How to Connect Camcorder to Laptop for Live Streaming?
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It is not a Rocket science to connect a Camcorder or an external camera to a Laptop for live streaming on YouTube, Facebook, or any other platform. There are some basic things that you need to do to accomplish this so-called milestone. For Every Beginner or Streamer this is a very normal question i.e. How to connect a camcorder to Laptop for Live streaming? So, let’s begin with some basic things that you need to have before proceeding further.
Things you need to Connect Camcorder to Laptop for Live Streaming?
- Laptop with USB 3.0 port (Recommended High-end or Gaming Laptop)
- Camcorder with a clean HDMI output (Recommended Canon VIXIA HF R800 Camcorder – View on Amazon)
- Elgato Cam Link 4K (Compulsory – View on Amazon)
- Encoding Software (Recommended OBS Free Software Click Here to Download)
Step by Step guide to Connect the Camcorder to a laptop for live streaming
Step 1– Turn on your Laptop and Unbox the Elgato Cam Link.
Step 2– Out of the box you will get Elgato Cam link 4K and a USB 3.0 Extension Cable.
Step 3– All you need to do is Plug in the HDMI OUT into the Elgato Cam Link, and
Step 4– Connect the Correct HDMI port (another end of HDMI) to your Camcorder.
Step 5– Now insert the Elgato Cam link to your Laptop USB 3.0 Port.
Once you are done with the Setup. Now, we will move towards the Software part.
Step 6– Now you need to download the Software for Live Stream. I will recommend OBS (Click here to download) This software is free to do the Live Streaming on any Platform. Supported Operating Systems (supports Windows 8, 8.1, and 10) macOS 10.13 or Newer.
Step 7– Once your software is installed in your Laptop, you need to open it up if it’s not working then you can restart your Laptop.
Step 8– Once the software is open, you will see a setting option on the bottom right of your screen. Click on that option.
Step 9– You will see an option there for Video. Just click on it and check the Video Resolutions. For gaming you can change the FPS to 60 for general Live Streaming keep it as default and click OK.
Step 10 – Now on the bottom left of your screen there will be a column saying “Scenes”. Right-Click inside that Box and click on “Add”.
Step 11 – It will pop-up a new window and you can name that file whatever you like (Example: Camlink 4k) and Press Ok.
Step 12 – Select your Recently Saved File in the left bottom corner of your screen.
Step 13– Next you need to click on your file name (Camlink 4). Once it is highlighted then you need to click on “+” Sign showing right side your panel under the heading of Sources.
Step 14-It will give a list of options from there you need to select AUDIO INPUT CAPTURE. Now you need to name that file (Example: RODE XLR) and Press Ok.
Step 15– Once you will press Ok it will Give you a need window to select the saved device or to keep it default. If you are using an inbuilt Mic then keep it default or you can select the devices that are available to record audio from the dropdown.
Step 16– Now you again need to click on + Button and from there you need to select the Video Capture Device and name that file anything you want (Example: Canon VIXIA HF R800) and Click Ok.
Step 17– It will start showing your video from Camcorder the very next thing that you need to do is click on the mute button just in front of your Camcorder bar (Canon VIXIA HF R800). Otherwise it will give you double audio and it does not sound really good.
Step 18– If you will see your video is not filming the whole screen. Then you can right-click on the screen and go to transform and from drop-down select Fit To Screen.
Step 19– Once you are satisfied with the setup then you can click on Settings (Right bottom corner of the screen). A new box will appear and select the Stream option from the left panel. It will give you the option Stream Services from there you can select any of the platforms including YouTube, Twitch, Etc.
That’s All you need to do to Connect a Camcorder to Laptop for Live Streaming.
Follow up Questions
Why Do you need a Camcorder or an external Camera to do the Live Streaming?
First, it allows you to use better cameras with better lenses, longer zoom capability, and more control overexposures and use external audio inputs all of which are important in a production environment.
How Can I do the Live Streaming on YouTube using Camcorder?
You can do the Live Streaming on YouTube using Camcorder. You just need to Download the OBS software, Install it, and do the basic setup. Now, it’s all good to Go.
Is there any way I can do it without Elgato or any other device?
You can do it but you will face lots of issues and your live stream can even crash due to poor setup. So, we hardly recommend using Elgato for great Results.
Wrapping up Article
So this was the whole complete step by step guide to do the successful setup of your camcorder to Laptop for Live Streaming. I hope so you are now able to do it without any problem or issue.
If you still have some doubts, please leave a comment below I will try to provide the solution if Possible. Thank you for reading my article and giving your valuable time.
The Author “HARRY” is a Graduate of New York Institute of Technology in Computer Science. He is a passionate Blogger and shares his personal experience on Laptops to help others buying the Perfect Laptop as per their Need and Profession. He has been honored as a Succesful Blogger of the Year Award in 2020.