How to Stream Video Online: Live Streaming Best Practices for 2022

Streaming video online has become an approachable and relevant avenue for businesses in recent years. When streaming live video over the internet started, it seemed complex and didn’t seem to provide businesses with enough ROI.

But with robust streaming solutions being readily available to new and experienced broadcasters, that’s changed now. It is much easier to learn how to stream videos online now than ever before. 

Online video is growing explosively. The video streaming market was valued at $50.11 Billion in 2020, and by 2027, the industry is forecast to be worth $247 billion.

Streaming video is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 21% from 2021 to 2028, and live streaming is making up an increasingly large portion of that content. That is why now is the time to learn how to broad live video over the internet. 

In this article, we’ll be diving deep into live streaming video online for business purposes. We’ll explain every aspect of video streaming and how to make it successful for your company. We will also provide a step-by-step tutorial and the best practices on how to stream live and on-demand video online. We will make sure you understand how to broadcast live videos for your business. 

Are you ready to take on live streaming in 2022?

Table of Contents:

• What is Video Streaming?
• What is Live Video Streaming?
• Streaming Video Trends and Statistics
• Why Stream Video Online? 
• Benefits of Live Online Streaming
• How to Stream Video Online in 2022
• Best Practices for Live Broadcasting on The Internet
• Success Stories From Businesses Streaming Video
• Final Thoughts

What is Video Streaming?

Before we start discussing live practice best streaming tips, let’s explore what live streaming is. Video streaming is when a video is transmitted from the broadcaster who created a video to a user-facing video player. 

To most people, video streaming is simply accessing video content online.

As a broadcaster, there are different ways you can stream video online:

• Streaming –  This typically means a video was shot, produced, and uploaded to a video hosting platform.
• Live streaming – This type of streaming is when a video is recorded and broadcasted in real-time via live streaming platforms.
• VOD – Video-on-demand streaming is when the user chooses what content they want to watch on-demand. This typically means a video was shot, produced, and then uploaded to a video hosting platform. Netflix and Hulu are two great examples.

What is Live Video Streaming?

Live video streaming is when you are watching an event live as it unfolds in real-time through an internet broadcast. Live video streaming is the equivalent of live television, except that it occurs over the internet instead of through a traditional broadcaster. 

There are many use-cases where live video streaming is useful, such as:

• Sporting events
• Church service
• Conferences
• Summits
• Trade shows
• School events
• Concerts
• Plays
• Product releases

These are all events that people can attend in person. However, by making these events virtual, more people can attend these events, allowing more people to participate and be a part of your events. 

Live streaming is about allowing more people to be a part of what you are doing. For businesses, it is a great way to expand one’s reach and connect with more people. 

While the people in attendance will enjoy the event, there will be people who won’t be able to attend. Live streaming a feed of the event is a great way to get more attraction to the event. This is the core of live video streaming.

In order to stream over the internet, you will need a connection that is both reliable and strong.

Streaming live video over the internet uses cameras, audio, a switcher, and an encoder. A switcher adds the audio from a sound mixer into the final output signal. The encoding software can be a stand-alone appliance or built into a camera. It compresses the video to meet video and streaming standards. The streaming industry standard is H.264.

Streaming Video Trends and Statistics

• The value of the global online video platform industry is expected to grow 8.4% from 2021 to 2028
• Sites that have videos are 50x more likely to rank in SERPs with only text content
• Live streaming events increased by 300% in the first 6 months of the pandemic
• Over three-fourths of internet users watch online video content every week
• Multistreaming will be big in 2022, with many multistream platforms already available to stream to multiple sources
• Viewers are more likely to retain a message from video content than from written articles
• 87% of video marketers report that using live video content has increased their site traffic
• Live content holds viewers’ attention 10-20x longer than on-demand video content

As you can see, viewers enjoy watching video content, and video content pay off in more ways than one for your business. That is why it is important o learn how to stream video content. 

Why Stream Video Online?

Starting in 2015, young millennials (ages 14-25) began watching more videos online via digital devices than on television. 30% of people say they’d cut the cable cord if they knew they could stream all of their content online, with a high-quality picture.

