How to Live Stream from your Desktop – My Live Streaming Studio Setup

Terry White streaming studio

Live streaming has become a big part of my life. So much so that it’s actually a major part of my day job. I stream live Adobe tutorials regularly to YouTube, Facebook and Twitter/Periscope. I spent most of 2016 streaming to Twitch.tv. Since this is what I do for a living I wanted to have high production values.

Therefore I setup a dedicated live streaming studio in my home. Being a photographer I’ve setup a few photography studios and no matter how you equip your studio you can always find more gear that you want and ways to improve it. I’ve been building out this live streaming studio since May 2016. I have everything I “need” to do my streams, but I’m always looking out for ways to improve upon what I have.

Like a photography studio, your streaming setup can be very basic or very elaborate

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5 Things I Can’t Believe that Apple Still Sells

The other day I was looking through the Apple.com accessories section for a keyboard and I ran across a few items that I was kinda shocked that Apple still sells. In most cases these items have probably been forgotten about and just never removed from the site, but nonetheless it’s interesting to still see them listed. Especially when Apple is quick to tell us that it was because of “courage” they removed the headphone jack on the iPhone 7. Or how it was bold to stop putting floppy drives in Macs back in the day. In no particular order:

5 The Apple Mouse

I’ve been using a wireless Magic Mouse and now Magic Mouse 2 for years. I was shocked to see that not only does Apple still sell the wired Apple Mouse, but it’s still $49. By the way, I absolutely hated this particular mouse back in the day. The scroll nub would always stop working! Wired mice are still useful, just not this one.  It’s here.

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If You Have an iPhone 7 You Need This Adapter

Although I don’t generally miss the headphone jack on my iPhone 7 Plus, there is one scenario that I do miss it. With only having the Lightning port this means that you have to decide to either charge or use a wired headset. Like I said, this generally isn’t a problem because I’m either using a wireless headset or I’m sitting at my desk and my iPhone 7 Plus is sitting in a iPhone dock which also has a wired headset attached to it. However, for those times when I want to plug in a headset and charge at the same time I’ve found the Belkin Lightning Audio + Charge Rockstar adapter. This adapter give you TWO Lightning ports instead of one.

It works great as long as you know the limitations…

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My 2016 Holiday Gadget Gift Guide is Here

I know it’s late, but it’s here. My 9th annual Holiday Gadget Gift Guide is here. Rather than the usual full blown guide I’ve noticed that people prefer the “short list”. In other words these are my top picks for the gadget lovers on your list. So in no particular order here are my 2016 top picks:

Amazon Echo Dot

I’m a fan of the Amazon Echo, but when Amazon introduced the much less expensive Amazon Echo Dot, it was a no-brainer to put these around the house. Not only do I love the fact that I can ask it various questions like “what’s the weather like?”, “what’s in the news today?,  “play my Beyoncé Pandora radio station”, but also things like “turn on the outside lights”. While the Echo Dot lacks the nice speaker in the Amazon Echo, it can connect to any speaker you have via an audio cable or bluetooth.

Get the Amazon Echo Dot here.

Lutron Caseta Dimmer Kit

One of my favorite gadgets of 2016 is the Lutron Caseta dimmers and wall switches. I have upgraded 90% of the wall switches in my house to Caseta switches as well as all the lamps. Now not only can I control these lights with my iPhone and their app, but also the Home app built-in to iOS 10 (it’s HomeKit enabled) and Amazon Echo. “Hey Siri, turn off the downstairs lights.” You can expand the system to up to 50 devices. I did it over time and couldn’t be happier with my smart home.

Get the Lutron Caseta Dimmer Starter Kit here or the Lutron Caseta Wireless Smart Lighting In-Wall  Dimmer Kit here (requires installation).

Apple TV 4th Generation

I’ve always been a fan of Apple TV, but the 4th generation model takes it to the next level. Unlike previous generations, the latest Apple TV allows you to install Apps from the App Store. Also with the rumors that Apple is working on deals to allow you to watch movies that are still in theaters, it’s never been a better time to get an Apple TV. You can also use it to display/stream content from your iOS mobile devices and Macs.

Get the Apple TV 4th Generation here.

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My 1st Impressions of the DJI Mavic Pro Quadcopter

DJI Mavic Pro

I’ve been dabbling in quadcopters since the Parrot AR.Drone (a toy by today’s standards). It took a lot for me to buy the first DJI Phantom. I just couldn’t see spending that much money for a quadcopter at the time. Back then there was no integrated camera or gimbal. You used a GoPro and if you wanted a steady camera you invested hundreds more in a 3rd party gimbal that had to be manually installed by drilling holes and soldering directly onto the logic board. My next DJI was the Phantom 2 Vision +. This one was leaps and bounds better than my original Phantom as it had an integrated HD camera and gimbal. DJI has been innovating quickly ever since. The Phantom 3, Inspire and Phantom 4 have made giant leaps in all areas over my Phantom 2. After my Iceland trip, I came back convinced that it was time to upgrade to a better model. I was set to get a Phantom 4, but heard that DJI was going to be making an announcement soon. That announcement ended up being the NEW DJI Mavic Pro! All I could say was WOW! This was drone I was looking for. Something small enough to travel everywhere with, yet with all the modern bells and whistles and image quality of the Phantom 4 (close enough). I pre-ordered on day one.

