Evolution of Live Streaming – Where are we going ?
Author: Don Baine, The Gadget Professor
December 1, 2020
The Gadget Professor
Streaming technology over the last 3 years has seen an explosion of sorts. It has evolved from being a technical nightmare to understand let alone hook up. The equipment was extremely expensive and very difficult to maneuver your way around.
Dealing with various bandwidth issues, HDMI, SDI…trying to figure out what RMPT is and how to locate the proper settings was indeed a huge technical nightmare and challenge typically ending up in total failure and a lot of unhappy people.
Today that is all changed. The technology is substantially easier to afford and very simple to hook up. Systems that typically had an entry fee of 20 -35k are now under $2,000 and will yield significantly more features and technical power. Setup is remarkably simple and can be achieved in minutes instead of days.
Streaming live is definitely mainstream today. Devices as simple as a GoPro camera or Mevo can have you Live streaming in seconds. Smartphones as the Iphone 12 allow you to stream in 1080P with the simple click of a button. Facetimes now provides for pretty much instant streaming an interface built already built in to hundreds of devices. Twitter, YouTube, and many other social media platforms all employ simple tie in procedures to allow the user instant Live Streaming.
The issue now becomes quality content. This is where the pedal hits the metal. Content via streaming in my opinion has been way dumbed down. Yes there is a ton of streaming that is just plain old fun. It is so simple today to become a podcast of vlogger – anyone can do it.The issue is that everyone today has equal access to stream whatever they want and that is wonderful. You need to be cautious today in selecting what it is that you are watching….everyone is now an expert – not necessarily true.
Podcasting is one of the fastest growing entities out there in the streaming world today. COVID-19 has made streaming a necessity. Churches, houses of worship, HOAs, business all must use streaming services to communicate to their audiences.
Zoom has become mainstream – everyone is using it. School systems, colleges, and pretty much every educational institution must use streaming to communicate with their students.
A Zoom call is used today to meet with friends and family.
It will be interesting to watch how this technology will further develop. I suspect that streaming is still in its infancy. I look forward to tremendous changes in both the technology as well as the variety of streaming venues that will evolve in today’s new environment.
This is the first article in a series about the future of Live streaming.
Author: Don Baine, The Gadget Professor
www.thegadgetprofessor.com