on YouTube. Really nice, simple and easy to use. Can't get it to stream on Google Hangout, but looking on their forum to see if there is a solution. If there is, xsplit might just do the trick for me

Rayhan

Thanks cseeman for the suggestions. I will download wirecast (as I don't have to worry about the time limit on trial and test it out). Interesting about using more than one software to get the best features from all. Wonder if that would be a major strain on the cpu, but an interesting idea. I will try that, first I have to get past the learning curve.

My initial impressions are:

- vidblaster. Looks interesting and powerful. From some of the tutorials, could work. I think there is a major learning curve. Was able to stream on hangout, which is a good start, although transitions between the intro video and the main video didn't work as well. I am sure, I am not doing something right. Will continue to learn the software

- xsplit. Been testing it for about an hour. So far, really like it. Simple to use. Haven't been able to stream it on hangout, which would make it unusable for me. Reading their forum posts to find a solution. If that works, this might be the solution for me, at least in the short term, as this may be a bit less powerful than vidblaster and wirecast.

- wirecast. on my list to download and try

- vmix. Downloaded and installed. They wanted my email address to activate the trial. Which was a bit of a turn off. Especially as I have seen several posts from them on various places, including youtube, where they go on others' posts (like vidblaster or wirecast youtube tutorial) and simply say 'try vmix'. I take that as spam and hesitant to give them my email, which they might spam. So I uninstalled them without trying

Thank you all for suggestions. I will post more as I do my trials. Please feel free to add any other recommendations. This is been really helpful.

Rayhan

Rayhan, I can assure you we have never posted on other forums, videos or web sites.

We have a very serious privacy policy and never send out emails without permission, in fact Australia (where we are) has one of the strictest anti-spam laws in the world.

Signing up with an email address is a requirement for most software including xsplit and wirecast. Submitting an email address prevents abuse of our trial system.

Regards,

Martin
vMix

Hi AndrewSeabrook,

Just wanted to thank you for your suggestion in xsplit. I have been testing it for two days and blown away with how easy it is to use for a newbie like me. Even got it to work with chroma key with just a bed sheet (still waiting for me green screen). While, there are some issues, the chroma key works great and was able to broadcast it over google hangout. Just awesome.

I am sure its not as powerful as vidblaster or wirecast, but the ease of use for me was great. I may someday upgrade to vb or wc, but for now, xsplit does what I need.

Thanks again, you saved me a ton of time with the learning curve

Regards,

Rayhan

I've tried this website on a number of occasions called iBroadcast.TV (http://www.ibroadcast.tv) for some of my livestreaming, but due to my limited availability, I have been reduced to streaming show archives from my station's programming.

You can check out my station's iBroadcast.TV channel at http://ibroadcast.tv/watch/channel.aspx?id=1091 to get a general idea of how the site works.

(And before I get any more complaints via PM, I was just recommending iBroadcaster.TV as an option if a broadcaster doesn't think Vidblaster, Wirecaster or Wirecaster Adobe Visual Communicator was a good option.)