Best Live Video Streaming Apps for Mobile

“Is there an app for that?” is a line I often hear these days.

Why, of course there is!

Look around you. Everyone you see has their heads down with their thumbs tapping away on a
small screen.

Mobile phones are literally everywhere. It’s time to take advantage of this phenomenon
through live video streaming of your events using your iPhone or Android phone. Sometimes
you might see something and think “Hey! Wish I could broadcast that live right now!” but you
don’t have your camcorder with you. Well, good thing there’s an app for everything these days.

Mobile phones have become ubiquitous in today’s society and it’s not surprising to know that 1
in 5 people in the world have smartphones. By the end of 2015, there will be 2 billion
smartphone users in the world. That means a quarter of the entire human population on earth has
the means to be connected to the internet anytime, anywhere.

Smartphones have also become mini-TVs with larger and more high-definition screens. In 2014,
53% of all video was viewed on mobile. That figure will rise to 69% by 2018. People will be on
the train watching their TV shows or they will be following the live stream of the Giants vs.
Dodgers at AT&T Park. People are now more keen to watch what they want when they want it.
It’s the same thing for broadcasters – they can now broadcast video content from wherever they
are through their smartphones.

Here are some of the best live video streaming apps for mobile that will work with your DaCast
channel.

1.  Broadcast Me

 OS: iOS / Android
 Price: $0.99 / Free
This is a great app that lets you broadcast live video through your iOS or Android device. It runs
through a multimedia server which allows RTMP publishing. Your live stream should be
encoded with H.264 video codec and AAC audio codec. It costs only $0.99 at the App Store on
iPhone and iPad. It’s free on Android devices, but uses an older version.

Please make sure you are using version 2 of this app, only available on iOS. This version added a
username and password field. Without it you will only be able to stream to the Legacy Flash
channels.

As a side note, make sure to adjust your quality before streaming. This option is found in the
upper left corner. It will list the resolution with an arrow next to it, for example “480p >”. Click
this to change the bitrate and resolution. The default bitrate is 1.4MB per second, which is
generally too high unless you are streaming from a very high upload connection.

Please check out our dedicated Broadcast Me guide for iOS to learn more. This will walkthrough
how to begin broadcasting using this app over the DaCast service.

2. BigVEncoder

 OS: Android
 Price: $9.99

This app has been optimized for Android cameras and microphones as it streams high quality
audio and video in real time. It’s a professional-grade app which supports many online media
servers like Adobe Flash Media Servia and YouTube Live, and also all kinds of streaming
protocols like RTMP and MPEGTS. It also supports many audio and video formats such as
H.264, MP4, AAC and MP3 among others. You can even convert your existing files to other
formats. It costs $9.99 at the Google Play Store.
Sadly this app does not support secured streaming, as it has no login and password field.
Therefore can only be used with DaCast’s Legacy Flash option.

3. Broadcaster

 OS: Android
 Price: free

This free Android-only app is a multi-purpose, multi-protocol encoder and broadcaster. It can
also record your audio and video broadcasts. You can even directly load your publisher settings
from DaCast to this app so you don’t have to manually input them. This is also only compatible
for legacy Flash channels.
4. Wirecast Cam

 OS: iOS 8
 Price: free with Wirecast 6 subscription

This is the mobile version of the Wirecast encoder, which is a partner of DaCast. They provide
excellent encoding and now it’s available to use for your mobile device. It comes as a free app
for iOS 8 devices if you have a Wirecast 6 subscription.
There are many apps available out there to live broadcast directly from your mobile
phone. But for it to be compatible with DaCast, it has to be RTMP-enabled. Make sure that the
live video streaming app supports RTMP streaming. For the best quality streaming, your video
should be encoded with H.264 and AAC for optimal results in DaCast.

It’s important to keep up with the times and start to stream live video direct from your mobile. It
has been predicted that up to 90% of internet users will access content from their mobile phone.
About 50 million Americans watched videos on their smartphones this year. With today’s fast-
paced lifestyle, being accessible to mobile users is key to connecting directly to your customers.

Live video streaming apps are handy when you want to stream something on-the-go like a sports
event or an emergency condition. Now you have a host of the best live video streaming apps that
can work with your DaCast channel. You’re ready to broadcast live from your phone the next
time you see something cool, maybe an impromptu U2 concert on Market Street or a student
rally in New York!

By Philline Managuelod. Follow me on Google+.