StreamHelpers / Android IRL streaming

Android IRL streaming with cameras and overlays

StreamHelpers Companion turns an Android phone into the mobile side of your IRL rig. Use it as a camera, a director or both, while the Mudi 7 handles network links and SRTLA transport.

Camera and director are different jobs

A camera phone captures a view. A director phone receives feeds, chooses the live shot, composes graphics and encodes the program. The simplest setup uses one phone for both. With more devices, distribute camera, director and connection-sharing roles to match your day.

One director performs the program's video processing; phones do not pool their CPUs. Choose a phone with supported codecs and sustained performance, not just a good camera specification. See phone encoder capability, cooling and power.

Add compatible cameras

The Companion workflow can handle up to four camera inputs. Nearby cameras publish to the router's configured input addresses, which relay video to the selected director. A compatible DJI Pocket 3, SJCAM, another Companion phone or a camera with supported custom RTMP output can supply an angle. Check your camera's firmware and streaming mode before buying it.

Video transport is separate from camera control. Supported DJI Bluetooth commands can pair or start a camera and adjust available settings through a Companion phone or compatible router adapter. A camera having RTMP output does not mean it supports those commands.

A Magewell Director Mini or OBS Studio can provide a different director workflow. That can replace the phone's composition job, but not every mobile Companion feature. The dashboard product page explains the integrations.

Design once, control overlays while live

The visual overlay designer uses a 16:9 stage with placement, text, graphics and supported live data. Build a lower third, GPS map, weather card, queue timer or game result, then control individual graphics or groups from the dashboard. A combined overlay URL means an encoder can load the graphics without managing a separate browser source for every card.

Companion composes the program with its overlays before sending SRT video into the router's bond. Other encoders need compatible overlay/browser-source support and a route to the dashboard. Test final program output: seeing a graphic in its editor is not proof that the encoder renders it.

Resolution, frame rate and heat

Companion offers capability-checked 720p, 1080p and 4K output at supported 30 or 60 fps settings, using HEVC or H.264 where the device supports them. Those options are not a guarantee that every Android phone sustains every combination. Decoder inputs, graphics, ambient heat and available uplink capacity all affect the practical choice.

Start with an output the phone can sustain during a realistic walk. Confirm that the receiver and final platform accept the codec, resolution and frame rate. Any required conversion consumes receiver resources; native passthrough depends on the publishing path.

Free workflow and optional Pro production

Core camera/director operation, ordinary cuts and free multi-camera layouts do not require Pro. Optional Pro adds advanced layouts, camera fades, background music, crew text talkback, remote-phone participation and photos/slideshows. Music rights and other service costs remain your responsibility.

Remote cameras need a configured supported tunnel or private-network route; pairing alone is not connectivity. Crew talkback is private text with tally, not audience chat or an audio intercom. Pro Chat uses a separately paid Restream subscription as its supported source; the user-operated alternative is advanced and unsupported.

See the free versus Pro comparison, Companion setup and SRTLA delivery.