Which equipment to choose to broadcast a live show?
All the info here are tips from our experience, of course you can use other smartphones and hardware.
These are tips to ensure you the best configuration to use to broadcast live: which tripod, which smartphone or which microphone. We have no financial interest in advising you on this equipment.
Tripods
To follow the action smoothly, it's essential to have a good tripod with a fluid ball-and-socket joint. This enables smooth horizontal (panning) and vertical (tilting) movements. It's also important to choose a solid, durable model.
The Manfrotto brand is a reference on the market, although its prices are often high. For a more affordable alternative, Smallrig offers quality products offering excellent value for money.
📱Most importantly, which phone?
Swish Live works exactly the same way on iPhone and Android but you need a relatively new device to not have any problems (6 to 7 years old maximum)
Here are some tips for choosing a phone:
If the phone is older than 6 years, it may cause broadcasting problems. We're not saying it won't work, just that there may be overheating or disconnection issues due to the phone version.
If you have a choice between iPhone and Android, most of the time choose iPhone devices for live streaming with Swish Live.
We're not Apple fans, it's just much easier to develop live streaming software on Apple systems than Android.
All models are the same with Apple, while on Android, depending on the phone manufacturer, two phones can be very different (screen size, chipset, battery etc...)
But the quality of the live stream depends much more on the connection than on the quality of the camera or the phone, here are two live streams filmed and broadcasted with Swish Live, one on Android and the other on Apple :
🎤 Which microphone to choose according to which budget?
First of all, the mic on your hands-free headset will work and suffice to comment on your match, but if you want better sound or a more practical setup here are some tips:
2commentators with 2 mics: €30 to €60 🎒 What you need:
1. Dual-input TRRS adapter:
- An adapter that allows you to connect two mics to the TRRS input (such as the Rode SC6 or a compatible Y adapter).
- Warning: It must be TRRS (Tip-Ring-Ring-Sleeve) to work with the iPhone.
2. Lightning to TRRS adapter:
- If your iPhone doesn't have a 3.5 mm jack, use an official Apple Lightning to TRRS jack adapter to avoid compatibility problems.
3.Two lavalier mics:
- Make sure the lavalier mics are TRRS-compatible (such as the Rode SmartLav+ or similar models designed for smartphones).
- If your mics are TRS (Tip-Ring-Sleeve), use a TRS to TRRS adapter for each mic.
🔌 How to connect everything:
1.Plug the mics into the TRRS dual-input adapter.
2Connect the dual input adapter to the Lightning to TRRS adapter (if necessary). 3.Plug everything into the iPhone via the Lightning port.
4.Open your audio/video recording app (e.g. Filmic Pro, Voice Memos, or Rode Reporter) to check that both mics are detected. 📢 Possible alternatives:
- Use an external recorder (such as a Zoom H1n) with a TRRS output cable to the iPhone.
- Use a dual wireless microphone (such as the Rode Wireless GO II or DJI Mic), which works plug-and-play with the iPhone.
