“What equipment and setup do you use for live streaming on Rumble?” That’s the question I was just asked in a phone call with one of my followers of my live “Discussing Spirituality Live Stream show“. It’s a question I’m asked on a regular basis, and so I thought I’d do a quick summary of my setup. This won’t be an in-depth tutorial or explanation, but rather a reference guide. I spent scores of hours trawling through reviews, tutorials, videos, eBooks and other resources to figure out what the best setup for me would be. I’m not saying it’s perfect but for me it works. Head’s up I’m primarily a Linux based user though I also use Mac. Nothing here has been tested on Windows so if that’s your bag, do your research, but I’m guessing most of it will work on any platform.
Computer & software for Live Streaming Studio on Linux:
Before I get into the physical equipment here’s some of the key soft components of the system:
- OS: Pop!_OS
- Streaming: OBS, OBS Blade App
- Audio Editing: Audacity, Waveform 12 (here’s a tutorial on how to convert a video into an audio podcast)
Live Streaming Studio Equipment
In the photo above you can see a whole load of equipment including keyboards, tablets, ring lights etc. With these things anything will do, make the most of what you’ve already got. For this list I want to focus on the key studio stuff for live streaming and for each item I provide a link and a brief review. Some of the items I’d recommend, some I’d look for alternatives, so next to each item I give a rating of 1 to 5 out of 5.
1A) Sony Alpha ZV-E10 APS-C Mirrorless Vlog Camera 4K (5/5)
Not cheap, but by standards is great value for money. There’s a reason this is still one of the favourites amongst vloggers and content creators. It allows you to put higher quality lenses on (see 2), but you can start with the basic lens too (see 1B). Setup: If you’re using via HDMI then make sure you change the settings so no screen overlays or meta data are streamed via HDMI. Other hint is to go into the settings and switch off the setting that turns the camera off if it gets hot. See item 16 for continuous power supply – essential!
1B) Sony Alpha ZV-E10 APS-C Mirrorless Vlog Camera 4K with 16-50mm Lens Kit (4/5)
This is a great starter kit, which is the camera with a lens included. The lens is wide-angle enough to be used for Vlogging. I give it 4/5 because the lens isn’t fantastic but for the price it is great. You may be interested that there is a Mark II version of the ZV-E10 now but it costs almost twice as much! Right now this kit is GBP599.00 for the Mark I which I use or GBP999.00 for the Mark II and seriously, I’m not sure it’s worth the extra.
2) Sigma 402965 16mm F1.4 DC DN Sony E Lens (5/5)
This is my main camera lens for live video streaming. At 16mm it’s wide enough to get head, shoulders and torso in from about 2.5 foot (75 cm) away. With the narrow depth of field that a F stop of 1/1.4 gives it creates amazing separation between you and the background, even in a small studio like mine.
3) Sontronics Podcast Professional Dynamic XLR Microphone (made in the UK!) (5/5)
I’d recommend this mic all day long. For the money, it’s insanely good quality. The audio is a little leaning to the bass side but that’s fine. Seriously great value for money and at the price, it performs like much more expensive equipment.
4) Focusrite Scarlett Solo 3rd Gen USB Interface (5/5)
A small and simple box which allows you to connect your XLR mic (see 3) to your computer, converting the audio into a digital signal and passing it over USB. This device is USB powered and the mic (see 3) doesn’t need phantom power, but if it did then this box provides phantom power too. Controls are simple and out the box it should work. But if you’re a Linux geek like me, you might want to plug it into a mac/windows box and use the Scarlett config software to set it up. It will keep the settings and you can then plug it into your Linux box.
5) Bayerdynamic DT 240 Pro Headphones (4/5)
The smaller and more portable brother of the legendary DT 770 Pro studio headphones. These are slightly smaller and lighter which is more comfortable. The cups also rotate 90 degrees making them flatter and thus more portable. I’ve given them 4/5 because having used the DT 770s if I was buying again I’d get the 770s, but these 240s are excellent and are more than you need for live streaming and podcast editing.
