With Google Hangouts On Air, you can host and broadcast live discussions and performances to the world. You can also embed the live video player into a webpage with an html code, and later edit and share a copy of the broadcast. At the University of Pennsylvania, I've done dozens of complex, large-scale live webcasts using Google Hangouts on Air. Here, I share my findings.
The Pros
It's a Free and Quick Webcasting Solution - Hangouts on Air is a huge breakthrough for anyone wanting to stream because it is free to use. Sign up for a Google account, start a "Hangout", follow the prompts to take your Hangout "On Air" by connecting to YouTube, and you'll be be broadcasting before you know it. Before Google Hangouts on Air, you needed to run your own video streaming server (which requires money, hardware and expertise) or you had to shell out big bucks to streaming providers like Akamai or UStream. Further, as a free solution, you can quickly start webcasting without getting your boss' approval or breaking out a credit card -- which can be a real time-saver. Lastly, there's no obligation to use it if you try it and don't like it. No buyer's remorse here. It's Easy - Open your browser, sign into Google Hangouts, click a few buttons and you'll be up and running. Most average computer users can get the hang of the process fairly quickly, especially with Google's helpful instructions. Behind the scenes, Google enhances video colors and keeps audio levels consistent. Accommodates Unlimited Viewers - This is huge. Google claims that a Hangout can have an unlimited number of viewers. So far, I've done webcasts with 700 live viewers with no troubles at all. As the Hangout organizer, you can see how many viewers are tuned in. Nice feature. Multiple Cameras? - Google Hangouts doesn't natively support multiple cameras from a single source. However, you can use third party software such as Wirecast or ManyCam to accomdoate multiple cameras and send them to YouTube as a virtual camera. Hangouts are Recorded and can be Replayed - By default, Hangouts on Air are recorded and available almost for replay instantly. The video can be found via a YouTube search. If you embedded the live player in any webpages, the player that displays your live video feed will contain a recording of the broadcast after your webcast ends. Virtual participants (up to 10) - As the broadcast organizer, you can invite other Google users to participate in the webcast via their webcam and microphone. This has been invaluable for us at the University of Pennsylvania, where we have convened professors, experts, and teaching assistants from across the world into a single webcast. As the Google Hangout organizer, you can let Hangouts select who is shown on the screen automatically or you can manually switch between yourself and virtual participants by clicking on the participant at the bottom of the screen. Add-ons - e.g. screensharing Embed code or watch on YouTube - The Google Hangout provides an embed code that allows you to place the webcast directly in your webpage. The webcast is also accessible via Youtube, which has the benefits of the YouTube comments feature.
The Cons
Reliability and Consistency - As a cloud, web-based service, Google seems to be always tinkering with Hangouts on Air. While this often means improvements and new features, it also means that new bugs and changes to the interface are common. As a result, logging in extra early is a necessity. I usually start setting up a Hangout On Air 30 to 45 minutes before webcast time to allow for troubleshooting or unexpected bugs -- Restarting the browser and/or computer is sometimes necessary. Overall, Hangouts has been fairly reliable but far from perfect. Hangouts has gone "down" on a couple of occasions, which has interrupted our webcast or left us unable to start a webcast. In a couple of cases, I have witnessed the YouTube recording of the webcast to be cut into two or incomplete. With that said, I have done dozens of webcasts without a hitch, but always record a local copy of the webcast for good measure. It's a Browser-Based Solution - It's remarkable that something as computing intensive as video broadcasting can be done through a browser with Google Hangouts. Technology these days! But as a result, it should come as no surprise that web browsers are a vulnerable point of failure during a webcast. Ironically, Google Chrome has been very unreliable for webcasting. It has crashed on numerous occasions, leaving us scrambling mid-webcast. We have had much better success and reliability using Mozilla Firefox with Google Hangouts. It's Easy - The fact that Hangouts are easy is an impediment in some ways. If you are an audio or video professional, you'll feel a little stifled with the lack of control over the technical aspects of the broadcast. The audio and video you feed to Google will be re-encoded and compressed by the Hangouts platform, whether you like it or not :) Quality of Broadcast + Recording - ...which leads us into broadcast quality. Google Hangout video and audio quality is fair. It will not do justice to the crisp HD feed you are producing, as you will notice a degradation of video quality. The recording will also be yet another notch down. Lack of embed code and Youtube URL before broadcast - Each Hangout On Air receives a unique URL, which is assigned to you when you start your Hangout. Unfortunately, this means you must start your broadcast before inviting virtual participants and before embedding your video in your webpage, which is something you must scramble to do at the last minute. Again, always start your Hangout early! Limited Camera Input Options - The Hangouts platform natively supports USB webcams and some Firewire cameras. This is a pretty serious limitation for video professionals. To deliver an HD single (and to allow for multiple cameras in our webcasts), we use Wirecast to capture our video and deliver it to Hangouts via the "Virtual Camera" feature. Please contact me if you're interested in more details on this setup.
Does it make the cut?
For us, the benefits of having a free platform that supports virtual participants and unlimited viewers is a major plus. It's an easy, quick solution. Unfortunately, this comes at the cost of quality, as Google Hangouts significantly compresses the wonderful HD signal we send it. As a browser based solution, it's convenient but not as a reliable as alternative solutions. I recommend using YouTube Live for a more professional and reliable webcasting platform.
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