Mobile live streaming is generally one of the more tricky aspects for streamers, so let’s talk in depth about going live from remote locations. Specifically, let’s consider cellular Internet. In places where Wi-Fi or Ethernet is not available (or just too expensive), cellular Internet may be the only way to go. Whether you’re planning to stream a concert, a sporting event, or a wedding, using a cellular network connection can be a smart and cost-effective solution. However, live streaming over cellular signal isn’t always reliable: signal strength can fluctuate, causing dropped frames or even a failed live stream.To get more news about 39bet- cờ bạc onl- dự đoán miền nam- dự đoán đá gà- dự đoán xổ số- dự đoán miền bắc, you can visit official website.
Is it possible to achieve a more stable live streaming experience using cellular Internet? Here are the facts (and some general advice) on mobile live streaming using a cellular signal.
Phone tethering
The simplest way to start streaming using cellular Internet is to tether your phone by setting it to mobile hotspot mode. In this most basic setup, your phone will become the Wi-Fi source for an encoder device (such as the Webcaster X2), which in turn will push the stream to YouTube, Facebook Live, or other CDN. We describe this setup in more detail in our 6 ways to supercharge your Webcaster X2 article. This method is always readily available and inexpensive (especially if you have an unlimited data plan on your phone).
There are a number of issues that may arise when using your phone as a Wi-Fi hotspot. First of all, your phone is now less available for other operations. Second, tethering tends to drain the phone battery quite quickly (which can be countered by connecting an external battery). But most importantly, this method can fail when streaming from within a large crowd of people. The cellular signal tend to degrade when lots of people are accessing the same network at the same time. This means that even if you appear to have 5 connection bars, the actual signal to your phone may be a fraction of what you need to sustain live streaming bandwidth.
Dedicated 3G/4G LTE hotspot
A dedicated mobile hotspot device (a.k.a. pocket router) accesses cellular signals and converts 3G and 4G signals to Wi-Fi and vice versa, creating a wireless network for devices within radius. Dedicated mobile hotspot devices can be purchased from carriers with prepaid data plans (true for North America) or as standalone devices with a SIM card purchased separately (more popular in Europe and Asia).
Here in the US, cellular carriers prefer if you purchase a prepaid hotspot from them. The most popular hotspots include Verizon Jetpack MiFi 7730L and AT&T Nighthawk LTE Mobile Hotspot Router. They feature respective 15- and 20-hour battery life, maximum available bandwidth, and small displays that let you know the signal strength, data allowance, and other useful information. These particular models can also act as backup external batteries to charge your phone or other devices. The Nighthawk even features an Ethernet port, so you can create a more reliable hardwired connection straight to your encoder.
How much
AT&T’s Nighthawk goes for around $200 plus $50/mo for 10GB data plan. They also have an extensive nationwide Wi-Fi network that you can use free of charge, provided you are within range. Verizon’s Jetpack goes for about $200 plus data ranging from $4 to $6 per GB per month. As usual, carriers have all sorts of incentives for you to commit to a long-term contract, as well as hidden activation fees, etc. Going in, you should have a pretty good idea of how much data you will need for your stream (here is our article on how to calculate bandwidth). Be careful to read the fine print, no matter which plan you pick. Sometimes it may make more financial sense to tether your phone.
If you are planning to stream when in roaming, be sure to check with your carrier about costs. The situation seems to be a bit more relaxed in Europe, where data plans are cheaper, and there is the option of purchasing an “unlocked” universal (carrier-agnostic) hotspot and a local data SIM separately.
We’ve used a Sprint mobile hotspot to go live during one of our Live Epiphan episodes. We found that creating a hard-wired Ethernet connection from the hotspot to your encoder is more reliable than using wireless Internet.