Live Streaming for Musicians: How to Improve Audio Quality with a Smartphone
 

(00:14) Hi everyone. My name is Lisa. I'm the community manager at Neumann. I read your comments and questions on a regular basis and I noticed that some of you would like to know more about streaming. So today we're going to talk about how do I stream live into the world using a smartphone and get the best possible audio quality.

(00:33) So let's get going. Welcome to Neumann's mobile streaming guide. We have invited a guest who is an audio engineer and already has a lot of streaming experience. Clemens, thank you for being here. What are your thoughts on the topic? Hi Lisa, thanks for having me. Well, as we all know, uh creating video content and streaming music and speech over the internet just using a smartphone has become really popular.

(01:10) It's a great way to interact with your fans and to reach your audience. The video quality of these devices is often surprisingly good, but the audio quality could be much better. We've all seen videos or live streams filmed with just a handheld mobile device. To give you an idea of what we have in mind, let's compare a simple mobile phone video with a live stream for which we created an optimized audio recording setup.

(01:36) You say you don't want to keep me. You say your friends don't mind, but you got to think about what it lead to. Got no space in my cold and hollow heart. You say that you want your freedom. But you worry about you worry about for no other reason than to let our young love die. He said In the first video, the sound quality is really poor.

(02:16) The built-in microphone is tiny. It has a limited frequency response, and it lacks clarity and dynamic range. And it also picks up a lot of the room ambience that we don't want. But before we get into explaining our recording setup, let's talk about the basic requirements of mobile streaming. Besides the right hardware, which we'll get to in a minute, a good internet connection is crucial.

(02:39) A good connection allows you to stream your content in the quality that you and your viewers expect. The most important requirement is upload speed. Large video platforms like YouTube, Facebook, or Twitch recommend an optimal upload rate of 4 megabits per second for video in 720p resolution at 30 frames per second. However, you should definitely allow for a buffer of about 40% to compensate for speed fluctuations.

(03:05) Now, if you want to stream in 4K at 30 frames, you need an upload speed of 50 megabits per second, buffer included. So, in order to make that happen, you need a really good mobile data connection. If your upload speed is not sufficient, the quality of your video might suffer, or it may even break down completely. And if you don't know how fast your upload speed is, just visit a page like this on your smartphone.

(03:31) Of course, there are apps for this, too. So, for the small streaming setup, we're using only one microphone. Which is basically all you need for speech, and may even work for a singer with an instrument. This, for instance, is the TLM 103. You may recognize this microphone in this specific setup from the videos of the Norman Home Studio Academy.

(03:53) If not, take a look and hear why it's perfectly suited for music recording and live streaming. We'll make sure to put a link down below this video for you guys. If you're more interested in speech recording and podcasting, we have another microphone that may be better suited to your applications, the BCM 705. Because of its internal suspension, it works very well with a desk mounted microphone boom arm, such as this one.

(04:16) The TLM 103 is a condenser microphone, which needs 48 V phantom power and some external pre-amplification, which your mobile phone won't supply. So, we need an external device, something like this, where you can hook up your microphone, it has AD conversion, and this end goes right into your smartphone.

(04:34) So, you can choose this interface as the audio input in your app. It is not possible to use any audio interface, so it's worth taking a closer look at the data sheet. If you find the term class compliant, it should work with any smartphone. MFi means that it works perfectly with Apple products. But even if you don't find these two terms, it might still work with your smartphone.

(05:01) Here is a device with one microphone input, which runs on battery power. So, for about $150, you're free from power outlets and your stream is completely mobile. Now, how do you connect this audio interface to your smartphone? For Apple's iPhones, you just use this USB to lightning adapter. For Android devices, you need an adapter to either micro USB or USB-C.

(05:24) Right now, I'm using GarageBand on my phone, and you can see that the device is detected and the microphone is ready to use. So, we're good to stream. You say you don't want to keep me. You say your friends don't mind, but you got to think about it at least two. Got no space in that cold and heart. You say that you wanted freedom.

(05:49) But you worry about you worry about for no other reason than to let our young love die. So, for many of you, one microphone won't be enough. Perhaps you want to offer a wide stereo image or more sound detail. Or you want to record several singers or even a small band. Or maybe you want to record the guitar and the vocals separately, like you've seen in the video of the Neumann Home Studio Academy.