In the words of Neil Patel, “Live video commands the attention of the business world.” 76.5% of small business owners get results with video marketing. In 2020, 92% of marketers say that video is an important part of their marketing strategy for businesses. This has grown from 78% in 2015.

Many businesses find that streaming live video can be very profitable. Live streaming is making up the majority of that growth.

This year, more than 64 million U.S. households use over-the-top (OTT) streaming services, which often include live video. Worldwide OTT revenue was $106 billion in 2020. By 2026, that number is projected to reach $210B, with an estimated increase of $23 billion to take place in 2021 alone.

To bring it back to today, experts predict that the number will rise to $210 billion by 2026.

Most OTT content is monetized via subscriptions similar to Netflix. However, advertising is another popular way to monetize live video. By the third quarter of 2015, year-over-year ad views had increased 113 % for live video. Since then, these numbers have continued to rise rapidly.

Learning how to send live video through the internet can provide extremely financial valuable for your business. 

Benefits of Live Online Streaming

There are some major benefits of streaming live content for your business that just can’t be ignored. 

Real-time engagement

One of the biggest benefits of live online streaming is that it offers you real-time engagement. That means that your viewers can interact with you in real-time. 

For example, you could have viewers tweet reactions to the event and read those tweets in your live broadcast. Or you could run a chat app alongside your livestream. Live streaming allows you to feel engaged in what is happening. 

Good value for your time

Live streaming is a good value for your time. You need to put a little thought into planning and preparing your live stream; then a live stream requires the actual time to create and broadcast the content. An hour live stream provides you with an hour of content for people to watch.

In contrast, an in-depth 2,000 – 4,000 word blog post can take 8 hours to create, and only entertain a viewer for 15-30 minutes. With live streaming, you produce a lot of content in a short amount of time. 

Affordable to produce

At its most basic, a live stream is really easy to produce. If you have a smartphone and a laptop, you can create a live stream. Although higher quality video and audio equipment can elevate your live streaming experience, it isn’t necessary to get started. 

Easy to Niche Down

Live streaming allows you to easily niche down with your content. You can create really specific content on an affordable budget with live streaming, and connect with a very specific audience. You can easily target specific niche audiences with your live streaming content. 

Build brand connection

Finally, with live streaming, you can easily build a brand connection with your audience. Participating in a live event allows your viewers to feel connected to your brand, audience, and mission.

Who Uses Online Streaming?

All sorts of OTT media and entertainment businesses are getting involved in live streaming video. In the sports world, companies like DAZN have moved from filming in the stands to making billion-dollar deals with sports leagues.

Online video streaming has also become increasingly popular for:

• Live Event Streaming
• Education and E-Learning
• Government and Municipality
• Churches and Religious Houses of Worship
• Streaming Music Events
• Fitness Classes
• Broadcasting Live Sports
• TV and Radio Stations

Using modern technology, you can reach a global audience instantly. Live video streaming is easier, more affordable, and requires less equipment compared to even a couple of years ago. 

Almost anyone can watch live from anywhere in the world, with the only real barriers being language and time zones. That is why you need to know how to stream video for your business.

Every business that wants to enjoy a direct connection with its audience is live streaming.

How to Stream Video Online in 2022

Let’s take a look at the 5 steps for how to stream live video online for your business. These five steps will allow you to quickly learn how to stream videos. 

1. Make a Plan

Planning out your live stream and setting specific goals will help you stay focused throughout the entire process. Before moving forward, identify the purpose of your stream. 

Ask yourself these questions:

• What am I trying to accomplish?
• Who am I trying to reach?
• What message will I share?
• Is generating revenue my goal?
• Where will my target audience be looking for my content?
• What is my budget?

With your answers to these questions in mind, you can come up with an outline of what you want to achieve with your stream and how you will do it. Having a plan is important for learning how to do streaming. 

2. Choosing a Live Streaming Solution

Next, you’ll need a live streaming solution. These are often referred to as “Online Video Platforms” (OVPs).

The dedicated online video streaming service you choose will provide a network of computer servers that will store your video on their disks. It also provides a robust network connection so that your viewers can access the videos quickly and easily without any network lag.

