I have used all of these options as some point during the past year.

These include an external video input with a capture card, screen capture, or NDI connection You can also enter the URL of a cloud presentation, such as PowerPoint, online. Software solutions have many options to add a computer presentation. Initially, your inputs will layer one on top of the other, so you will need to resize and position these inputs so they are next to each other (PxP) or so that one smaller one is on top of the other (PiP). You then want to add the video and computer input to a blank canvas (or a background template if you have created one). A big pro tip is that this whole process will be much easier if you connect two or more computer monitors to your computer or laptop and get familiar with controls for resizing multiple windows on a single computer monitor. Then, you need to open the computer presentations that you want to share or add the photos or video files to the software. In vMix, the external output emulates a webcam signal that your video communication SaaS can see. So if you want to connect a professional video camera using a USB or PCIe capture card, you can. Since a software solution can internally emulate a webcam UVC output to your video conference solution, you aren’t limited to just using a webcam.

The first step is to add your computer presentation and video camera inputs. vMix software offers several presets for handling multiple video signals in a single display that can be further customized. But one of the reasons you may be considering a software solution is that you have more control over all aspects of each of your input video signals in your composite output.įigure 3. Software video switchers may have presets for creating PxP or PiP looks, and these serve as a good starting point ( Figure 3, below). And then, before you go live, test everything. Definitely check your hardware and OS against the published minimum requirements for best results. Vimeo Premium account holders might be surprised that their subscription includes free use of Livestream Studio 6, which I understand to be a white-label version of Telestream’s Wirecast Studio. Pricing can range from free, with open source software like OBS, to $350 for vMix HD. While hardware solutions have the advantage of presets and ease of use, software solutions remove many of the limitations of hardware switchers at the expense of ease of use.

Free multiviewer software