IRL: $1 Shopping at Philly’s Baltimore Ave Dollar Stroll | Speedify LIVE

On the 94th episode of Speedify LIVE we head out to the real world as we visit Philadelphia’s Baltimore Avenue Dollar Stroll, the twice-yearly festival full of live performances, street food, and crazy $1 deals.

We visit local vendors and businesses, get a poem written about Philly Cheesesteaks, discuss 4G vs 5G, and get through a couple streamergencies too!

Here are our 5 takeaways from our stroll through the Dollar Stroll:

1. The Dollar Stroll is home to many local businesses, and we visit a number of them too! We chat with Ceramic Concept owner, Stephanie about highlighting the talents of local women of color; Vix Emporium shows us their seasonal Seed Bombs for gardening enthusiasts; and Blackhound Clay Studios tells us about their workshops. 
2. Our software setup for this IRL stream is as follows: Larix Broadcaster is streaming RTMP through Speedify, running on an iPhone 12 Pro, combining its cellular and the wifi hotspot of another iPhone; running through Restream Studio, where the additional graphics and overlays are added, then streaming to Twitch, YouTube, Twitter, etc. 
3. The hardware setup is what we always use for IRL: an iPhone 12 Pro is the camera, mounted on a DJI Osmo 3 Gimbal for stability, using two Rode Go 2 microphones, this time on sticks and with their foam pop filters for better sound, and adding an extra connection to Speedify from another iPhone 12. 
4. When it comes to 4G vs 5G connections, there’s a lot to consider. 5G is faster and likely enough for streaming, however it is a lot more variable than 4G. If you move around, or even if something physically blocks the signal, speeds can drop a lot. Combining 5G with 4G in Speedify can help you stay online, even if the 5G connection drops.
5. This IRL stream, we did run into some Streamergencies, but none of them were due to Speedify or the connection itself! Our phone battery drained too quickly, so we removed the phone from the gimbal and added a magnetic battery pack; then the phone overheated, so we took off its case; Do Not Disturb got switched off, so a call interrupted the stream. All things that we are learning from for next time!