You have nothing. You’re starting from scratch. Where do start?

When you’re first starting out, streaming games can seem overwhelming.

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This page will detail how to get started for nearly free. If you’re semi-serious, check out the next page: Getting Serious for Less than $1000.

What’s most important?

When you’re first starting out, streaming games can seem overwhelming. It’s easy to fall prey to paralysis by analysis, but that’s why we’re here. We’ve sorted through all the clutter and noise for you to show you how to get started.

• Analyze existing infrastructure
  • First, we want to identify where we have existing infrastructure that might make our jobs easier. For example, our school was already filming football and basketball for review at a later date. This allowed us to tap into those video feeds so we didn’t need a videographer to stream games.
• Equipment
  • Basic – no existing infrastructure
    • Choices here are numerous. If your primary goal is to broadcast games to the internet, and you’re not worried about production quality, you can start with the obvious options. For these, we’re just going to use extremely basic things you probably already have.
    • First, for the video.
      • Use any Wi-Fi connected phone or tablet and you’ll get reasonably good video quality and fans will be able to see what you’re seeing. The biggest downside here is that the zoom is typically not great, and it can be clunky to operate trying to pinch your fingers in and out while broadcasting. You’ll definitely need a tripod. Basic is fine at this point, but you’ll notice it’s operation will not be as smooth as you’re used to seeing on TV. You can use a tabletop tripod or a standing one with a special mount that will hold whatever device you’re using.
    • Sound
      • For the sound we’re just going to use the internal microphone on the device for our basic setup. You can also connect any type of Bluetooth microphone if you’re wanting to commentate at this level. Just be aware that the device mic is going to pick up ALL ambient noise. This is especially relevant when your camera location is near a rowdy fan or animated coach. Sounds that are closer to the mic will overpower sounds that you may be hoping to pickup from the game.
      • I’ve used a set of Airpods to provide commentary for a game before, and they’re far from perfect, but they work just fine for a basic setup.
    • Service
      • Obviously, we’re going to need a way to get the video onto the internet. YouTube Live and Facebook Live are probably the easiest to use for this, but be aware that they have some downsides too. They both have sophisticated algorithms to find and shut down videos playing music that they don’t have the right to broadcast to the world. This can present problems for school who play. They also both dictate that you’re uploading to their platform, and therefore, you’re not in control of the video – it belongs to them.
      • I’m partial to Blue Frame Tech’s Production Truck software which lets you broadcast from the Remote Truck app. They have a couple of great options for high schools. First, if you agree to a pay-per-view model, the software is free. If you want your fans to see the games for free, you pay their fee up front, and then you have the flexibility. We elected for the pay-per-view model in our first year so the up-front cost was lower. Also, fans would pay to come to games so why wouldn’t they pay to watch them live? Our target market here is family who live out of town.

If you’ve mastered this part, and you’re ready to upgrade or if this isn’t enough for you, check out the next level: Getting Serious for Less than $1000.