Streaming in video conferences can be improved not only through suitable hardware. The use of special software also provides entirely new possibilities.
I Already Have Zoom…
… where I can adjust so many things. Why should I make the setup even more complicated?
A valid question.
The joke is: with dedicated software, streaming in Zoom, Teams, and others actually becomes easier. Simply because I can set everything up once in ONE place and then don’t have to fiddle around in the individual settings of each software anymore.
OBS
The classic for better video streaming is called OBS, which stands for Open Broadcast Software.
In OBS, you can combine different video and audio sources in one place. With so-called scenes, I can prepare and save various settings and combinations. Additionally, I can enrich the scenes with overlays, display dynamic objects and information, and switch between scenes with transitions.
You essentially have your own little control panel in front of you, which – once everything is set up – is very easy to operate (e.g., via a StreamDeck). The stream controlled in this way can then be integrated as a virtual camera in Zoom and others, or used to go live on various streaming platforms like YouTube, Facebook, or Twitch.
OBS is open source and therefore free. It can be downloaded for various platforms and is actively developed. Besides the core app, there are countless plugins to extend its functionality.
This openness is simultaneously the biggest disadvantage of OBS: you must want to tinker! Many things don’t work out of the box and are sometimes a bit buggy. Fortunately, OBS is so popular in the gaming scene that there are literally thousands of YouTube tutorials to learn how to use OBS.
StreamYard
If you want a solution that’s a bit easier to handle, StreamYard is a good option. StreamYard runs completely in the browser and is thus platform-independent. The software is ready to use immediately and requires no installation.
This convenience comes at a price, though. StreamYard can be used with a monthly or annual subscription. I can only say: the price is fair, and if you stream frequently, it quickly pays off. After all, the countless hours in OBS also cost something 😉
An outstanding feature in StreamYard, by the way, is the interview mode. I can gather multiple people with their video and audio at a virtual table, so to speak, and conduct a discussion or interview with them.
What’s a bit tricky in StreamYard: I can’t simply pass the stream to Zoom and others because it runs in a browser. StreamYard is thus less suitable for video calls and more for real streaming events on YouTube, Facebook, and others.
Ecamm Live
My favorite among the streaming apps is Ecamm Live. Unfortunately, this outstanding tool is only available for Mac. But there it works as you’d expect from a real Mac app: it just works, and all with a very clear and beautiful interface.
Ecamm Live can do everything that OBS can. But I don’t need to tinker or handle plugins. Ecamm can do it. Like StreamYard, Ecamm also has an interview mode, and because it’s a native Mac app, I can use the stream directly in Zoom and others via a virtual cam.
Ecamm is particularly cool if you set up a green screen behind you. Then you can insert yourself as a presenter into a stream in various ways. I can place as many layers around me as I want: with information, slides, other videos, or overlays.
Ecamm Live just works. Install, get a Pro subscription, and start. Costs $384 per year. There are also cheaper options, but if you want to integrate yourself into Zoom and others via a virtual cam, you need the Pro subscription.
Insider Tip: Mmhmm
If OBS is too fiddly and Ecamm Live is too expensive, but you want to beam yourself into other programs via a virtual camera, then mmhmm is the insider tip.
After installation on a Mac or soon on Windows, you can easily get started. You can combine videos of the speaker and a separate presentation in front of an attractive background into one image and pass this composition on to other apps.
mmhmm offers many practical and funny setting options, e.g., the Big Hands. The software recognizes certain gestures like the thumbs up or the Instagram heart and (if desired) automatically overlays a graphic.
With the copilot mode, you can also gather different interview and presentation partners “at one table” in mmhmm.
mmhmm costs $99.99 per year in the Pro version. For the education sector, there is currently still the 1-year-free promotion.