My DJI Mavic Pro has arrived

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iPhone 7 Plus Review

iphone7plus-in-my-hand

I know this review is way overdue. I have reviewed the new iPhone each year on the Monday after release since 2007. Why the delay on my iPhone 7 Plus review? There are a few reasons, but the main one was that I was waiting on one of the hallmark features that is promised for the iOS 10.1 release. I was hopeful that since I’ve waited this long that the new “Portrait” aka shallow depth of field camera feature would be released. As of the writing of this review, it’s still in beta. So I don’t want to give an opinion based upon unreleased software. With that said, let’s get to it…

My iPhone 7 Plus order got off to a shaky start

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Mevo Live Event Camera Review

mevo-live-event-camera

I pre-ordered the Mevo back on January 5th, 2016 – the first day I heard about it. There was no denying the versatility of a 4K camera capable of doing in-app switching between different HD quadrants of it’s wide angle 4K 150° field of view all while Live Streaming.  Although the camera was originally touted to only work with Livestream.com (a paid live streaming site), I knew that other streaming services would come on board. The camera was delayed from it’s original target of shipping in April and finally arrived this week (4 months late – I won’t complain since I got a sweet pre-order price). The good news is that out of the box the camera supports Live Streaming not only to livestream.com, but also Facebook! While I and many others expected Twitter to jump on board with Periscope support, Facebook provides an API (application programmer interface) for their Facebook Live platform that allows developers like Mevo to write support for Facebook Live right in their app. I’m sure others will come on board over time, but having Facebook Live at this point is great for me.

How does the Mevo work?

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I love shooting 360° photos and videos – Ricoh Theta S Review

 

Ricoh Theta S 360° Camera

I’ll be the first to say that when 360° images hit the scene I was not the least bit interested. All I saw from my friends were images like the one below. While they are somewhat interesting to look at in that style, I just didn’t see myself wanting to create a bunch of those. Then the announcement came out that Facebook was now supporting 360° images NATIVELY and INTERACTIVELY.

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A Great Sounding Portable Bluetooth Speaker That Doesn’t Break the Bank


I’ve reviewed portable speakers here before. I usually find one that I like. It sounds pretty good. It travels well and I use it until something better comes along. However, this time I don’t really need a new travel speaker as much as I just want a portable speaker that I can use at home in my office, move around from room to room, use out on the patio and yes even travel with it if needed. I have been a fan of Bose products for a long long time. I have been eyeing the Bose Soundlink Mini II as the “I’m going to get that speaker one day”, next on my buy list. However, at the $199 asking price, I just never got around to buying it. My buddy Jason Levine has one and swears by it. Jason is a musician and an audiophile, so I would definitely believe in his recommendations on speakers and audio gear. I’m not an audiophile and I just want something that sounds really good. At $199 though, something always comes up that I’d rather have when I’m ready to buy.

Many of you know that I’m also a big fan of Anker products and while I have been paying attention mostly to their portable backup batteries and USB chargers, one day I noticed that they also sold something called the “Anker Premium Stereo Bluetooth Speaker.” I noticed that this speaker bears a striking resemblance to the Bose speaker (many do). The one thing that was definitely different was the asking price! It’s only $59.99 (here)! At $60 bucks it was definitely worth a shot. I got one, and was immediately impressed by the build quality and packaging. It didn’t feel cheap. It felt every bit as good as a more expensive speaker, but the big question was “how does it sound?” I paired it with my iPhone 6s Plus and went to my iTunes app. I fell back in my chair when I heard the music and my first response was WHOA! I can feel the bass! Most portable speakers (especially in this price range) don’t have a lot of bass response and while I’m not an audiophile it sounds every bit as good as the Bose speaker. Even if you’re an audiophile and you tell me “Terry, the Bose speaker does sound better.” My response would be, “Does it sound $140 better?” It doesn’t.

It has everything I was looking for. It’s a little bigger than my Jambox and works over Bluetooth, but still has an AUX in port to connect other sources. It comes with a USB cable for charging and even an audio cable to use with the AUX in port. The only thing that it doesn’t come with that I wish it did was a carrying case or pouch to put it in for travel. The speaker charges via USB and is rated to give you 8 hours of music playback on a single charge. You can also just leave it plugged in if you’re going to be in one spot near a USB charger (not included). It also doesn’t come with a remote control, but these are omissions that I don’t mind at this price. It comes in black or white and you can order one here. You have to hear it to believe it at that price.

7_18_16_adobe_special

I’m Always Low on Hard Drive Space – JetDrive to the Rescue

jetdrive_unmounted

The one thing I never hear anyone complain about is having too much available storage space. No matter how big your hard drive is, you’ll likely fill it up at some point. My everyday work computer is a MacBook Pro 15″ Retina Display with a 1TB SSD and I’m always having to manage the space on it. If I had a 2TB drive at some point I’d need to manage the space on it. This usually means moving older projects, photo shoots, demo files, etc. off of it onto my network file server or trashing stuff I just don’t need anymore. Then I can usually breathe for a while before having to repeat the process. Sure I have a few external USB 3 and Thunderbolt drives I can plug in in a pinch, but there are times where that’s not feasible due to the ports being used for other devices or being in a mobile situation where having a hard drive dangling (not really dangling) off the side doesn’t work either. Apple builds the drives into the logic boards of MacBooks these days. Therefore replacing the internal drive with a larger capacity is not possible.

The Transcend JetDrive is what I wanted

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