We’ve been hearing the term “live streaming” for some time now, even your parents (and maybe your granny) used the term every now and then. But what it is exactly? And what impact has it had over our lives and the way we consume entertainment today?
What’s so appealing about seeing some stranger play video games from their mancaves? We’ll it’s more complicated than just that. It’s no different than any other form of entertainment, which as obvious as may sound, the goal is to entertain. In the end, that stranger will become someone to relate to, admire or even “dislike”.
While live streaming gain it’s major kickstart from YouTube (even though it was not live back then), big companies saw the potential and possible migration of TV viewers into a more custom-tailored type of entertainment. Supported by the massive and exponential home internet speed increase we’ve been experiencing over the last ten years and cellphones changing from luxury into an essential device. All this accompanied with the new 5G to spoil our impatient minds.
LIVE STREAMING FROM HOME
The starter tool to get your material out there would be YouTube. Accessible from most parts of the world and first go-to place to find whatever you are into. It’s rather simple.
Streaming is as simple as clicking on the record button in the upper right-hand corner, then “Go live”. You click “Webcam”, put a title to attract viewers. Once you have the tittle well thought out you click “Save” and finally “Go live”. Viewers and followers will get a notification and tune in at will. There are many platforms to share your content live. Such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitch, Tik-Tok and Mixer. To the viewers, is as simple as clicking on the link they want to see from on preferred platform.
LIVE STREAMING SPORTS
It’s very interesting how sports are embracing this technology knowing that users are leaving the good’ol TV broadcast for their grampas and started watching content from tablets and phones. Major Networks are now offering Livestreams to everyone, everywhere on any capable device. Not leaving cable TV out (not just yet), they re-transmit NBA, NFL, NBL, etc. matches mostly in pay-per-view and subscription formats. Of course, huge servers are needed to supply such demand so there’s a lot going on under the hood to keep the camera rolling.
You can watch sports online through the major TV networks, such us Fox sports, ESPN and NBC sports, Paramount+ and Sunday Ticket, among others.
LIVE STREAMING CASINO
The internet of things has arrived to casinos too. Back in the early 2000’s you might have heard about online poker, but online gambling has gone a long way since then. Right now, they suggest many opportunities for their customers. From 100 free spins welcome bonus to no deposit bonus and any others.
Online casino platforms are mostly powered by a software engine called RNG or Random Number Generator. Mimicking real-life chance and luck. It is a mathematical concept that is used to generate numbers or a sequence of numbers that can’t be predicted other than by pure random chance. Online players get the same feeling as they were in a real casino even better with the live stream gambling. How it works? For card games, the cards have an unnoticeable microchip implanted. When the cards are dealt on a smart table capable of decoding the chip, information is transferred to the casino servers. That data is processed and sent to the online platform. The software is capable of handling one or more players, on the same table as they would on a real casino. Everything supported by a webcam aiming at the croupier to enhance the whole experience. With that in mind, we strongly recommend 888 Casino the well-known UK online gambling website, who are offering exciting live casino with real dealers via streaming technology, with many tables and good variety of games including a VIP section for high rollers.
LIVE STREAMING E-SPORTS
As in with regular sports, E-sports are finding their huge benefits in livestreams. It’s part of their nature, actually. They even have commentators and broadcasters, which are arising as stars now.
Some of the most popular games are League of legends, Fortnite, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Rocket League. There are many sponsors to support teams and huge pool prizes for winners to promote the industry. You can watch e-sports games on Twitch, YouTube, Facebook Gaming, Mixer, Caffeine and Steam TV.
LIVE STREAMING FOR E-LEARNING
Another industry that has found their place within the cyberspace is education. While it all started with online campuses from universities, mostly. Now everyone is finding a benefit from either teaching or learning remotely. Teachers can reach out to students that are beyond their geographical limits opening a new horizon to them. It goes both ways, let’s say you live in a small town and you want to learn how to play guitar in very specific genre that no teacher masters in your area. You can find someone online to scratch that itch.
In a big scale, universities in Europe are implementing online classes over Zoom or proprietary platforms. With current internet access, the framerate has gone up and the dropped video calls are rarer allowing to maintain the flow of the class.
Also, the student’s attendance is showing a significant increase since there are no outside factors such as traffic or weather. Big collages are jumping on the online wagon, such as FSU from Florida that has a dedicated online area. They offer multiple classes, and even complete degrees, that can be completed 100% online.
New Mexico State University also has an online educational program. These types of education allow students who might not be able to attend collage to access the education they cherish. All these wouldn’t have been possible not so long ago, without the current internet speed accessible, the enormous advances in data transfer and server allocation that most of us have access to for fairly cheap.
CONCLUSION
There’s no doubt that we are just reaching the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the internet. Livestreaming is something that has cut so deep into lives that we almost take it for granted. We now have access to alternative, uncensored and unedited content from content creators, musicians, actors and idols. This also opened the gates to learn faster by giving us more access to education, and even get the chance to have fun and relax online either at casinos or concerts.
We are getting to places beyond our imagination exponentially faster than ever, and it’s very exciting.