How to make group video calls and live streaming

The contents of the article

  • Video calling or Live streaming?
  • Live streaming app
  • StreamYard
  • OBS Project
  • Native Facebook Live Streaming
  • Native Youtube Live Streaming
  • Periscope
  • Group Video Calling App
  • WhatsApp
  • Facebook Messenger
  • Skype
  • Viber
  • StreamYard
  • Zoom
  • Multi Broadcasting
  • Conclusions

In these days of health emergency caused by the coronavirus we are all called to stay at home and do our duty as responsible citizens , helping those who cannot stay at home because they work on ” essential ” services .

In my small way I am also trying to help out, providing support for the many friends and acquaintances who need to stay in touch with their loved ones or communicate on the web to find new ways of promoting themselves and their business .

The most common questions are: How do I make a group video call with my family? How can I organize a course in live streaming on facebook or youtube? How can I add external speakers ? How can I make a video tutorial sharing images, slides and files from my pc?

Many doubts of friends and contacts who, in these days, are forced home in teleworking , on forced holidays or even worse without any protection (VAT numbers and less protected category) and would like to stay in touch with loved ones or reconvert ” digitally ” to try to exploit ” full digital ” business.

Let’s try to grasp the aspects of the crisis that could become opportunitiesCLICK TO TWEET

I am reminded of the many professionals who would like to ” donate ” their skills with a video tutorial or a direct facebook , those who use digital to simplify home deliveries , those who organize meetings of professionals, video recipes and video calls between family members for do not make the weak and lonely people feel alone.

In this article I point out the best tools, both for desktop, smartphone and online, to make group video calls and live streaming .

Video calling or Live streaming?

Before seeing the best apps together, let’s try to clarify the differences between a group video call and a live streaming .

group video call is basically a ” private digital phone call ” made between several people who can talk and look at each other in complete freedom. We can also call it “ video conferencing ” and it is widely used both in the corporate setting to hold private streaming meetings and in the family setting to stay in visual contact with loved ones.

live streaming , on the other hand, is nothing more than a live video , made by a person who can, if desired, add other speakers to the live broadcast. For digital live streaming, the concept of broadcasting and destination is important precisely because the live broadcast must be transmitted on an ” external media ” precisely using a broadcast (transmission) with an external destination (eg facebook, youtube, periscope, …).

Live streaming app

As said live streaming is a video in direct that we can do alone or with other parties in addition to direct.

Some of the apps that I will show you can be used from PCs, others from smartphones and still others only online via browser.

What are the areas of use for these types of apps?

  • Individual video tutorials(e.g. a recipe, a reflection, a tutorial)
  • Video Meeting with multiple speakers(e.g. a discussion on a topic with multiple speakers)

Obviously we always talk about live , we are not talking about pre-recording of the video. The main feature is that the call is made public on an external destination through a broadcast .

1. StreamYard

StreamYard is an excellent online tool that allows you to do live streaming on multiple destinations including facebook, youtube and periscope thanks to the creation of broadcasts .

The possibility of adding up to a maximum of 4 other participants to the live broadcast is very interesting to create real ” virtual living rooms “. All this with a few simple clicks.

The free version allows you to use all the main features, including broadcast on external platforms and 20 hours of live streaming per month. The paid version allows multi broadcast (live broadcast on multiple platforms at the same time), unlimited hours of streaming and a much more professional and detailed customization of the templates.

STREAMYARD

2. OBS Project

OBS is a very interesting and free open source project that allows you to record videos and make live streaming to the most popular destinations (facebook, youtube) and exists only in the downloadable desktop version for PC Win , mac os and Linux .

In practice it is a real digital direction station to carry out professional video tutorials  both in deferred and in live steaming.

There are many features including the possibility of using multi scenes (ie multiple directional floors), the possibility of connecting multiple cameras to the product , sharing the PC screen and much more.

The broadcast is only possible on a target , you can not then manage directly from the product multi broadcasting (live on the information to many destinations).

