How to Connect a Camera or Capture Card to Wirecast

Setting up your first live stream can be overwhelming. There are a ton of variables that need to be considered before going live. One of the most important factors is the type of camera that you use. Selecting the right camera will determine the quality and success of your live stream.

There are two main types of cameras that you can use with Wirecast – cameras that require capture cards and cameras that do not.

Cameras with Analog (USB/micro or mini), HDMI and SDI outputs require a connected video capture card. When using these types of cameras, you’ll need to use either an internal or external capture card to bring your video feed into Wirecast. The type of capture card you select will vary depending on your budget, video camera and computer. There are a number of great capture cards on the market including AJA, Matrox, BlackMagic Design, Magewell, Matrox and Epiphan. Regardless of the brand you choose – be sure to download the current drivers associated with the hardware from the manufacturers website before testing it out.

To connect your camera and/or capture card to Wirecast follow these simple steps: 

Adding a capture card and camera

  1. If you have an external capture card, plug it into your computer using the appropriate USB, Thunderbolt, HDMI or SDI connection. If it’s an internal HDMI or SDI card in your computer, go to the next step.
  2. Now, connect your camera to your capture card and turn your camera on
  3. Open Wirecast and click on the plus (+) icon in your desired Wirecast layer to prompt the dropdown menu. Select Capture Devices and click on your connected capture card in the dropdown menu
  4. If adding multiple camera, repeat steps

**If your camera feed does not show up, you may need to change the format of your video. To do this, select the capture card within the layer and go to the System Device Properties tab on the left-hand side of the window. Here you can adjust the video format to allow the camera feed to appear.

Adding a USB connected camera, such as a webcam

  1. Plug your USB camera into your computer and turn it on
  2. Open Wirecast and click on the plus (+) icon in your desired layer to prompt the dropdown menu. Select Capture Devices and click on your connected USB webcam in the dropdown menu.
  3. Click on the USB webcam feed in your layer to edit the video settings and the recording framerate in the system device properties on the left-hand side of the window.
  4. If adding multiple camera, repeat steps

Congratulations on connecting your camera to Wirecast! Now it’s time to live stream! Be sure to tell us how it goes in the comments and tag us in your streams! We love to see the awesome content our Wirecast customers create.

Wirecast 8 is available in our store now and for free trial! And our wonderful customers who have previously purchased Wirecast, you can upgrade for a discounted price!

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