REVIEW: VEGAS Stream
2020 was the year that pushed working from home from the back burner to the #1 priority overnight. I remember in February of 2020 getting the feeling that I needed to be 100% ready to work from home, then a few weeks later the whole Post Production world saw the most influential shift in technologies that it probably has ever seen. From remote editing over NDI feeds to reviewing projects with clients straight from inside an NLE via Zoom — our world had permanently been altered by the Pandemic. Once the dust settled and I was comfortably Online Editing and Coloring shows from my house, I began looking into things like better ways to live stream.
Before the 2020 pandemic really kicked into high gear I had been dabbling in OBS (https://obsproject.com/), a free and open source streaming solution. The only problem is that it isn’t necessarily easy to get working, especially when working with external cameras. During a hiatus/transition from post supervising to assistant editing, I began to work on my Masters Degree in Education. I felt that my knowledge of technology, especially multimedia technology, could really help others. Fast forward back to the 2020 Pandemic and as my kids transitioned to remote learning, I had a feeling educators were not necessarily ready for this transition either — not to mention working with multiple camera angles. Especially teachers who are not technically proficient. I saw a big opening for a simple streaming solution. I began to find write ups like this one created by Dr. Roger Chao: https://docs.google.com/document/d/12SSl1bmbMOKr6SbumdyRWbFSR889WCvqJHCBmrCOWrc/edit — a 45 page step by step guide for teachers to use OBS. Unfortunately, I don’t think this was a feasible task considering educators also had to….you know…teach their students. And while there are others out there, VEGAS Stream came knocking on my door. And once the folks at VEGAS showed me the ease of use and power that VEGAS Stream has inside, I was hooked.
VEGAS Stream is an easy to use, all-in-one, multiple camera streaming solution. From Twitch to YouTube, you can be running a stream within 10 minutes. Whether you are switching between multiple cameras or simply from your webcam and your desktop power point — VEGAS Stream can be a great tool.
Getting Up and Running
VEGAS Stream is packaged with VEGAS Pro (the non-linear editor). After you are done with your stream, VEGAS Stream can output a VEGAS Pro project that can be opened, multi-cam sequences with isolated cameras can be re-switched and edited, any graphics used can be adjusted, new effects and graphics can be added (like noise reduction, color correction, etc), and re-packaged for upload. It really is a slick way to package an entire live stream for easy re-purposing. I love that feature. But once I was inside of VEGAS Stream I was able to setup my project:
- Assign Output Framerates and Resolutions:
720p/25fps, 720p/30fps, 720p/50fps, 720p/60fps, 1080p/25fps, and 1080p/30fps
2. Video Input Feeds: Cameras/NDI Feeds that will be used
3. Audio Input Feeds: Mics/Feeds that will be used
4. Graphics: Create, Adjust, Import graphics like lower 3rds
5. Media: Add media files into the project that will be used in the feed
6. Streaming: Settings for live feeds like Twitch, YouTube, Facebook, etc. There is a convenient link that will shoot you right over to the correct YouTube Streaming setup.
7. Recording: Identify location to record live feed and isolated cameras to, choose between mpeg2 or h.264 file formats and .mp4, .mkv, or .ts file wrappers. Also enable the Export to VEGAS Pro feature. Up to 1080p/30fps.
Setting up Skype or Microsoft Teams via NDI
One of the best features in my opinion is the usage of external video calls in your VEGAS Stream live feed production. This isn’t always easy to set-up but as long as you enable the NDI function in apps like Skype, VEGAS Stream will automatically show you the available input cameras in the Video Input Feeds setting. I don’t use Skype as much as Zoom so it was a good test at how easy it would be to allow NDI feeds from Skype. I downloaded Skype and went into the Settings > Calling > Advanced Settings > Allow NDI Usage. Then jumped back into the VEGAS Stream Video Input Feeds setting and added a new input and located the new NDI feed from Skype. It was pretty easy.
Live Streaming
Once I had a basic lower third setup using the graphics editing toolset, the YouTube live stream key and other settings ready, I hit the big green and was off and running. It was dead simple to get VEGAS Stream to begin a live stream via YouTube, much easier than OBS. This part was really easy.
Features
-Dynamic Graphics (Excel based graphics, Table Data, Data drawn from Microsoft Teams)
- 10 live sources and picture-in-picture
- Remote Sources: Microsoft Teams, Skype, Sienna Cloud, Mevo NDI, and Bird Dog Cloud
- Social Media Integration: YouTube Live Chat, Tweets from Twitter, and Facebook posts, comments, live comments, and reaction polls.
Distribution Platforms
- Social Media: Youtube live, Facebook live, Twitter, LinkedIn, Twitch
- Video Platforms: Microsoft Stream, Qumu, Kaltura, Brightcove, Vimeo Livestream, Mediasite, and Switchboard
- Live Output: RTMP, NDI, HDMI, virtual webcam (Teams, Zoom, Skype, Slack, Google Hangouts, and more)
What did I love about VEGAS Stream?
Overall, the entire experience was good. If you want to do a simple live feed to YouTube with just your webcam and desktop screen shared you can be running in minutes. If you want to dive further and create a live stream with roll in videos, lower thirds, transitions, and remote sources like calls from Skype or Microsoft Teams you can be up and running probably within an hour.
What would I love to see improved?
There were a few things that I would love to see added to VEGAS Stream on it’s next update:
Basic Camera Color Correction: With multiple cameras coming from millions of sources, you are bound to run into some cameras that are not properly white balanced or just need a slight hue adjustment. I would love to see a simple hue/color cast slider in VEGAS Stream to simply correct for Magenta or Green Hues — or even dive deeper and really balance your cameras.
LUTs: It would be nice to be able to add a creative LUT on top of the feed to further create a cohesive visual look.
Import VEGAS Pro, Effects, Sound Forge, or Image projects into VEGAS Stream to be used in a live feed.
GoPro Camera Integration: Sometimes I use my GoPro cameras with the GoPro Webcam Utility (https://community.gopro.com/t5/en/GoPro-Webcam/ta-p/665493 ) to upgrade my camera quality on Zoom. Unfortunately, VEGAS Stream could not see my GoPro Hero 9 through the GoPro Webcam Utility. This would be a really nice feature to add to VEGAS Stream.
Cost
VEGAS Stream has two subscription based pricing models:
- VEGAS Stream, VEGAS Pro, and SOUND FORGE Pro: $29.99/month if paid in full for 12 months.
- VEGAS Stream Post 365 (includes VEGAS Pro, SOUND FORGE Pro, VEGAS Effects, and VEGAS Image): $39.99/month if paid in full for 12 months.
Wrap-up
In the end, VEGAS Stream is a great value whether you use VEGAS Pro or not. $29.99/month for a simply way to stream content without too many headaches is worth it. If you are a VEGAS Pro user already, $39.99/month is about $18/month more than what you are paying now and is completely worth it to me. If you’re computer can handle video editing, it will most likely be able to handle VEGAS Stream but it must be Windows 10 based. No MacOS here. You can find the computer specs needed here: https://www.vegascreativesoftware.com/us/vegas-stream/specifications/#productMenu .
Definitely, check out the VEGAS Stream trial if you have any questions and get streaming now! https://www.vegascreativesoftware.com/us/vegas-stream/features/#productMenu
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