For many creators, livestreaming is an essential part of an effective content strategy. But livestreaming can get complicated. That’s especially true if you want to stream on location or include multiple cameras in your livestream production. Fortunately, cameras like the Panasonic LUMIX S5IIX now have livestreaming capabilities built right into the camera. This makes it easier than ever for solo streamers and small teams to go live from almost anywhere. Let’s take a look at what the LUMIX S5IIX offers and how it can simplify your livestreaming workflow.
Challenges of a traditional livestreaming setup
Livestreaming is a great way to connect with your audience in real time, but streaming as an individual creator comes with technical challenges. First of all, livestreaming with a high-quality mirrorless camera often requires specialized hardware. While some mirrorless cameras can connect to your computer as a webcam, this isn’t possible with every camera. You may need to purchase a separate internal or external capture card to bring your camera’s HDMI output into your computer for livestreaming. Alternatively, you could invest in a dedicated streaming box to get the functionality you need. However, these can be expensive and often lock you into using proprietary streaming software.
If you’re on a budget, streaming with your webcam is an easy and affordable option. However, you’ll lose out on the image quality and camera control you get with a mirrorless camera with a larger sensor.
And aside from high costs and limited functionality, any wired streaming setup is going to keep you tethered to a specific location. That rules out any possibility of taking your audience out into the world with you.
On the other hand, streaming wirelessly comes with its own pitfalls. Wireless streaming often pays for freedom of movement with a sacrifice in image quality — just think about your typical smartphone stream. Not great.
Traditionally, to produce a high-quality livestream on location, you’d need to lug out a bulky streaming setup or just settle for using your smartphone to stream. However, much like webcam streaming, streaming from a smartphone limits you to using a single, low-quality camera. This is the conundrum streamers have been struggling to solve for years.
The LUMIX S5IIX features a built-in streaming encoder
The LUMIX S5IIX offers another solution. This full-frame mirrorless camera has a streaming encoder built right into the camera body. Thanks to this handy addition, the LUMIX S5IIX allows you to stream video directly from the camera to your platform of choice. This way, you can keep the benefits of using a high-quality camera with a full-frame sensor while staying mobile for streaming on the go.
With the LUMIX S5IIX, you can stream directly to Facebook, YouTube, Twitch or any RMPT/RTMPS streaming service without connecting any extra hardware or using third-party software. The LUMIX Sync app offers the easiest way to set up your wireless livestream, but you can also load your network information and stream settings onto the camera with an SD card.
Stream wirelessly or via USB
If you need a more stable connection or you can’t get connected to a wireless network, you can tether the camera to your phone with a USB-C cable. USB tethering lets you connect that camera to your cellular data connection. With this option, you can stream even in places where Wi-Fi isn’t available.
Tethering the camera to your phone is also a good option when you want to livestream in higher resolutions. Tethering allows you to stream at resolutions up to 4K and frame rates up to 30 frames per second. On the other hand, wireless streaming maxes out at 1080p60.
With options for both wireless and tethered streaming, the LUMIX S5IIX can stream from nearly anywhere. This makes this camera a great solution for IRL streamers as well as travel and lifestyle vloggers. Anyone who wants to take their audience live on location without a lot of hassle will benefit from these flexible streaming features.
How to stream with the LUMIX Sync app
Paired with the LUMIX S5IIX’s built-in streaming encoder, the LUMIX Sync app makes it easy to stream high-quality video to your audience with minimal setup. To start streaming using the LUMIX Sync app, all you have to do is first connect the S5IIX to your mobile device via Bluetooth. This is done by following the step-by-step guide in the app – i.e., pressing the “?” icon on the app’s main screen and selecting Bluetooth Connection. Once connected, start the LUMIX Sync app and navigate to the Livestreaming menu.
There, you’ll select your streaming destination and edit your camera connection and livestream settings. Be sure to use the correct settings for your destination and network conditions, and always do a test stream if possible.
Next, you’ll enter your network information, as well as your stream URL and stream key. You’ll get these last two details from the platform that will host the stream.
After that, you’re ready to start streaming. You can start and stop the stream within the LUMIX Sync app. When the camera is streaming, it will display a broadcasting icon on the recording screen to let you know you are live.
IP streaming capabilities make multi-camera livestreaming easy
For more advanced livestreaming, the LUMIX S5IIX also supports direct IP streaming via ethernet with an adapter. That means you can connect the camera to your computer or router with the help of an ethernet cable and USB-to-ethernet dongle. Once connected, you can set up your LUMIX S5IIX as a video input with your streaming software — like OBS, for example. However, note that OBS will not recognize the camera as an available input unless you set up your software to look for your camera’s IP address on the network. Enter the following string to ensure OSB can recognize your camera: rtsp://{camera IP address}/stream.
This simple setup allows you to easily go live right from your desk. Plus, streaming with a computer also gives you the option to integrate live graphics and overlays into your stream. This will make your stream look more professional while keeping your audience more engaged. When connected for wired IP streaming, the LUMIX S5IIX can stream video at resolutions up to 4K at 60 frames per second.
Most exciting, IP streaming over ethernet makes it easy to add more cameras to your live production. Thanks to its IP streaming features, it’s possible to add more cameras to your production without putting additional strain on your computer. That’s because the LUMIX S5IIX’s built-in streaming encoder is doing the hard work of encoding the stream. Then, it broadcasts the ready-to-stream video feed over the network. All your computer has to do is import those IP video inputs into your streaming software. That’s much less resource-intensive than connecting multiple cameras to your computer via USB or capture card.
To expand your production, you can connect multiple cameras to your LAN router and import them all as IP video inputs using your streaming software of choice. In this way, the LUMIX S5IIX easily integrates into existing IP-based streaming workflows.
Simplify your livestreaming workflow
With built-in streaming encoders, cameras like the LUMIX S5IIX allow creators to livestream video more easily and at a higher quality. With direct wireless and tethered USB streaming, creators can livestream from just about anywhere. Plus, wire IP streaming lets you easily expand your production into a multi-camera livestream. As you plan your next livestream, think about how direct wireless and IP livestreaming capabilities could give you more freedom to connect with more viewers. Learn more at panasonic.com.