6) ARZOPA 15.6″ 1920×1080 FHD IPS Portable Monitor for Laptop with Kickstand (3/5)
I have a love/don’t love (hate is a strong word) relationship with this. When I got it, it was in the sales so for the price I paid (sub GBP100) it was worthwhile. But I wouldn’t pay more. Firstly it is really fussy about the connection. A lot of HDMI or USB C leads will not work with it. So I was forced to use the USB C lead supplied and it’s only just long enough. My second gripe is that it seems to periodically crash my machine. So why do I put up with it. Will it’s 1080p, it’s powered via USB C and it is minimalist. If you are planning on doing screen sharing (which I do a lot of in my live shows) then I’d say a second 1080p monitor is essential. It’s much easier to share a dedicated screen than to share an application window. That way you can drag things into the screen when you want to share them and your main monitor is kept for actually running and monitoring your live show and stuff you don’t want to share, like email etc.
7) Elgato Cam Link 4K, External Camera Capture Card for 1080p60, 4K30 for Video Conferencing (5/5)
Essential for capturing HDMI (1080 +) footage from your camera. But another advantage which is not often explained is that unlike USB streaming, you don’t need to go into the menu and tell your camera to stream. USB requires the cable to be unplugged, the USB streaming activated in the menu and then the USB cable plugged in, every single time you stream. The Elgato HDMI to USB dongle is plug in and forget technology.
8) Twozoh 4K Micro HDMI to HDMI Cable 3M, High Speed HDMI to Micro HDMI 2.0 (5/5)
All cables are not made equal. These work with the Elgato Cam Link and the Sony ZV-E10 camera. Whichever cables you go for, make sure they can cope with the data transmission. That’s why these are labelled “High Speed”.t
9) XLR Cable (5/5)
My advice, setup your desk so you know where your mic and other equipment are placed. Then buy a cable that is just long enough. As a bonus you can get one that matches your logo colours.
10) Pocket RGB Video Light with Built in Battery (5/5)
An awesome little light that comes in really handy for fill light. Small and self-powered.
11) Smallrig 11″ Magic Arm (5/5)
I use this to precisely position my camera. It’s robust and strong enough to support an SLR with a reasonable lens.
12) 2″ Thick Acoustic Panels 30x30cm (4/5)
As you’ll see in the picture at the top, I’ve placed these behind my monitor so they absorb my voice, before it bounces around the room. You’ll see in my show that there’s another section of them behind me.
13) Smallrig Camera Desk Mount with Arm (4/5)
I use this to mount the second camera and the ring light.
14) Microphone Boom Arm (3/5)
There’s a lot of microphone boom arms. For the price this is really good. But it’s not perfect. My main gripe is the mount for the mic itself unscrews easily. I had to get a pair of pipe grips to tighten it so that each time I moved the mic it didn’t become loose. Still for the money….
15) External Hard Drive (5/5)
When you’re doing a live show you’ll probably want to download the live-stream to archive it, use it for short form videos etc. I use a T7 hard drive and there’s a video explaining how you can encrypt it so it can be used on Linux, Mac and Windows even though it’s encrypted.
16) AC Power Supply Dummy Batteries for Sony Alpha Cameras (5/5)
These are essential as they provide continuous mains power to your cameras. Effectively they are dummy batteries which you put in your camera and forget about. Essential because you don’t want your live stream to stop because a camera battery has died. Nor do you want the added stress of having to recharge your camera before each streaming session.
17) Logitech G 502 Hero Wired Gaming Mouse (5/5)
Get yourself a proper mouse with a 3rd/middle wheel/button. You’ll thank me. I used this extensively when I was doing the 3D modelling work for the Stonehenge Documentary with Blender.
Please note the links above are Amazon affiliate links. This means that when you purchase an item then I’ll get a few pence of commission, however it doesn’t cost you anything, rather it comes out of Amazon’s margin. So it’s a win for you and a win for me and a loss for Amazon. I’m ok with that and it means you’re helping me out so I can focus more on the work I do for free to support the not-for-profit work of The Way Back.