Professional video hosting solutions can offer complete live streaming solutions suitable for business use. These video hosting for business services include the ability to stream from multiple cameras, stream in HD, generate revenue, and embed live streams on your website or social media platforms.

Here at Dacast, we offer the following functionality to our users:

• White-label video streaming solutions (custom branding) across the platform
• Video monetization
• Video Analytics
• Video security and privacy settings
• Video API access for customization and development
• Player API and SDKs for mobile app creation

Hosting your videos on free platforms like YouTube is an option, but they come with heavy restrictions and limitations. 

If you have greater streaming needs, professional video hosting platforms for business will be your answer. They provide speed, consistency, and security for every video uploaded to the platform. Not all of these features are available on free and public platforms like YouTube.

Professional video hosting platforms offer a range of different services at various price points; there is a professional vidoe hosting platform out there that fits your needs and your budget.

Here are a few other things that you should consider as you choose a live streaming solution.

Low Latency Streaming

Latency refers to the time between when a stream is captured and it reaches the viewers.

Low latency streaming is a very critical piece to streaming video to a wide range of broadcasters, and it is important for the overall user experience. If your content lags and doesn’t or has a latency of over 30 seconds, the viewers will most likely exit out of your stream and search for a better one.

The best way to live stream is with as little lag as possible; look for a professional video hosting service that provides you with as little lag as possible. 

HLS Streaming

HLS Streaming stands for HTTP live streaming. It’s a streaming protocol that is designed for delivering visual and audio media to viewers over the internet. The optimal HLS streaming setup uses RTMP ingest. This provides a high-quality stream for viewers with a video latency of 30 seconds or more. It is one of the standards to look for when looking for a professional video hosting solution. 

All-Device HTML5 Video Player

HTML5 video streaming enables the streaming of multimedia content using <audio> and <video> HTML tags. When you use the video tag, you’re able to create a native HTML5 video player, which allows additional options for customizing and displaying video content. 

HTML tags have various attributes, or parameters, which provide further detail on how to present the content. For example, with the <img> tag, you can specify the size of the image.

Before HTML5, websites relied on embedded Flash players to display video to users. Now, HTML5 allows videos to be streamed on all types of devices.

This is the technology that Dacast uses. It utilizes low latency as well as HLS delivery. Our HTML5 video player is based on THEOplayer’s technology for maximum compatibility and flexibility for businesses.

The best way to stream video content is with HTML 5 video streaming. 

Reliable Content Delivery

It is important to choose a live video streaming solution that partners with a reliable content delivery network (CDN). A video streaming CDN can deliver the fastest possible speeds and the best quality content to viewers around the world.

At Dacast, we partner with a few top-tier CDNs, including Akamai and Limelight. These partnerships allow our broadcasters to reach audiences around the world with high-quality content.

3. Invest in the Necessary Streaming Equipment

Online live video requires just a few pieces of live streaming equipment. You’ll need a live streaming camera, a microphone, an internet connection, and an encoder. This is the basic equipment you need to learn how to stream video online. 

You don’t need to spend thousands of dollars on this equipment if your business is just starting out with streaming video online. At the most basic level, a smartphone or tablet can fulfill these requirements in one device. But please note, the quality of this sort of live stream can suffer. For that reason, higher-quality live streams often are set up using higher-quality gear:

• A computer 
• Multiple stand-alone cameras (Two cameras provide for different angles)
• Multiple microphones (lav, shotgun, and other professional mics will provide better audio quality)
• High-speed internet connection (a wired connection will provide higher speeds)

4. Configure Your Encoder Settings

An encoder is a software or hardware device that converts videos into a format suitable for live streaming. Properly configuring your encoder settings will help you produce the best stream possible. Here are a couple of settings to familiarize yourself with:

• Frame rate – How many rates per second are installed. 30-60 fps is ideal.
• Output resolution – Size of the video frame. Width x Height in pixels. 1080p or 1920 x 1080 is Full HD.
• Video Bitrate – How much video data you’re uploading per second. The general range is 1000-8000 kbps.

Please check out our Encoder Configuration Guide for additional information on the best encoder settings for live streaming with Dacast.

5.  Setup Your Workflow

Setting up an optimal live streaming workflow will help you better prepare for your live stream. This is something that should be set up and tested well before your event so that there isn’t any last-minute scrambling to get things together.

