Good video quality catches members’ attention and draws in more viewers. There’s a lot you can do to make your stream look great, from finding a better angle to upgrading your equipment.
FIND A GOOD STREAMING AREA
Spend some time making your streaming location look nice. Feel free to show some personality with décor in different styles and colors. Make sure the area is comfortable too! If you’re not having fun, your viewers probably won’t be either.
FRAMING
Find a distance away from the camera that works for you. If you’re too far, members can’t see any details, but if you’re too close, they can’t see all of you at once. Choose a distance that works well for your show and the area you’re streaming from.
Make sure you’re the center of attention in the frame! You should be near the center of the shot and not too far off to either side. Try to avoid having anything in the shot that pulls attention away from you.
LIGHTING
Check your lighting! If your room is too dark, members won’t be able to see you. Some camera drop the stream quality if the room is too dark, which means you could lose your HD status. If your light is too bright, there will be extreme shadows and highlights, and you will appear shiny or washed out.
You may want to try setting up a 3-point lighting system, similar to what professional photographers and filmmakers use. For some basic tips on setting up great lighting, check out our Effective Lighting post.
TWEAKING YOUR CAMERA SETTINGS
It’s important to set up your camera to work best with show and streaming area. Most newer cameras have automatic modes that will work in most situations.
If you want to adjust your settings manually, check the camera’s manual or the manufacturer’s recommended settings. Pull up your video stream and adjust until you like what you see.
STREAMING QUALITY
Make sure you’re using the highest Streaming Quality possible on your equipment. Check the Improving Streaming Quality and Speed page for tips on getting the best possible quality with your equipment. You should also check the “My Ranking” report under the My Reports menu to see if there are any elements of your video stream that can be improved!
CAMERA UPGRADE RECOMMENDATIONS
You can stream with almost any webcam, but for the best quality video, we recommend a camera that can stream in Widescreen with HD quality.
If you need a suggestion, we are currently recommending the Logitech C920 or the Logitech BCC950. Both of these cameras work great with the External Encoder and offer high quality video.
