Broadcasting is an exciting and engaging way to share your message, work and your passion with the world. Online video consumption is one of the most popular Internet activities worldwide – in America alone, 78.4 percent of Internet users watched online video content. There is an array of established platforms to broadcast material to, such as YouTube, Twitch and Ustream to name a few; all you need now is the software to get you going.
Depending on the size and format of your operation, you can get going with just your Mac computer. You could broadcast simpler things, such as screencasts of your computer or television, or create a more developed broadcast using capture cards, cameras, HD audio recording, green screens and etc. It can be as small or as large as you desire.
Let’s get down to the software.
Screen Flow by Telestream ($100)
This is one of the most popular and exciting software for broadcasting on your Mac. However, it does far more than record your desktop; it can also be hooked up to your webcam, microphone and audio interfaces, as well as to a screen of a connected Apple devices, such as your iPhone or iPad.
Screenflow also provides multi-camera capturing, advanced video editing, audio mastering tools, high-quality recording and export options to make it one of the strongest all-in-one broadcasting solutions.
Alternatives – Camtasa (by TechSmith $99) – This option is similar to Screen Flow, but with a few twists. Xsplit Broadcaster (basic and subscription options available)
For professionals:
Leaning more toward the corporate and professional broadcasting software for your Mac, there are mimoLive and Livestream. Both are great for presentations, lectures, sports events and even large scale commercial broadcasts, and they both offer different tiered subscription options, including a non-commercial and free license respectively.
For gamers:
The gaming community is immense, and broadcasting has completely changed the idea of a walk-through. If you were looking to broadcast while you game, these could be for you.
Gameshow by Telestream (subscription)
Gameshow is an astonishing app for gamers who wish to broadcast while they play. It’s quick and easy to set up as well as highly customizable. It features superb audio and video quality, can stream directly to Twitch or YouTube and can also be saved for later video upload. You can also interact with your audience easily and build a unique brand with for your channel.
Alternative – Xsplit Gamer (comes bundled with broadcast version).
Other notable mentions
For more basic and simple instances, there is also QuickTime, which comes free with your Mac. However, there are limitations; it automatically compresses your recordings, reducing the quality of the broadcast, and would require external editing software.
Lastly, there is Open Broadcast Software, which is a free open source software for live streaming and recording. It’s very easy to use, works great and also keeps on getting better as it allows developers to create their own unique plug-ins, giving its users more creative ways of controlling streams.
Parting words
As you can see, there is a wealth of software that you can use creatively to broadcast material from your Mac to the world. Hopefully, this has been informative and will help you make a decision as to what would suit you best. Many of these offer a free trial and it can be very helpful to try them out and