How to Stream Video Online: Live Streaming Best Practices for 2024

Video streaming is huge today. Online videos massively increase audience engagement with a reach of 92% worldwide. More broadly, the video streaming market is forecast to be worth $247 billion by 2027.

Live streaming in particular makes up much of this increase in online video streaming. Consequently, streaming platforms that provide live streams and live videos are increasingly popular. There’s never been a better time for broadcasters to use a live streaming platform to stream live events. But with increased popularity comes increased competition — you must know how to livestream successfully.

Fortunately, using the right streaming solutions, your streaming channels can reach your target audience. In this article, we cover successful livestreaming for your business. We cover why you should set up a live stream and stream live videos. We also detail many of the benefits. Furthermore, we provide you with live streaming tips and a step-by-step guide to how to stream online videos in 2024.

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
• Who Uses Online Streaming?
• How to Stream Video Online in 2024
• Best Practices and Tips for Live Broadcasts in 2024
• Success Stories From Businesses Streaming Video
• Conclusion

What is Video Streaming?

Video streaming is watching a video online, allowing for a video file to be viewed without being downloaded.

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. Unlike broadcasts radio broadcasts or television stations, video streaming is typically broadcast over the internet.

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 radio or television video streaming.

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 pays off in more ways than one for your business. That is why it is important to 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 said 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 $210 billion.

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 extreme financial value 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-long 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

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

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 television broadcasts 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 2024

Live broadcasting allows for video content to air, be recorded and streamed simultaneously online in real-time.

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 video 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 livestream 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 . 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

Any online video strategy should include video hosting and live streaming through a robust 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, 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

Streaming video is possible with only a few key pieces of equipment. The higher the quality of the equipment, the higher the quality of the video.

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 with streaming video online. At the most basic level, a smartphone or tablet can fulfil 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

You can stream live videos with the use of a phone or tablet. But, if you’re serious, look into professional streaming equipment to stand out.

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, initiate 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 2024

While live broadcasting on the internet is relatively easy, there are best practices to follow in 2024.

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. 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 cable 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 livestream, 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, and 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!

Conclusion

Getting viewers’ eyes onto your live feed is a powerful tool for any business today. Broadcasting online can benefit your business by expanding your reach and influence. And using professional streaming software can enhance your brand’s image.

Applying the live streaming best practices we’ve outlined, you can elevate your business and improve your bottom line. However, to truly make an impact, you must have a professional-grade live-streaming platform.

That’s where Dacast comes in. Dacast is a professional-grade, secure and modern video streaming solution. With Dacast’s secure live streaming service, you can join the other businesses that benefit from broadcasting live video content. Getting up and running and broadcasting live videos has never been quicker or easier.

You can try Dacast for free today by signing up for our 14-day free trial.

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