How to Keep a Live Event Stream Running When Venue Internet Fails
Speedify combines Wi-Fi, Ethernet, 4G/5G cellular, and Starlink into one reliable internet connection for live event production. When venue internet becomes congested or a single connection drops mid-stream, Speedify automatically shifts traffic to the remaining active connections, so the broadcast can stay online. Speedify needs two or more internet connections to keep the stream online when one drops; on a single connection it works as an encrypted VPN and cannot stop that connection from dropping. Speedify’s Enhance Streaming mode prioritizes stream traffic over other internet traffic on the production device.
Speedify keeps the stream up when the venue internet does not
This article covers how Speedify works for live events, which streaming software integrates directly, and how to set up a reliable combined connection for your next event.
Why Live Event Internet Is Harder Than It Looks
Live event production teams routinely arrive at venues with no reliable information about the internet infrastructure available to them.
Venue-provided Ethernet may be shared with every other vendor and exhibitor at the event. Venue Wi-Fi is almost always shared with every attendee in the building. And once an event begins and the room fills up, internet conditions can change rapidly in ways that are impossible to predict in advance.
The consequences of a dropped stream at a live event are different from a dropped stream in a studio. There is no second take. There is no opportunity to troubleshoot and retry. The audience is watching live, the speaker is on stage, and the production team has seconds to respond to an internet connectivity failure before the stream is lost.
The right approach is not to find a better single internet connection at the venue. It is to combine multiple internet connections so that no single failure can drop the stream. Speedify makes this possible in software on hardware the production team already owns.
Speedify and Ecamm Live: A Proven Combination for Live Events
Ecamm Live is one of the most widely used Mac-based live streaming platforms for professional event production. Speedify and Ecamm Live work together without any special configuration: run Speedify on the Mac running Ecamm Live, and Ecamm Live automatically uses the combined internet connection Speedify creates. The Ecamm Live community has documented Speedify’s reliability in live event conditions directly.
At an Ecamm Live multi-thousand-person conference, the venue internet connection failed completely for the remainder of the day. The production team switched to streaming from an iPhone, combining available connections in Speedify, and completed the conference without further interruption.
Ecamm Live community manager Doc Rock has described Speedify as having saved a live stream multiple times from excessive packet loss during a single broadcast session.
Speedify works with the full range of live streaming software used in professional event production: Ecamm Live, OBS, Streamlabs, Wirecast, StreamYard, vMix, and Restream. Speedify also works with all major streaming destinations: YouTube Live, Twitch, Facebook Live, LinkedIn Live, and custom RTMP endpoints. No changes to streaming software settings are required.
Read more about how to use Ecamm Live with Speedify for reliable live streaming.
Speedify and Dedicated Hardware That Combines Connections, Compared for Live Event Production
| Feature | Dedicated hardware (LiveU, Dejero, Teradek, TVU Networks, Streambox) | Speedify |
|---|---|---|
| What you buy | A proprietary device that combines connections, often paired with its own streaming encoder | A software subscription that runs on hardware you already own |
| Typical entry cost | Roughly $1,000 for an entry-level encoder, rising to about $5,000-$10,000 for a broadcast unit, plus an annual service subscription (LiveU’s LRT service is $450 a year) | $89.99 a year per user, billed yearly |
| Internet connections combined | Ethernet, Wi-Fi and cellular | Ethernet, Wi-Fi, 4G/5G cellular and Starlink, up to 31 connections |
| Maximum combined throughput | 20 Mbps to 1 Gbps depending on the model | 300 Mbps on shared servers, up to 1 Gbps on a Dedicated Server |
| Failover method | Automatic failover between connections | Packet-level automatic failover |
| Platforms supported | Proprietary hardware only | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, OpenWrt and embedded Linux |
| Getting started | Specify, buy, ship and configure a unit for every crew | Install the app, sign in, and start combining connections |
| If you do want hardware | Required | Optional: the Miri X510 router powered by Speedify |
Internet Connection Setups for Live Event Production
- Venue Ethernet plus 4G/5G cellular. Where the venue provides a wired Ethernet drop to the production area, combine it with one or more 4G/5G cellular connections from different carriers. The venue Ethernet carries the main upload load. If the venue connection becomes congested or drops, Speedify moves the stream to 4G/5G cellular in milliseconds, according to Speedify. When both are active and healthy, Speedify uses both for higher combined upload throughput.
