Streaming

Church live streaming equipment on a budget

You can stream a service well without spending thousands. The trick is knowing where a cheap option is perfectly fine and where a small investment makes an outsized difference. Here are three tiers — start where your budget is and grow from there.

Tier 1 — Start small (little to no cost)

• Camera — a decent phone on a tripod, or a webcam you already own.
• Audio — a cable from your mixer's headphone/aux out into the computer, or a cheap USB audio interface.
• Encoder — OBS Studio, free.
• Platform — YouTube or Facebook, free.

This is enough to stream a clean, watchable service today.

Tier 2 — A solid, reliable setup

• A dedicated camcorder or mirrorless camera with a clean HDMI output.
• An HDMI-to-USB capture device to bring that camera into the PC.
• A small audio interface for a proper desk feed.
• A dedicated streaming PC — doesn't need to be powerful for a single camera.
• Basic lower-thirds for names and scripture.

Tier 3 — Multi-camera and polish

• Two or more cameras with a switcher (or vMix / OBS scenes).
• NDI to move video between computers over the network — no capture cards.
• Improved lighting and framing for a broadcast look.

Where to spend vs. save

• Spend: clean audio, a wired internet connection, the preacher's mic.
• Save: the camera (start with what you have), the encoder (OBS is free and excellent), graphics software.

Free upgrade: automatic on-screen verses

On-screen scripture usually costs paid software or a dedicated operator. TajiCast is free and does it automatically — it listens to your audio feed, detects the verse being preached, and sends a lower-third to OBS or vMix. A premium touch at no cost.

Related: How to live stream a church service · Great stream audio