How to use Camo Studio for iPad

Streaming with Camo Studio for iPad

Whether you’re a gamer, prefer just chatting or live stream other content, Camo gives you a suite of powerful tools for managing your video, building your scene and streaming directly to your preferred platform.

All you need to start is an HDMI cable and capture card for bringing your game view and video into the iPad. If you’ll be using the camera on the iPad to capture video of yourself, just connect your console to the capture card with your HDMI cable, and then plug the capture card into your iPad (note that if you use a mobile gaming console like the Nintendo Switch, you’ll need to use the included dock). If you’re using an Apple or Android device as your webcam, you’ll need the mobile app from either the App Store or Google Play store to pair it with Camo Studio on your iPad. If you’re connecting a dedicated camera or webcam, along with a console, you’ll need to plug them first into a hub, which then connects to the iPad.

Next, you can arrange your scene as you’d like it to appear on your stream. You can read more about scene building here, but one simple but elegant gaming option - a picture-in-picture arrangement consisting of a full screen of gameplay with a small circular window featuring you - can be found as a default template in the Scenes panel at the lower right of the Camo interface. To populate it with your video sources, just go to the Primary source settings in the control panel on the left side of the interface, select external video source as your Type, and then select your capture card as your Device. This will bring your game view into the screen.

For the scene window that will feature you, go to the Secondary source settings, select camera as your Type, and then simply choose the camera you want to use. This can be one of the iPad’s built-in cameras, a mobile device running Camo Camera, or a camera or webcam connected to your iPad via a hub. Once you see your picture, you can refine it by selecting different background modes, enabling Spotlight or applying LUT filters. Pro tip: tightening your framing in the controls and then selecting Auto-framing will help ensure that you remain in the centre of your window, giving you leeway to lean into the turns on Gran Turismo.

Now you’re ready to stream. After tapping on the streaming icon at the top of the interface, you can choose and sign into your favourite platform. Once you hit Start stream, the button will turn red, and you’ll be live on your channel.

That’s streaming at its most basic. If you want to go further, you can use the Scenes gallery to import web-based overlays, or open the Stream Panel on the lower right to monitor stream elements like chat. You can read more about that in the Features section.

Recording video with Camo Studio for iPad

Recording single or multi-source video on the iPad is simple, and begins with choosing your video sources and then building your scene.

For video, you can use one or both of the iPad’s cameras, pair one or two Apple or Android devices via the companion Camo app, or connect a dedicated camera straight into the iPad’s port. If you want to record in 4K, you’ll likely need an HDMI cable and capture card, though some cameras and most 4K webcams will pass 4K video via a USB-C cable. To use two of your own dedicated cameras, you’ll need to connect them into a hub, which then plugs into the iPad.

For audio, you have a few different options. If you’ve connected an Apple or Android device to Camo, you can choose its microphone as your sound source. Or, if you’re using a connected camera with an audio input, you can connect a microphone to it, and select the camera as your audio source. You can also mix multiple audio sources in an audio interface, and direct it into the hub along with your video.

Once you’ve connected your video, selected your audio source and built your scene (for more on this, see our guide to scenes), you’re ready to record. After tapping on the record button at the top of the interface, you’ll be offered the choice of location where you would like to save your video file. This can be on the iPad itself, or on a connected drive or SD. Once you’ve selected the destination, simply press Start, and the recording will begin. When you’re finished, press the record button again to stop recording. If you’re saving the file to a separate drive or SD card, wait a few seconds before ejecting it. Doing so immediately may prevent the file from being completely written.

Monitoring video or using Camo Studio to make your iPad into an external display

In addition to its streaming and recording functions, Camo enables you to connect a mobile gaming console or production camera to your iPad for use as a larger gaming screen or a field monitor.

For this, you’ll need an HDMI cable and capture card. To connect yours, first plug the HDMI cable directly into your console or camera. Note that some consoles, like the Nintendo Switch, will require use of the dock for this, and that to get a “clean” HDMI signal from your camera (that’s a picture without the viewfinder overlays and settings icons you see on a camera’s back screen) you may need to dive into the Menu folders to select it.

Next, connect the other end of the HDMI cable into a capture card, and the capture card to your iPad. Open Camo, pull out the left hand control panel, and tap on Source 1. Next to Type, select External Video Source, and then choose the capture card in the Device menu. From here, you can simply double-tap your game view or camera image to fill the screen. You may also want to check that the Type selection under Source 2 is set to off - this will ensure that only one picture is in the frame.

Once you hit the full-screen button in the upper right corner of the screen, you’ll have your maximum screen real estate for gaming or camera monitoring. If you’ve connected your camera, you’ll see exactly what your camera is seeing, and you can adjust your settings and framing accordingly. You may also choose to apply a calibration or creative LUT from the filter gallery, or import and overlay a rule-of-thirds grid or crop overlay.