Have you ever wanted to stream your child's hockey game to friends and family but don't know how? Now you can very easily stream live games as long as you have sufficient Wifi bandwidth or a decent 5G cellular signal at the venue. See Hockey Map
1) Buy Camera Tripod or Monopod & iPad / iPhone Mount - Camera tripods can be found as cheap as $10-$20 on Amazon as well as the iPad or iPhone mount for the tripod. Both are small and lightweight and easy to carry in a bag or leave in the back of a car or hockey bag. I prefer using a monopod because it is easier to manipulate around the rink and get better views over the boards and glass in tight spaces. The tripod is better when you have a stadium seating view.
2) Create a YouTube Channel - Go to youtube.com on a computer browser and register a channel similar to our Hockey Map's channel below. Customize your channel settings which are pretty straightforward.
3) Choose an Encoding App - Download a free video encoding app from Apple Store or Android Store. We have tested several apps and you definitely want to use an app that optimizes your stream based on available bandwidth. Here is my favorite app. ScoreCam. I used Air Mix Solo for 3 seasons but they haven't updated the app and it keeps crashing on my records. I don't recommend using Air Mix anymore. Many people have also had success just using YouTube Live which auto-selects your encoding rate. YouTube live also does not have a scoreboard feature. (We recommend YouTube Live for beginners). The ScoreCam app has been a great new find for us as I update this September 2022.
1) Buy Camera Tripod or Monopod & iPad / iPhone Mount - Camera tripods can be found as cheap as $10-$20 on Amazon as well as the iPad or iPhone mount for the tripod. Both are small and lightweight and easy to carry in a bag or leave in the back of a car or hockey bag. I prefer using a monopod because it is easier to manipulate around the rink and get better views over the boards and glass in tight spaces. The tripod is better when you have a stadium seating view.
2) Create a YouTube Channel - Go to youtube.com on a computer browser and register a channel similar to our Hockey Map's channel below. Customize your channel settings which are pretty straightforward.
3) Choose an Encoding App - Download a free video encoding app from Apple Store or Android Store. We have tested several apps and you definitely want to use an app that optimizes your stream based on available bandwidth. Here is my favorite app. ScoreCam. I used Air Mix Solo for 3 seasons but they haven't updated the app and it keeps crashing on my records. I don't recommend using Air Mix anymore. Many people have also had success just using YouTube Live which auto-selects your encoding rate. YouTube live also does not have a scoreboard feature. (We recommend YouTube Live for beginners). The ScoreCam app has been a great new find for us as I update this September 2022.
5) Sign Into YouTube Live Streaming - Beware! If you are using WiFi at a hockey rink it is likely that LiveBarn has blocked the IP address of YouTube and Facebook preventing you from streaming live. I would recommend trying to stream on cellular if you have a decent connection. Live Barn blocking YouTube and Facebook to keep their business of charging $19 a month to view the rink is a major bone of contention that building across the hockey community. Parents of kids are willing to live stream games back home to families and friends and Live Barn is purposely blocking them to keep their business. It is an unfair business practice that is preventing competition and something needs to be done about it. Test your connection before streaming using a speed testing app. See below.
5) (Optional) Test Wifi Bandwidth - If you see a quality video stream on YouTube you can skip this step. However, if you are experiencing low-quality video issues you might want to test the speed of your bandwidth stream upload stream. We recommend Speed Smart. Some other issues can possibly be too many people using the network as well. We recommend 2-5+ Mbps minimum or greater speeds to upload. If you decide to use cellular or have slow wifi speeds I would adjust the encoding according to the chart below.
6) Adjust Your Encoding According to Bandwidth
Adjust your encoding settings based on the available bandwidth. 1080 works great if you have a very strong connection of 10 Mbps per second or greater. 720 resolution and 2000 bitrate typically are what I have had the most luck with at a hockey game on most wifi networks while streaming and recording at the same time. If you are on 5G cellular I would use a 720 or less resolution. See Live Air Solo Encoder settings below. You may have to adjust the encoding settings lower if you find your broadcast keeps dropping off or Live Solo shuts down. If you do this during a game it will create a new live stream, unfortunately. Haven't figured out how to manage this issue.
8) (Optional) Edit Video - When you are finished recording your video you can then edit your video and see the analytics of views. You can add all kinds of detail and overlays like audio, enhance the video by stabilizing and auto-fix the lighting. I recommend starting the live stream 15 minutes ahead of the game and send out your links and make your adjustments before the game starts. You can always trim the video at the end of the game for replays.
9) Additional Tips
There are some additional settings like adjusting the picture color and camera stabilization on the Airmix Solo app that are important to get a quality video image. Play with the scoreboard and features to optimize.
One thing that can be challenging at times is if you have low bandwidth or signal issues and the feed keeps dropping off. Just continue to be persistent and hit the go-live button if it kicks you off.
Also, try and makes sure you have other apps closed down on your phone or iPad and notifications turned off on your phone which will help save memory on your phone.
Live streaming uses a lot of battery power so make sure your phone is charged also and maybe have a power cord or charging device nearby. Keep your brightness halfway down on your phone or iPad also which will save battery.
One thing that can be challenging at times is if you have low bandwidth or signal issues and the feed keeps dropping off. Just continue to be persistent and hit the go-live button if it kicks you off.
Also, try and makes sure you have other apps closed down on your phone or iPad and notifications turned off on your phone which will help save memory on your phone.
Live streaming uses a lot of battery power so make sure your phone is charged also and maybe have a power cord or charging device nearby. Keep your brightness halfway down on your phone or iPad also which will save battery.