Which Live Streaming App Should You Use? Inwards the Best Features of Periscope, Meerkat & More
Live streaming has come a long way in the last decade. Back in 2008, I covered the U.S. Presidential Primary in Fresh Hampshire with a Nokia N95, and streamed in 3G, using Qik. Other options at the time were Flixwagon and Kyte . ever use one of those?
Fortunately, today, we have mobile devices that can record in HD and stream over 4G and/or wifi. The user practice is a lot better for both live streamers and viewers — which is why live streaming on mobile apps is becoming more and more popular.
Want to live stream movies from your smartphone or tablet? You’ll find there are a duo apps to choose from that’ll let you share live movie lightly with your network. The trick is knowing which one best fits your needs.
To help you choose, let’s take a look at the best features of four of the most popular fresh live streaming apps available today.
The Best Features of four Live Streaming Apps
1) Periscope (for iOS and Android)
Best feature: The movie from your broadcast is available to viewers for twenty four hours after it finishes.
Ever seen someone tweet a link to their live broadcast, only to click it and find out the broadcast is over and there’s nothing there to witness? While that can happen on Meerkat, it won’t on Periscope. Why? Because Periscope will save your movies to the app if you choose, and they’ll be available for viewing by your followers for twenty four hours. You also have the option of saving your movies to your phone’s camera roll.
There’s also a list on the Periscope app of the most latest fifteen flows. From that list, you can click on the ones that are archived, witness the movie, and see all the talk messages emerge as they were made in real time. It’s almost like you’re watching it live.
Here’s a screenshot of The Tonight Demonstrate’s Jimmy Fallon using Periscope to live stream his monologue rehearsal:
Want to learn more about using Periscope? Read this blog post for more tips and tricks.
Two) Meerkat (for iOS)
Best feature: Your viewers can text talk with you during your live broadcast.
Talk is a joy way to connect with your followers, and Meerkat takes total advantage. When you live stream on Meerkat, a talk stream shows up and scrolls upward from the bottom of your mobile device. This is joy for viewers to interact with one another and with the broadcaster, if he or she is watching the talk. The movie practice is powerful already, but the added talk feature can lead to developing stronger relationships with your followers.
Want to see what it looks like? Check out the screenshot below, and find my talk message to Brian Stelter of CNN near the bottom:
The user interface is truly nice: Fresh messages coming in stay at the bottom of the screen so they don’t cover too much of the movie. You can also scroll backward to read any messages you missed. Ultimately, if the viewer chooses, then his or her talk messages are posted to Twitter as @reply messages Very powerful connecting stuff here!
Another superb feature: Katch Kats for Meerkat lets broadcasters record and post their live flows to YouTube.
Whereas Periscope automatically records your live stream and gives broadcasters the option of saving it to their camera rolls, Meerkat doesn’t automatically record it. However, if you use the #katch hashtag in your broadcast title or comment with #katch during your stream, then your movie will automatically save to YouTube.
Viewers might request you to do this by using #katch in the comments, but the broadcaster him or herself must approve with #katch in order for the movie to be saved. When the broadcaster uses the hashtag, Katch Kats automatically creates a YouTube movie and notifies followers by posting a link in the comments.
Three) String up w/ (for iOS and Android)
Best feature: You can host your live stream on a web page and send followers there.
Using Suspend w/’s ordinary web widget, you can point people to your own web page to drive traffic to your website. In addition, String up w/ lets you own your own user page where followers can witness your live flows. The app will point viewers to this page and they can observe it there. This makes it effortless to promote a live stream ahead of time.
Check out the example below of Jared Leto’s page:
Four) Stringwire (for iOS and Android)
Best feature: You can set up your own channel, invite others to stream live to it, and manage which live stream is broadcast.
You can also meet up your Stringwire account to YouTube and live stream there. These are pretty advanced features that’ll be joy to experiment with.
What’s a excellent use case here? Stringwire is a good platform to use if you want to get your movie seen on broadcast or cable news, as it permits you to direct a multiple-camera broadcast and stream live to your Stringwire account or to YouTube. As a long time movie producer, I felt convenient shooting in landscape mode with Stringwire.
Just look at the types of movies Stringwire features:
NBC and other news outlets will be looking at Stringwire for movies to share on air, so in this case, shooting movies in the landscape orientation is the best choice. And k eep in mind that when you share on Stringwire, other people could potentially make money off your movies. Click here to see a brief discussion about this on Facebook.
Which One is Best?
All of these apps are viable options depending on your needs. The best way to figure out which of these apps is right for you is by figuring out where your audience is by attempting them yourself and gauging their spectacle. Presently, I’ve got them all. They’re being updated regularly, so you’ll see bug fixes and fresh features added. Sometimes an app might have trouble connecting, so you can stir on to the next one.
The capability to stream movie and talk with viewers in real time is powerful. Go out there, attempt it, and have some joy. (Then, share your practices with us in the comments!)
