So you’ve been tasked with figuring out how to live stream a church service, and now must put something together that (fingers crossed) works like a dream.
Don’t worry, everything will go just fine if you follow these 5 simple steps.
Overview
- Get a Camera that Outputs Live 1080p.
- Use an adapter and a long HDMI cord to connect your camera to the computer.
- Get a Capture Card so Your Computer can Bring in the Footage.
- Download OBS to get your video to the world.
- Load your “Stream Key” from youtube or facebook into OBS and see your video go Viral!
1. Get a Camera that Outputs Live 1080p for your church live stream
Wait, what? Outputs live 1080p?
If you want to live stream a church service, you must make sure your camera outputs video.
Most cameras today come with an HDMI cord that you can plug directly into your tv. If your camera displays a video when hooked up to the tv, odds are, you’ve got a winner on your hands.
Considering you haven’t bought the camera yet, look for a camera with an HDMI Terminal or Mini connector. If they do, feel free to send the manufacturer an email confirming its output.
For example, your email could say: “Can this camera output video to my tv if I hook it up via HDMI?”
TIP: Don’t mention that you want to use it for live stream… Why? The companies don’t design their cameras with
2. Use an adapter and a long HDMI cord to connect your camera to the computer.
Most newer cameras come with a small HDMI for you to connect your camera to the TV for family to enjoy your work.
The problem is, that tiny cord can’t quite stretch far enough to make it to your livestream computer.
A nice adapter or extender would solve this issue by allowing you to connect to a much larger HDMI cord (not longer than 100ft.)
I personally am using black magics HDMI to SDI converter and using SDI instead of HDMI, but HDMI can easily make 100ft runs. We are using a 100ft HDMI run to our projectors!
3. Get a Capture Card so Your Computer can Bring in the Church Service Footage.
If you are like me, you saw a HDMI on your computer and thought you could plug your camera directly in… but if you are like me, you were soon frustrated that no video popped up on your screen.
The reason for this is simple. The HDMI port on your computer sends out video – it doesn’t take in video.
To bypass this problem, you will need a capture card. Blackmagic provides many fantastic options. I personally use their Deckling SDI 4k.
4. Download OBS to get your video to the world.
OBS is a free software that you can download here. https://obsproject.com
OBS will allow you to bring in your newly set up video and then stream it to the service of your choice. I love Youtube’s free streaming service, but you can use facebook or any other streaming service that best fits your church.
5. Load your “Stream Key” from youtube or facebook into OBS and see your live stream go Viral!
Your stream key can be found on your personal streaming platform (e.g. youtube, facebook).
IMPORTANT: Don’t let anyone see your stream key as they would be able to stream to your page (and who knows what dastardly deeds they may think up).
Once your stream key is plugged in, you are ready to stream! Well, almost. All you need to do know is figure out the best settings for OBS which we will cover in the next post.
Love to hear your thoughts in the comments!
Addison Smith IV
About the Author
Addison Smith is a church media leader and youth pastor who has been sought after both to teach and to create video content around the world. Read his story from agnostic to pastor here.