(06:14) We have reproduced this microphone setup right here. And Clemens, how do we turn this into a streaming setup now? Well, now we have more than one microphone, so we need a combination of multiple preamps and simultaneous AD conversion into a data stream that's compatible with your smartphone. And preferably everything in one device.

(06:34) So, we need something like this here. And make sure that you have a panning knob on your mixer, so you can change the position of your sources. In many dual channel interfaces, usually the signals would end up hard left and hard right. So, your voice might be in the left channel and your acoustic guitar might end up in the right channel.

(06:54) And that's of course not what we want. So, this is a small desktop mixer with a built-in class compliant audio interface. You can adjust the preamp gain and the panning of your microphones. And there is a simple equalizer. Some of these mixers even have built-in effects like echo or reverb. If you're new to mixing desks, don't get intimidated by all those knobs.

(07:16) They're actually quite easy to operate. Previously, people were using these analog adapters to connect the mixer output to the smartphone. That way, however, you would just receive one of the two stereo channels. The solution is use a mixer with a built-in USB interface and connect them to your smartphone.

(07:34) So, I plug the lightning connector in here. And now we're ready to stream. The two lower microphones are panned to the left and right for the acoustic guitar, and the upper microphone stays in the center for the vocals. Let's have a listen. You say you don't want to keep me. You say your friends don't mind, but you got to think about it a little too.

(07:58) Got no space in our cold and hollow heart. You say that you want your freedom. But you worry about you worry about for no other reason. But you let our young love die. Welcome to the final part of our mobile streaming guide. Our setup is complete and we are ready to stream. Now, some of you may be wondering which video platform is the right one for you in this somewhat crowded market.

(08:25) For us at Neumann, for instance, it's crucial that the sound remains unaltered and that the viewers have the best possible audio experience. But your priorities may be totally different. Clemens, what other things to consider in choosing a video platform? That's actually a pretty tricky question.

(08:42) There are quite a couple of things to consider. One of the most important one is reach, of course. How large is your audience? Do you want to interact with your fans? What's the maximum duration of your stream? And does the stream get stored permanently? Do you want to monetize your stream? And in the end, do you have to pay for streaming or is it completely free? On all streaming portals, the focus tends to be on video quality.

(09:06) Audio is usually transmitted using lossy codecs such as AAC or MP3 in order to reduce the data rate for a good live stream experience. A common format for stereo sound is AAC at 128 kilobits per second, which is okay for most viewers, but you do hear a difference to the uncompressed sound if you listen closely.

(09:29) In your streaming application, try to aim for higher audio bit rates if you can. And also make sure that your audio interface is selected as the audio input. Here is an overview of some of the most popular streaming platforms. Let's start with YouTube. It currently has about 2 billion users, making it one of the largest players in the video and streaming market.

(09:50) YouTube offers a native app for mobile streaming, but you need at least 1,000 subscribers to start streaming. Also, you have to activate your account, which takes about a day. Currently, YouTube is the only platform that offers streaming in 4K video. Facebook now has about 2.7 billion users.

(10:12) At 4 megabits per second and 720p, it does not offer quite the same video and audio quality as YouTube does, but you can reach your fans in a more targeted way. So, Facebook is definitely a great choice for all artists who have a strong Facebook community and want to start streaming live in a quick and easy way. Instagram has about 1 billion users.

(10:32) Compared to the other platforms, it offers the lowest video and audio quality. You can only stream in portrait mode, and the audio is mono. Our last candidate is Vimeo. Unlike the other portals, the service is not free, so you need Vimeo Premium to stream live, and it costs about $70 a month. But, the video quality is really high and can even be controlled in the app.

(10:56) There is an analytics dashboard, you can start your own surveys, and you can stream to several platforms at the same time. So, Vimeo is targeted to artists who need more than just a standard features. Great. Thank you, Clemens, for this overview and for your expertise. Um I hope we could give you some ideas about streaming in better quality.

(11:17) I hope you guys like this video. If you did, give us a thumbs up and hit the subscribe button, and we'll see you soon. Bye-bye. Bye. Good.