Originally published April twenty nine 2015, updated September five 2017
Which Live Streaming App Should You Use? Inwards the Best Features of Periscope, Meerkat – More
Which Live Streaming App Should You Use? Inwards the Best Features of Periscope, Meerkat & More
Live streaming has come a long way in the last decade. Back in 2008, I covered the U.S. Presidential Primary in Fresh Hampshire with a Nokia N95, and streamed in 3G, using Qik. Other options at the time were Flixwagon and Kyte . ever use one of those?
Fortunately, today, we have mobile devices that can record in HD and stream over 4G and/or wifi. The user practice is a lot better for both live streamers and viewers — which is why live streaming on mobile apps is becoming more and more popular.
Want to live stream movies from your smartphone or tablet? You’ll find there are a duo apps to choose from that’ll let you share live movie lightly with your network. The trick is knowing which one best fits your needs.
To help you choose, let’s take a look at the best features of four of the most popular fresh live streaming apps available today.
The Best Features of four Live Streaming Apps
1) Periscope (for iOS and Android)
Best feature: The movie from your broadcast is available to viewers for twenty four hours after it completes.
Ever seen someone tweet a link to their live broadcast, only to click it and find out the broadcast is over and there’s nothing there to witness? While that can happen on Meerkat, it won’t on Periscope. Why? Because Periscope will save your movies to the app if you choose, and they’ll be available for viewing by your followers for twenty four hours. You also have the option of saving your movies to your phone’s camera roll.
There’s also a list on the Periscope app of the most latest fifteen flows. From that list, you can click on the ones that are archived, observe the movie, and see all the talk messages show up as they were made in real time. It’s almost like you’re watching it live.
Here’s a screenshot of The Tonight Showcase’s Jimmy Fallon using Periscope to live stream his monologue rehearsal:
Want to learn more about using Periscope? Read this blog post for more tips and tricks.
Two) Meerkat (for iOS)
Best feature: Your viewers can text talk with you during your live broadcast.
Talk is a joy way to connect with your followers, and Meerkat takes total advantage. When you live stream on Meerkat, a talk stream emerges and scrolls upward from the bottom of your mobile device. This is joy for viewers to interact with one another and with the broadcaster, if he or she is watching the talk. The movie practice is powerful already, but the added talk feature can lead to developing stronger relationships with your followers.
Want to see what it looks like? Check out the screenshot below, and find my talk message to Brian Stelter of CNN near the bottom:
The user interface is truly nice: Fresh messages coming in stay at the bottom of the screen so they don’t cover too much of the movie. You can also scroll backward to read any messages you missed. Eventually, if the viewer chooses, then his or her talk messages are posted to Twitter as @reply messages Very powerful connecting stuff here!
Another good feature: Katch Kats for Meerkat lets broadcasters record and post their live rivulets to YouTube.
Whereas Periscope automatically records your live stream and gives broadcasters the option of saving it to their camera rolls, Meerkat doesn’t automatically record it. However, if you use the #katch hashtag in your broadcast title or comment with #katch during your stream, then your movie will automatically save to YouTube.
Viewers might request you to do this by using #katch in the comments, but the broadcaster him or herself must approve with #katch in order for the movie to be saved. When the broadcaster uses the hashtag, Katch Kats automatically creates a YouTube movie and notifies followers by posting a link in the comments.
Three) Drape w/ (for iOS and Android)
Best feature: You can host your live stream on a web page and send followers there.
Using Suspend w/’s plain web widget, you can point people to your own web page to drive traffic to your website. In addition, Dangle w/ lets you own your own user page where followers can see your live flows. The app will point viewers to this page and they can see it there. This makes it effortless to promote a live stream ahead of time.
Check out the example below of Jared Leto’s page:
Four) Stringwire (for iOS and Android)
Best feature: You can set up your own channel, invite others to stream live to it, and manage which live stream is broadcast.
You can also meet up your Stringwire account to YouTube and live stream there. These are pretty advanced features that’ll be joy to experiment with.
What’s a fine use case here? Stringwire is a good platform to use if you want to get your movie seen on broadcast or cable news, as it permits you to direct a multiple-camera broadcast and stream live to your Stringwire account or to YouTube. As a long time movie producer, I felt comfy shooting in landscape mode with Stringwire.
Just look at the types of movies Stringwire features:
NBC and other news outlets will be looking at Stringwire for movies to share on air, so in this case, shooting movies in the landscape orientation is the best choice. And k eep in mind that when you share on Stringwire, other people could potentially make money off your movies. Click here to see a brief discussion about this on Facebook.
Which One is Best?
All of these apps are viable options depending on your needs. The best way to figure out which of these apps is right for you is by figuring out where your audience is by attempting them yourself and gauging their spectacle. Presently, I’ve got them all. They’re being updated regularly, so you’ll see bug fixes and fresh features added. Sometimes an app might have trouble connecting, so you can budge on to the next one.
The capability to stream movie and talk with viewers in real time is powerful. Go out there, attempt it, and have some joy. (Then, share your practices with us in the comments!)
Originally published April twenty nine 2015, updated September five 2017