Live stream software allows users to present a live feed hosted over the internet, on a designated platform or website. Live streaming enables organizations, brands, and individuals to entertain and promote themselves to a live audience. These solutions enable users to record, produce, edit and mix live stream videos. In addition to video editing, live stream tools provide audio editing and mixing capabilities, similar to audio editing software. These features allow users to adjust audio settings in a granular way, such as rearranging specific portions of the audio in a live stream, adding audio corrections, or adding special sound effects. Media production professionals familiar with video editing typically use live stream software. However, this tool is also used by marketing and product teams who want to produce a live stream for promotional purposes.
While live stream software can be very similar to webinar software, their use cases can differ, and so can the additional features provided by both. Webinars engage their audience more directly than a live stream; while a streamer might interact with their audience, a webcast can be considered a live broadcast. The substance and content of a webinar are also more impacted by audience engagement.
To qualify for inclusion in the Live Stream category, a product must:
- Allow users to stream live video on a provided platform or social media website or embed it onto a website
- Supply tools that allow the audience to engage with one another and the host
- Provide streamers with analytics concerning the audience, their engagement, and their demographics
- Allows users to produce and edit live stream videos
- Include audio and mixing capabilities