OBS PROJECT

3. Native Facebook Live Streaming

Facebook , together with youtube and periscope , is also one of the most important broadcast channels, that is, it is the ” final ” platform that allows you to carry out the actual live , whether public or private.

Facebook allows you to do live using the native Facebook app itself on mobile devices or via mobile phone, using the ” live ” button .

Very convenient and easy to use, however, it has limitations if you decide to do more professional live broadcasts.

FACEBOOK

4. Native Youtube Live Streaming

Even YouTube , like facebook, is one of the most important (if not the most important) final broadcaster for making public or private live shows .

It is possible to do live shows using the native smartphone app only for users associated with channels with at least 1,000 subscribers .

YOUTUBE

5. Periscope

Periscope is the third live broadcasting platform analyzed, which allows you to carry out live broadcasts through the native app.

It is accessed using the twitter account, then allows you to interact with your contacts (notice of new live); you can also use your location to tell where we are doing live.

PERISCOPE

Group Video Calling App

As mentioned, a group video call is a ” private digital phone call ” made between several people who can talk and look at each other in complete freedom. It is often also called ” video conferencing ” and is widely used both in the corporate setting to hold private streaming meetings and in the family setting to stay in visual contact with our loved ones.

What are the areas of use for these types of apps?

  • Video calls between relatives, friends, contacts
  • Corporate video calls between colleagues and / or customers 

Obviously, also in this case we always talk about direct , but the main feature is that the call remains private.

1. WhatsApp

Who doesn’t know whatsapp ? I believe none.

The most famous instant messaging platform allows you to make video calls with your contacts, for up to 4 users connected at the same time.

Functionality available in the mobile version .

WHATSAPP

2. Facebook Messenger

Even Facebook with its messenger app allows you to make video calls between multiple people for up to 50 users connected at the same time.

Available in both mobile and desktop versions .

FACEBOOK

3. Skype

Skype is, most likely, one of the first services created precisely to make “over ip” calls or calls on a digital and non-analogue line, therefore it allows you to make professional video calls between multiple users and telephone numbers.

Available in both mobile and desktop versions , suitable for professional calls.

SKYPE

4. Viber

App created for this purpose: digital video calls between contacts in the address book. It allows you to make simultaneous calls up to 250 users.

Available in both mobile and desktop versions .

VIBER

5. StreamYard

StreamYard with its ease of use can easily be used to make private call conferences up to a maximum of 5 people.

To make the conversation private, just do not press the “ go live ” button and the discussion will remain local.

Available in the web version therefore usable via browser from both PC and mobile .

STREAMYARD

6. Zoom

Zoom is a very interesting and complete platform for carrying out video conferences between more than one subject.

The conversation is natively private , but it is also possible to manage webinars and live streaming on facebook and youtube, but only using the premium version (for a fee).

Available both in the web version and in the desktop and mobile version , it is certainly one of the best platforms on the market, even for the educational sector (schools, universities, companies)

Available both in free version and in other paid versions with increasingly complex and enterprise features. It is not yet available in Italian .

ZOOM

Multi Broadcasting

All the live streaming apps listed so far have two characteristics in common: they are free and allow broadcasting to a single destination .

If your need is to broadcast to different destinations (youtube, facebook, periscope) at the same time then you will have to use an additional platform that is placed between you and the destinations.

My advice is to use castr.io , a premium platform that stands between you (source) and your destinations (facebook, youtube) ensuring a correct broadcasting (stream) of the live. In this case you will have to use OBS on your pc and configure it for live to castr.io.

CASTR

Another solution is to use the premium version of streamyard , in which case you can manage everything from a single web location: source, destinations and broadcast.

Conclusions

In this article I have tried to summarize all the main platforms for carrying out live streaming and video conferences.

 

by Abdullah Sam
I’m a teacher, researcher and writer. I write about study subjects to improve the learning of college and university students. I write top Quality study notes Mostly, Tech, Games, Education, And Solutions/Tips and Tricks. I am a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence or virtue.

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