Live Streaming of Aerial Photography and Drone Filming: Setup and Monetization

It is due to the increasing popularity of The Rise of Live Video and What It Means for Marketers drones and advances in drone and drone filming technologies. Live streaming from drones is still a novel technology. Some of the considerations for aerial live streaming are following:

1. Live streaming services:The first thing you want to decide is where you want to live-stream your drone videos. Some of the live streaming services are YouTube Live, ustream, LivestreamTwitter's periscope and Facebook live streaming service.2. The drone camera: Some cameras output the videos in a generic way, but you need a drone with a camera which gives a clean HDMI output to be able to use live streaming services. If your camera does not provide a clean HDMI output, you would have to find a suitable adapter.3. Then you need an encoder which takes HDMI and transmits it on the internet.4. There are two main protocols used by streaming services. RTMP (Real-Time Messaging Protocol) and RTSP (Real-Time Streaming Protocol). Have a look at the appropriate one for your service because your choice of the encoder depends on it. There is also HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) where you divide the video file into small segments and deliver it to a player via HTTP protocol.5. The broadcast standard (ATSC, NTSC, PAL, or SECAM) is another consideration while streaming drone videos on any of the services. You would need to stick with the specifications the service demand. Just look at the technical specification section on their website.6. Another consideration is the ability to transcode (in other broadcasting standards) and the latency of the platform (the delay in transmission) you are using.7. The internet speed should be reasonable to be able to live stream the video.8. Some companies are making standalone solutions for drones which could be expensive, but if you are providing commercial services, then you might consider these solutions. One of the companies is Amimon. The company provides various products for enthusiasts and professional drone users. Two of their popular products are Connex and Connex Mini. However, their drone Flying Eye could be a quite expensive thing to buy! Another company is Newtek, and ustream recommends some of their devices.9. Also, if you want to use high-end camera rigs or high-quality professional VR cameras and streaming cloud, then you might consider any products from companies like 360designs and wowza.10. Some live streaming service providers have their own video streaming equipment which you can use if you plan to adhere to that particular company for your drone videos. It might save you some money when compared to products from Amimon. For example, livestream has Livestream Broadcaster Pro which is a device while ustream recommends some encoders as Ustream Certified Encoders and offers software called Ustream Producer and Ustream Pro.11. It is good to test your stream on multiple devices before you start streaming.12. You get a link for your live video broadcast from your service provider. You can send this link to anyone to see the broadcast. You can follow instructions from the platform of your choice.How to make money from your videos (during live streaming and afterwards):Making videos cost money and it would be a good idea to monetize your live streaming, and then the videos and get some cash.Monetization during live video streaming:First, we talk about live streaming, and if you are using YouTube live, then you can make some instant cash during your live stream!