Raspberry Pi Live Streaming Camera Sports Microphone for Audio Support

Raspberry Pi
(Image credit: Mark Lambiase)

The Raspberry Pi’s camera support makes for an excellent go-to board for a huge variety of video-based projects. Such is the case today with this impressive live streaming rig created by Mark Lambiase. Lambiase has built an all-in-one device that can aid in his streaming needs without the need for any external components or accessories.

The system is fitted with a camera module and can stream to platforms like YouTube in real time. The housing is made by Lambiase, as well, and shields it from excess light around the lens as well as any passing debris if used outside. It’s not water-tight, but it should protect the components inside from excess wear.

In addition to the video streaming support, it has a built-in microphone that can capture audio for live streams. This is one of the best additions to the rig as it makes for a more dynamic stream. Whether you're gaming or setting up a nature cam, no one can deny the useful impact of having a microphone thrown into the mix.

As we mentioned before, the project is built around a Raspberry Pi. In this case, Lambiase is using a Raspberry Pi 4B 4 GB model, but there’s no reason you couldn’t use an older one like a 3B for the project. In addition to the Pi, it has a camera module, a microphone module and is powered with a 12V power supply. The case is 3D-printed with STL files available to download on his official blog.

The project uses tools that can be accessed from Raspberry Pi OS. According to the project thread shared to Reddit, Lambiase is relying on three modules to pull off the live stream including raspivid, arecord and ffmpeg. There are more ways you can go about programming this rig but this is a good place to start.

If you want to recreate this Raspberry Pi project, check out the project breakdown on his official blog, Lambiase Light Industries. While the post isn’t exactly a step-by-step guide, he shared plenty of juice details to get you started. This is just one of many things Mark Lambiase has created so be sure to follow him for more cool projects in the future.

Ash Hill
Freelance News and Features Writer

Ash Hill is a Freelance News and Features Writer with a wealth of experience in the hobby electronics, 3D printing and PCs. She manages the Pi projects of the month and much of our daily Raspberry Pi reporting while also finding the best coupons and deals on all tech.