Remember I wrote about the live streaming services and their iPhone and Android apps recently. All these services are good for casual users. If you have a video recording capable smartphone, then you can possibly just record a video and then upload it to YouTube or elsewhere.
But what if you want to show what you are seeing simultaneously to your viewers, that where services like Qik, Ustream and others kick in. You can read about them in detail at the above mentioned links.
Now no one can actually use all of them all the time. So somewhere down the line you have to chose the best for your purpose. That’s why today I thought of doing just that.
Test setup
For my quick home setup I made sure the following:
- All videos are recorded using the same device. (Nexus One)
- All videos are recorded using Wi-Fi.
- All videos are recorded using the same lighting conditions.
- All videos are of almost the same length. Thanks to my daughter “Aashka” to be very consistent in delivering the performance.
I am attaching all those 4 videos here for your quick reference. You can yourself decide which service provides the best result. Other things to consider before sticking to one are:
- App/service overall quality. (Qik and Ustream are the best.)
- Traffic and number of users actually using the service. This is helpful if you really want your videos to be seen to a wider audience. (Justin.tv and Ustream are the best.)
- Popularity of the service. (Ustream, Justin.tv and Qik are quite popular.)
- Content other users share using the service – home made videos vs. professional network etc. (Qik is more personal and Ustream is more professional)
- Ease of use and the customization options. (All of them are equally good.)
Below is a quick comparison of their traffic (via Compete.com)
Attached are the videos:
Watch live video from Guturgu TV on Justin.tv
Conclusion:
In my home test the Bambuser android app crashed several times while recording the video. Qik and Ustream seemed to have a larger user base and the apps are really high quality for both iPhone and Android. Justin.tv wasn’t bad either but the size of the video is relatively smaller as compared to other services.
Personally, I would most probably stick to Qik or Ustream because of the large audience. Qik is my favorite for sharing personal home videos whereas I use Ustream for Knowliz live broadcasting.
However, I would request the developer of these services to allow app to SD card install because Qik android app consume a huge 10+MB space.
Over to you:
Let us hear what you guys use and why. Which is your favorite service? Also feel free to share your views if you happen to disagree with me on anything. I am open for discussion.
