Live streaming is increasingly being used for corporate events. The reasons for wanting to share content live are many: from involving people who couldn’t attend in person, to wanting to provide a different experience such as in virtual studios, to promoting the launch of a new product.
Finding all the necessary means for a live stream is not difficult; the most delicate aspect is choosing the internet connection. Indeed, we can choose the best equipment on the market, but if we do not choose the right connection, the quality of our transmission will not be guaranteed, or it will freeze altogether.
How to choose the best connection for streaming
First of all, if we already have a connection available, we can test it. It is enough to run a speed test to check the quality and stability of the bandwidth.
The results we are interested in are: ping, download, and upload.
The ping should have a low value: the lower the ping value, the greater the responsiveness of the connection. This means that there will be no delay between what is recorded and what is transmitted.
Download is the speed at which data is downloaded.
Upload is the speed at which data is uploaded, which is what interests us most.
The higher the value, the better the quality of the live stream.
A good connection for streaming has a high upload speed, and this is the most important factor.
We can say that the two elements we need to keep in mind in our choice are low ping and high upload.
Different types of connections and bandwidth
For good streaming, we need a stable connection and a broadband, so we can be sure that the image will be transmitted in high quality and without disturbances.
What is meant by broadband?
Broadband is an internet connection system that uses a wider bandwidth, or cable, to send and receive data.
There are various types of internet networks that may suit our needs.
ADSL is the most widespread, it works well for downloading, but it is not recommended for uploading. It is slow and unstable. Therefore, if you are organizing an event at your company’s headquarters, want to stream it, and have ADSL available, this may not be the best solution.
However, if the upload reaches 10 MB, the connection is good enough to transmit a video of good quality, but not in HD. You will need to make sure that the kbps sent are higher than half of the connection.
If you have an upload of 5 MB, the connection allows for a decent resolution, but you need to allocate the kbps properly: at least 160kbps for audio and above 500kdps for video. The live stream should remain stable, but the quality will not be the best.
Below 5MB, it is better to choose another type of service because the risk of poor transmission is high.
You can use this type of connection if what you are transmitting is an event without moments of spectacle or product promotion, where it is essential that the video is of excellent quality. In these cases, you can use fiber.
Fiber is currently the most reliable system. There are two options: normal fiber and 100 fiber. As for the first, if the upload speed reaches 10MB, you can be reasonably sure. The second, still not widely used, is the optimal solution because it easily reaches 20MB in upload. More than this is not possible.
What to do if you don’t have fiber for streaming
You’ve decided to live stream your event, but the connection bandwidth at your disposal is not suitable.
What can you do?
First of all, we want to reassure you: you do not need to change your internet service provider or contract if you are organizing the event at your location.
There are many providers specialized in providing internet connection for events. You can get a service with a satellite connection or rent the necessary fiber, even just for the day of the event. The range of options is wide and it greatly helps with streaming an event.
There are also solutions such as the multi-sim backpacks that can be used for streaming. It is a device that allows you to go live in any network condition and record a high-quality file. It is an intelligent backpack that is easy to use and has remote control functionality.
The display and controls are easy to access. They can work in “DataBridge” mode, offering high-speed broadband even on the move.
Organize your event with Staff Millennium, we are ready to support you!
