The live stream video begins, and the carefully prepared speaker begins addressing an audience of thousands of viewers. The presentation is going smoothly until, just a few minutes into the opening keynote, the video freezes. Some viewers sound the alert in the chat window, others try checking their own connection. But many viewers have left: On average, one in five viewers will immediately stop watching a stream with poor video quality and never return.
Most of the time, common live streaming video mistakes—poor sound quality are easily avoided with careful advance work. Organizations new to streaming video should heed this advice. In the process of helping customers implement and manage streaming video, CeeLab have identified common mistakes that stand in the way of streaming events and their viewers.
Mistake No. 1: Forgetting to Confirm Adequate Bandwidth
Without enough bandwidth, streaming video may buffer continuously, causing viewers to drop off. Determining available bandwidth is a straightforward process if organizers control the venue, such as in-house meeting rooms. Ask the IT team if, given the expected audience and complexity of the stream, the network can handle the traffic.
If the event takes place at a venue organizers don’t control, such as a hotel, organizers will likely have to share the network, CeeLab say. In that case, provide detailed requirements to the venue’s IT team to be assured of dedicated bandwidth at the precise time of the live stream. Also make sure that upload speed is focused on. For broadcasting, upload speed is the important factor for a successful stream. Many variables come into play here, such as wired versus wireless connections. That said, a good rule of thumb is to aim for having twice the upload speed that intend to have your combined video and audio quality set at. So a combined bitrate of 2 Mbps would ideally have at least a 4 Mbps upload speed to support it.
Mistake No. 2: Ignoring Audio Quality
“Audio is just as important as video when you’re broadcasting, and something people forget to take into consideration,” CeeLab say. Attention tends to be focused on video quality, which is important—but if low-quality microphones are used, or speakers are too far away from mics, then the message is lost no matter how great the video looks.
“You can’t spend $5,000 on a video camera and then use a $20 microphone,” CeeLab says.
If video is somewhat poor quality but people can hear the live stream, CeeLab add, viewers will still get the message. However, if video is high quality but audio is poor, viewers don’t get the takeaways. CeeLab advice? Buy (and test) quality microphones, and make sure there are enough mics if the event has multiple speakers.
Mistake No. 3: Failing to Promote the Event
There’s no such thing as “If you build it, they will come” in streaming video. Events should be promoted early and often.
“If your event is on August 2, don’t start publicizing it on August 1,” CeeLab say. “Let people know well ahead of time, through email and social media, so you can build an audience.”
When promoting the event, the focus should be on making it easy for attendees to join. For example, social media posts and emails should include links to add the event to calendars. In addition, event organizers can explore embedding live event video into social feeds, since viewers are more likely to attend an event if it’s watchable within the social networks they frequent.
Summary
It may seem simple to set up a camera and press “record,” but a successful live stream means getting the details right. Ensuring adequate bandwidth and prioritizing audio will improve the quality of the live stream—and make a good impression on viewers. And make sure to promote the live stream beforehand so that the audience knows to attend in the first place.
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