- Venue Wi-Fi plus 4G/5G cellular. Where only venue Wi-Fi is available, combine it with 4G/5G cellular via a tethered smartphone or USB cellular adapter. Speedify uses both connections simultaneously and protects the stream if venue Wi-Fi degrades as the event fills up. The same setup works for live streaming sports from any venue.
- Multiple 4G/5G cellular connections from different carriers. For events at venues with no fixed internet infrastructure, combine two or more 4G/5G cellular connections from different carriers. Use Speedify’s cellular sharing feature to wirelessly pull additional cellular connections from other production team members’ devices without cables or hotspot hardware.
- Starlink plus 4G/5G cellular for outdoor events. For outdoor events where fixed internet infrastructure is unavailable, a Starlink dish combined with 4G/5G cellular provides both the throughput and redundancy an event production stream requires. The Miri X510 router powered by Speedify can be deployed at the production table to combine all of these connections at the network level, covering multiple production devices from a single point.
How to Set Up Speedify for Live Event Production
- Connect all available internet connections to your production device before the event: venue Ethernet via a USB Ethernet adapter if needed, venue Wi-Fi, and one or more 4G/5G cellular connections via tethered phones or USB cellular adapters.
- Install the Speedify app on your production device. Speedify runs on macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, and Android.
- Sign in to your Speedify account. Speedify automatically detects and begins combining all active internet connections. Enhance Streaming mode is enabled by default.
- Test your combined upload speed before the event begins using Speedify’s built-in speed test. Verify that your combined upload throughput meets your streaming bitrate target.
- Open Ecamm Live, OBS, Streamlabs, Wirecast, or your preferred streaming software and go live. Speedify combines the connections in the background throughout the event.
- For events with multiple streaming devices or a production team, set up a Speedify Teams account to manage all users and devices from one account, with central billing and usage statistics.
Who Uses Speedify for Live Event Internet
- Event production companies. Production teams managing live streams for conferences, concerts, product launches, and corporate events at venues with unpredictable internet infrastructure. Speedify provides a software layer that combines connections on production hardware the team already owns.
- Conference organizers. Organizations streaming speaker sessions, panel discussions, and workshops to remote audiences need a reliable upload connection that stays online even when the venue network gets congested as attendees arrive.
- Concert and entertainment venues. Music venues, theaters, and entertainment spaces streaming performances to online audiences depend on stable upload throughput for the whole show. Speedify combines venue internet with 4G/5G cellular as a second internet connection, so a single connection failure does not end the stream.
- Corporate event teams. In-house AV and production teams at companies streaming town halls, product announcements, and training sessions from office locations or off-site venues where IT does not control the internet infrastructure.
- Non-profit and community organizations. Organizations with limited budgets that need reliable live event streaming without investing in dedicated hardware. Speedify combines connections in software on devices the organization already owns.
Speedify Plans for Live Event Production
For individual event producers, a Speedify Individual plan ($89.99 a year) covers combining internet connections, Enhance Streaming mode, and the global Speed Server network on up to 5 devices at once.
For production companies and organizations managing multiple streaming operators and devices, Speedify Teams provides centralized management, usage statistics, and a REST API for automated account and device management. Speedify Teams scales to any number of users.
For events with high-bitrate production streams that require dedicated bandwidth and a static IP address, Speedify Dedicated Servers provide a private server with up to 1 Gbps throughput, as an add-on to an Individual, Families or Teams subscription.
The Miri X510 router powered by Speedify is available as a dedicated device that combines connections, for event production teams that want network-wide coverage from a single hardware unit at the production table.
Speedify Business Solutions
Speedify Teams
Speedify for Routers
Speedify Embedded Solutions and Integrations
Add Speedify to your own app or hardware with the Speedify SDK. Your product then combines internet connections, fails over automatically when one drops, and encrypts the traffic, using the same technology as the Speedify app.