Here is an example of a live streaming workflow that other broadcasters have had success with.

1. On location, set up your cameras and microphones. We recommend using tripods for stability.
2. Choose a central location for your encoding/mixing to take place. Set up your computer at this location. Your engineer should reside here to control the broadcast, as well as switch between different camera angles, initiating graphics and animations, etc.
3. Run cables to connect all your equipment. Now, turn everything on and make sure it is functioning properly.
4. Choose the correct encoder settings for your broadcast.
5. Connect your encoder to your online video platform via the settings menu. Here are instructions for the Dacast platform.
6. Finally, set up a test live stream, and broadcast it (privately). Ensure that video, audio, and streaming settings are all correct.
7. Embed your live stream video player on your website, and anywhere else you want to broadcast.

Now, you’re all set up. Launch your live stream whenever you’re ready. Those are the five most important steps you need to know in order to learn how to broadcast on the internet.

Best Practices and Tips for Live Broadcasts in 2022

Here are seven major tips to follow when figuring out how to stream video online.

1. HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) is currently the dominant streaming video format. That’s partly because HLS is a mobile-friendly format. Real-time Messaging Protocol (RTMP) ingestion to the streaming host is still common and the most compatible method.
2. Building mobile apps has the potential to grow your subscriber base hugely. In fact, you can use Dacast APIs and SDKs to build mobile apps easily.
3. For now, the H.264 codec is the standard for online video. With that in mind, we recommend streaming using H.264. Successors—HEVC/H.265, AV1, and VVC—are either not commercially viable or not yet ready for use.
4. Test, test, test. Don’t wait until your live video stream is about to take place to test your configuration. Schedule time for testing beforehand at a couple of different times.
5. Check your internet upload speed. As a broadcaster, it’s important to ensure you maintain a good network for your live stream. Whether you’re using wifi or a cabled connection, keep track of your upload speed. You can read more about minimum upload speed requirements on our dedicated Knowledgebase article.
6. Allot resources towards promotion. If no one knows about your live stream, you won’t have an audience. It’s critical to promote your live stream before it happens. Create social posts around it, send out a newsletter, write a blog post on it, create a Google ad campaign. Do whatever you have to do to reach your audience.
7. Create an engagement plan. A live video is a great way to create interaction between the business streaming the video and the audience. If you’re adding a comment section or forum, create an engagement plan to prepare for audience questions. Nothing looks worse than no engagement from the video streamer to their audience.

Following these seven best practices will ensure that not only do you know how to broadcast live video, but you know how to do it successfully. 

Success Stories From Businesses Streaming Video

At Dacast, we help thousands of people and organizations learn how to stream live video over the internet. Our users range from individuals to major global brands. 

Here are a few case studies of how businesses are using Dacast for professional video hosting and to deliver their video content:

• 1545 Media provides live streaming services and video production to major clients including Kaiser-Permanente, Unilever, and LA Fitness—all via Dacast.
• Striv provides live streaming services to a network of schools across the US Midwest region, powered by the Dacast network.
• MorningCME is an educational business that provides video training to doctors, EMTs, and other medical professionals.
• SMSA Church live streams liturgies, weddings, and other important services to their congregation.

We hope this information provides useful examples of how businesses use live video today. You can access many more Dacast customer success stories on our site. We’re here to get you and your business into the streaming market today.

We have a plethora of resources to help you easily learn how to stream live video and host on-demand content on your website. Plus, we offer 24/7 customer support if you have any questions!

Final Thoughts

Live streaming videos online is an excellent tool for businesses that are trying to reach their audiences in an engaging way. With the tutorial we’ve provided, should now have a good idea of how to live stream video online.

If you’re ready to start streaming video, ensure that you’re fully prepared. That you’ve tested your stream countless times and that everything is in check before hitting the record button.

Dacast provides a fast, secure live streaming service to a wide range of businesses. Are you ready to try out our live streaming platform? Click below to begin the sign-up process for our 14-day free trial. No credit card is required. If you’re not interested after the trial, let the 14 days run its’ course and we’ll handle the rest as you haven’t inputted any financial information.

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