Description

Want to stream from your hotel room or a conference? Here's all the gear I use, organised by type, and a guide to packing it and getting it through the airport!

Rough Draft of Content

Video

The first rule of cameras is that your lighting is significantly more important than the quality of your camera. A macbook webcam with a ring light beats a DSLR or mirrorless camera with a backlit subject every day. Your face should be well-lit with few shadows, and in hotel rooms or at booths, the lighting is very variable, so bring your own!

Camera

I could use a webcam, but a mirrorless with great lighting beats a webcam with great lighting.

Phantom power

You can run your camera off its battery, but if you're planning a marathon stream, being able to plug your camera in adds a layer of confidence. This is a fake battery that will power your camera.

Camlink

This is a way to get your camera feed into the computer as USB. Canon cameras support an EOS webcam utility that allows you to replace this with software.

Tripod

What, you're going to put your camera on a stack of books? I like ones with arms to hold lights and mics. Also, selfies look better from above, so does video.

Lights

A ring light has to be larger than your head to be effective. That's hard to pack, so instead I use these panel lights.

Audio

USB Condenser

Great for podcasts. Keep it 6-12 inches from your mouth, and point it at your mouth/source of the sound. It'll filter out some noise behind it, so if your laptop in noisy, put it in front of the laptop.

Shotgun mic

This can be run through the camlink which reduces the number of wires you're dealing with, but I've had audio skipping issues, so I keep a USB mic on hand. It's designed to be used at a range of 5-15ft, so it's good for streaming/recording in conference spaces.

Streaming

Laptop

OBS can utilise a NVidia graphics card to parallelise your video processing. Mac does not support NVidia graphics cards. Pick a laptop with this graphics card, and make sure it can support whatever game/application you're streaming and OBS. If you have opinions about streaming laptop requirements, share them with me!

Portable screen

I need a second screen for chat and OBS. A portable screen lets me pack a second screen in my backpack. check that your laptop supports the screen.

OBS settings

An RNN noise filter on your mic can cut out A/C, or room noise, but could cause your audio to sound fuzzy if the background noise is loud enough to be audible in the lowest parts of your voice.
MP4 loses the file if there are any interruptions in the recording which is more common when you're not at home. Record in mov, and then convert it to MP4 using handbrake. This can deal with dropped frame issues too.
Set a variable bitrate to help manage unstable internet connections.

Utility

USB hubs
Surge protector/Power strip

I have one outlet next to my desk, but I have to plug in camera, laptop, and lights. If you only have a lamp plug, I'm feeling for you.

Twist ties

Twist ties are your friend. Zip ties are permanent. Cable tangle is annoying.

power bank

Travelling

STORE IT IN A PERSONAL ITEM DO NOT CHECK YOUR ELECTRONICS

ChaelCodes / chaelcodes.github.io

What's in my Mobile Streaming bag? #44