The digital era has transformed our content consumption habits, and the meteoric rise of live streaming has been at the forefront of this revolution. Live streaming video content has become one of the most popular types of video content consumed online, both for entertainment and functional purposes. According to data from Statista, live streaming recorded an audience reach of almost 28 percent among internet users worldwide in the second quarter of 2023.
However, the realm of live streaming isn’t just limited to traditional setups such as desktops or web content viewing; it extends to mobile devices as well. Forecasts suggest that by 2025, the number of mobile users worldwide is projected to reach 7.49 billion. With more users around the world getting access to mobile devices, businesses and content creators will see an opportunity to connect with audiences like never before.
Understanding Mobile Live Streaming
Mobile live streaming is the practice of broadcasting real-time video content using a mobile device, such as a smartphone or tablet. This enables businesses and individuals to reach a broader audience by providing engaging, real-time experiences.
No longer confined to traditional content delivery, mobile live streaming empowers companies to broadcast real-time video content directly from their smartphones and tablets. It transcends geographical boundaries, enabling businesses to reach a global audience instantaneously. For businesses, this translates to unprecedented opportunities in areas such as brand promotion, product launches, live events, webinars, and customer engagement.
Benefits of Mobile Live Streaming
Mobile live streaming offers businesses a number of benefits as follows:
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- Mobile accessibility: Unlike traditional broadcasting, mobile live streaming is accessible to anyone with a smartphone and internet connection. This ease of accessibility allows you to reach a vast and ever-growing viewership, greater reach for your business and potentially more revenue.
- Enhanced brand visibility: Live streaming on mobile platforms can boost your brand visibility and reach as it showcases your brand in real time. Live streaming also often receives priority placement and notifications on social media platforms, allowing direct communication and engagement with your audience.
- Immediate Content Sharing: Live streams can be immediately shared, liked, and commented on, increasing their visibility and reach. This can help you gain more followers, increase your brand’s exposure, and attract potential customers or clients.
- Cost-effective: Mobile streaming eliminates the need for extensive equipment and dedicated studios, reducing costs for businesses. All that is needed is a mobile phone to get started.
- Stream on the go: With mobile streaming, it is easy to stream from any location since you don’t need to set up a complex recording arrangement. This is especially useful for businesses that rely on streaming during events such as roadshows, company get-togethers, local newsworthy happenings, fundraisers and so on.
- Versatile: Live streaming can be used for a wide range of events such as product releases, tutorials, Q&A sessions, behind-the-scenes looks, and more. It allows for creativity and novelty in content creation. Since the streaming is done in real-time and using a mobile device, the editing process is completely bypassed, unless you are also sharing the same video on demand later. This makes it simpler, more convenient and less costly.
How Mobile Streaming Works
Mobile streaming starts with the creator of the content recording video or audio using their mobile device. This could be the latest iPhone or Android model but almost any of the modern mobile devices will have good quality cameras, recording features, zoom options and various modes to choose from.
In addition to the native camera and recording options on your phone, a dedicated app can also be used to record and stream. These apps could provide additional features like filters, overlays or other useful add-ons. The app then sends the video to an online video platform, often using RTMP Ingest.
The online video platform in combination with a Content Delivery Network (CDN), is responsible for sending the files to the end user, who will view the content on their terminals with dedicated mobile apps or other media player applications. Mobile streaming also leverages some key technologies to deliver real-time content to viewers such as:
- HLS Protocol: The HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) protocol segments video into small chunks, making it compatible with various devices and network conditions. It ensures smooth playback by dynamically adjusting the quality of the video stream.
- MPEG-DASH: Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (MPEG-DASH) is a similar technology to HLS, offering adaptive streaming to a wide range of devices.
- HTTP-FLV: HTTP-FLV, or Flash Video over HTTP, is another streaming protocol ,which transports FLV (Flash Video) files using HTTP protocol. Despite the decline in use of Flash, HTTP-FLV is still relevant in some streaming scenarios, especially where low latency is required. While it doesn’t inherently support adaptive streaming like HLS or MPEG-DASH, it can be combined with other techniques to achieve a similar effect.
- RTMP Ingest: A feature used to receive live video feeds from encoders, cameras, and other sources, and make them available for viewing by users. It uses the RTMP technology to encode and deliver the live video from the encoder to the online video platform. It is also often used in combination with HLS or DASH to deliver the live video stream to end users’ devices.
- Adaptive Bitrate Streaming: This technology detects the viewer’s internet speed and device capability and dynamically adjusts the video quality, avoiding buffering issues.
Tips to Enhance Your Mobile Streaming
You can also go above and beyond to think about improving your mobile streaming quality in a few different ways.
One way to make your stream look more professional is by paying attention to your lighting. There are various lighting tools and devices available in the market that can make your mobile streams look well-lit. It may not appear to add much but it can be the difference between an amateur and a professional looking stream.
It also helps to think about the mobile viewing experience when producing the stream. This means thinking about the smaller screen that mobile users will be viewing your content from, and the corresponding aspect ratios. It also means keeping in mind the behavioral traits of the average mobile user, such as a smaller attention span and the tendency to scroll through short videos instead of longer form content.
Finally, don’t overlook the security aspects of your stream. If you are streaming content that may contain sensitive information, it is important to protect it from potential eavesdropping. Look into robust security measures if needed, so you can safeguard your live streams from potential threats and unauthorized access. Digital Rights Management (DRM) solutions are becoming more popular these days to help streamers protect their content from piracy and unauthorized distribution. You may reach out to your OVP or CDN partner for other feasible content or live streaming security solutions.
CDNetworks and Live Streaming
CDNetworks offers a number of solutions for businesses that work with mobile live streaming. Together with live streaming CDN solutions such as Media Acceleration Live Broadcast that can be bundled with security features, we also provide all-in-one services like Cloud Live both could help in the delivery of real-time content and seamless mobile viewing experiences to global users.
With a global network of servers, CDNetworks optimizes content delivery, making it possible for businesses to deliver mobile live streaming experiences to their audiences.
