Today, everybody has become familiar with live streaming. It has especially become more and more popular due to the various content creators, social media influencers, and vloggers who regularly use live streaming to connect with their audiences in real time.
Even the common people are using various platforms to connect online post the pandemic. This is one of the reasons why getting high-quality audio and video outputs in your meetings and videos has become essential and is preferred by most.
With a lot of people having smartphones and access to the internet, there is a constant evolution in mobile usage, and the technologies are ever-evolving. Hence, our mobile phones are aptly called smartphones.
One of the most important prerequisites to maintaining this higher level of quality is a good camera that can be used to capture your content. Most of the built-in webcams do not provide high-resolution images and video outputs. This is when connecting your camera to your phone for live streaming comes into the picture.
Why Should You Connect Your Camera to Your Phone?
Connecting your streaming camera to your phone has numerous advantages. With technological advancements, most smartphones today come with good-quality video cameras. However, they may not provide the same level of quality and specifications that a dedicated camera has to offer.
A professional camera will always offer you more advanced features like better image quality, light settings, and superior audio output, leveling up your live streams. These features not only make your stream have a better production value, but they also make it look professional.
Checking the Compatibility of the Phone and Camera
First things first. You need to check whether your camera is compatible with your phone and the connectivity options that you have. Cameras are commonly connected to phones using USB cables.
To be specific, USB Video Class (UVC) standards are used. This one is specifically used for connecting various cameras, webcams, camcorders, and DSLR cameras as well.
To check whether your camera is compatible with the connecting cable, you need to see if it supports USB HDMI or UVC output. You will need an OTG cable to connect your camera to your smartphone if the camera supports USB UVC.
For devices that have HDMI output, like the DSLR camera, you will require an HDMI-UVC capture card. This card converts the HDMI signals, which can be recognized by your smartphone.
Required Equipments
You will need the following equipment to connect your camera to your phone for live streaming:
Camera with HDMI Output
Make sure that your streaming camera has a clean HDMI output. This means that the data indicators, including the recording settings, battery percentage, exposure settings, etc., are not displayed online.
Moreover, you should also make sure that your camera can output both audio and video. This is necessary as many of the DSLR cameras only provide video outputs through HDMI.
HDMI-UVC Capture Card
You need to use an HDMI-UVC Capture card that suits your needs and is the best fit for your phone and camera. You should look out for cards that are specifically designed for mobile use and consume minimal power.
OTG Cable
You need to check the USB port of your smartphone and get a suitable OTG cable that helps connect your phone to your USB camera directly.
Steps to Connect Your Camera to Your Phone
Now that you have all the necessary equipment, you are all set to connect your camera to your phone for live streaming by following the below steps:
- Use your HDMI cable to connect the HDMI input of the HDMI-UVC capture card to the HDMI output of your camera.
- Use an appropriate OTG cable to plug in the USB end of the HDMI-UVC capture card to the phone’s USB port.
- Open your preferred live-streaming app on your phone. The most commonly used streaming platforms include YouTube, Facebook Live, Instagram Live, etc. You need to download and set up these apps before you start your live stream.
- Select the camera source as the external camera connected through the HDMI-UVC capture card after opening your live streaming app. This option can be found either in the settings or in the preferences menu, depending on which live-streaming app you use.
- Once you select your camera source, you will be able to see the live stream from your camera to your phone. Now, all you need to do is start streaming and reach out to your audience in real time.
Tip: Make sure you take out sometime before your live stream to do a trial run and ensure that your streaming setup is running smoothly.
You need to watch out for your lighting setup, quality of audio, and network connection. You also need to check that your devices have optimum battery levels so that you do not run out of charging while you are doing a live stream.
You can also use an external microphone to get better-quality audio in your stream. You also need to check the angles that best suit your stream and are best captured by your camera.
If your camera has Wi-Fi capability, enable it and follow the instructions provided in the manual of the camera or app to connect it to your phone. Typically, this involves scanning a QR code or searching for your camera’s Wi-Fi network in your phone’s Wi-Fi settings.
Once it gets connected, your phone will have control over the camera, and you can view the live stream on your phone’s screen.
If you want to learn more about live streaming or video editing, you can visit Techverbs.
Conclusion
Connecting your camera to your phone for live streaming opens up many doors in the world of content creation and helps you engage more effectively with your audience. You can produce versatile streams that have high-quality content just by following the above-mentioned steps.
Once you have all the right equipment in place and the connection is done in the right way, you are all set to create memorable live streams that will captivate your viewers.
