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Your boss asks, We can do that and put it on Facebook, right Since youre a helpful and prepared type of person, and you know about this blog post of course, you say, You bet Just tell me when and where.

To set expectations, this post is meant for most government speaking-at-a-podium stationary live streams.

If you need to be walking around live streaming an important march or something, you might need to become a little more mobile with your setup.

J u st in case you didnt prepare in advance, a basic setup will cost about 175 and take 20 minutes to figure out, not including the digital camera, mic, lighting, tripod, or laptop and assuming you use the open source software.

Without further ado The concept: Youre going to use a signal converter box to create a bridge between your camera and your computer.

Then youll use the live streaming software to send the video signal to the web-host of your choice (Facebook in this case).

Yay People will see the stream and hear the important things said by your governments leadership.

Your bosss boss will want to live stream everything from now on (blessing and a curse).

Credit: the most-excellent Dennis Tsai The tools: Required Camera that has an HDMI or SDI out port HDMI or SDI cable (depends on your camera port of choice 25 to 30 for a 50 cord) NB: Dont use a USB cable between the camera and signal converter box because the video signal wont be as consistent.

Signal converter box (145) Laptop computer Live streaming software on your laptop.

MacPC paid software Open source software Strong internet connection for your laptop (WiFi, hotspot, or otherwise) Facebook account, assuming youre streaming to Facebook Live Optional Tripod to stabilize your camera Lighting to make your subject more viewable, Microphone (not the mic on your camera) to help your stream be more audible The steps: Connect your digital camera to your signal converter box with an HDMI or SDI cord.

Confirm youre able to send a signal from your camera to the laptop.

Open your live streaming software.

Paid product help center open source help center ) Open Facebook and find the Server URL and Stream Key instructions to add to the live streaming software.

Thats it Once you get the equipment, start to experiment asap so you can work out any kinks or issues before the big day.

Hopefully helpful tips: Use a wired internet connection if its available.

Test your setup under the same conditions as your live stream.

Same room, length of time, lighting, audio, number of speakers and their locations, background noise (bring a boombox or bluetooth speakers or all your friends.) Make sure your live stream displays properly on desktop and mobile phones.

If youre lucky enough to have backup equipment, make sure its charged and close by.

Your cellphone makes a great backup for the whole system, so bring a battery for that, too.

Have someone monitor Facebook during the live stream to watch for comments like, The audio is cutting out or Why doesnt this work on my phone or the dreaded Youre accidentally posting a new livestream link every 2 minutes so you can quickly put out tech fires without much feed disruption.

Live streaming has come a long way but audiences understand its not perfect and tech glitches happen.

Further props to the Mass Digital Services Video Team All-Stars for their comments and edits to make this post useful for other video teams.

If you know a government video team, send this post their way so we can all be prepared for the inevitable last minute, Can you live stream this on Facebook request.

CivicTech ServiceDesign Follow 106 3 106 106 3 Live Streaming Facebook Live Govtech Video Production Civic Engagement More from Jesse Biroscak Follow Practical thoughts on government.

How To Connect Camcorder To Mac For Facetime