How to take your meetup live
Most meetups never go live because “live streaming” sounds like a whole job. It isn't. Below is the exact gear list, setup steps, and checklist we use for our own events.
Sized for a real room: 2 cameras and 3–4 speakers total.
The equipment you need
The starting point is minimal gear with an optional camera upgrade if you want sharper video. Tick each item off as you pack it.
Laptop
A dedicated machine that does nothing but run the broadcast. Close everything else.
Pro tipWe recommend a MacBook Pro on the latest updates, with Google Chrome as your browser.
Camera
Connect iPhone to your Mac with Continuity Camera. It is a genuinely great starting camera.
UpgradeSony ZV-E1 + Tamron lens for a cinematic look. It feeds the ATEM over HDMI, so no capture card needed.
ATEM Mini
The hub for audio and video. Both DJI receivers plug in, and the Sony feeds in over HDMI, so it doubles as your capture card. One USB-C cable sends everything to your Mac.
Pro tipWith only 2 speakers you can skip the ATEM entirely and plug the DJIs straight into your laptop.
Table
One surface for the laptop, switcher, and cables. Keep the setup in one place.
Internet
15–20 Mbps upload minimum. Run an ethernet cable to the laptop whenever you can.
Wire the gear
Here's how it all connects. Do the steps in order. This is the exact wiring we ran at Raycast's meetup in San Francisco.
- 01
Mic the panelists
Clip a mic to each person who speaks, pinned to their shirt near the collar, so every voice comes through clean.
- 02
Connect the receivers to the ATEM
Plug both DJI receivers into the ATEM's 3.5mm mic inputs and confirm each speaker's channel is coming through.
Pro tipKeep a 4th DJI mic charged for audience Q&A. It was the most-used mic at Raycast's meetup.
- 03
Add the ATEM to your laptop
Plug the ATEM Mini into your laptop over USB-C. It mixes both DJI mics into one clean audio signal, and if you use the Sony it also captures the camera over HDMI, so Studio sees everything as a single source.
- 04
Set the camera
Set your iPhone on the tripod and it connects to your Mac wirelessly. Or set the Sony ZV-E1 on the tripod and run its HDMI output straight into the ATEM Mini, which doubles as your capture card.
Pro tipOn the Sony ZV-E1, swap the battery for a dummy battery so it runs for hours without dying.
- 05
Plug in power and internet
Power everything and connect the internet last, ethernet if possible.
The pre-live checklist
Tick each item off, and when the list is clear you are ready to go live.
8 items left before you are clear to broadcast.
The stream keeps working after everyone goes home
Ending the broadcast is the start of the second act. Restream makes it easy to turn a single evening into weeks of content and a whole new audience.
Post the clips
The highlights captured during the stream are ready to go. Review them and publish to every channel while the event is still fresh.
Open your clipsDownload the assets
Grab the full recording, the transcript, and the analytics. You have everything you need to prove reach and repurpose the content.
Open your recordingsSchedule a rerun
Re-run the event on another day and in a friendlier time zone. One recording keeps working for audiences you would have missed live.
Upload and StreamYour next meetup goes live
Restream Studio streams everywhere at once.
This setup is all it takes.