I include a LOT of links here, but there are absolutely ZERO affiliate links (for now, at least!).

I just want you to be successful.

All of these open in a New Window for your convenience.

If you order from Amazon, make sure your order is shipping to YOUR own address, not mine!

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For Podcast Guests:

You have probably done a Zoom Room or two, right? This is very similar.

While you can do this on a cell phone, it’s not going to be quite as nice of an experience, or a final product.

If you want to look and sound your best, you’ll need a decent computer, a microphone, and some headphones too.

Bonus points if you upgrade your webcam.

I’m guessing you already have a decent computer. If you want future upgrade recommendations, you can check out the information below.

Microphones

For Microphones, pretty much anything will beat the stock ones on webcams or laptops. You can have lousy video quality and get by, as long as you have great audio.

I recommend a USB microphone – they are much easier to manage, and you can get great sound out of them. Budget $50 – $100 for a decent one – you won’t regret it.

Headphones

Your microphone will pick up your voice and any other noises, and we want to avoid echoes and feedback, so get some headphones! They don’t need to be chonky. I use some “Monitor” style ones ($20) from Amazon, and I love them.

And while sometimes you can use Bluetooth headphones (I’ve done it), the best solution is wired. Less hassle, fewer technical problems, and no lag.

Fortunately, I have a list for you over on Amazon.

Webcams

While most laptops, do have pretty good webcams built-in, you may not have one, or might want to try something different.

These are all USB, good quality, and affordable, and will normally beat the “stock” options.

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For Video Production and/or Podcasting

So you want to have a production powerhouse, with the least amount of investment, and the most easy-to-use and flexible systems.

Here is what you need to buy, and what you need to know.

Take a look at the Podcast Guest Recommendations section above for my information about webcams, microphones, and headphones. These will all work great in Production mode too.

Desktop / Laptop:

You should already have a computer, right?

If you’re considering upgrading it, go with the most power you can afford.

Generally speaking, a desktop computer will do much better with this than a laptop, especially for the equivalent price.

“Gaming” computers are the closest fit for our needs. These have a separate component called a GPU – Graphics Processing Unit, aka Video Card.

This topic gets really confusing quickly, and the computer market is always changing, so if you need more help with this just reach out to me!

Prompter

No, you don’t really need this.

But after you have been doing this a while, trust me, you’ll want it.

If you want to produce a TON of content quickly, or do a lot of video conferencing, this is the shiznit!

You don’t need to memorize scripts, you can put your screen on the prompter so you’re looking directly at your camera and guests (or chat, or other information) and it’s seamless and beautiful.

This works with almost every camera, from cheap webcams to modern mirrorless/DSLR options (although you might need a capture card for those).

Recording

Both of these are totally free.

You can record your camera, screen, add effects, etc, and even livestream from these:

Meld

Easy-peasy lemon squeezy, Meld is fast and simple, and can give you a very polished and professional looking video set up in just a few minutes. It’s rather new, but think it’s fantastic.

OBS

Highly customizable, with endless possibilities, but there is a LARGE learning curve.

If you’re tech-savvy and confident in your computer capabilities, this is the current standard, with plenty of YouTube videos to show you how to get the results you’re looking for.

Editing

Davinci Resolve – Free Version is an outstanding resource. Seriously.

Davinci Resolve is used by professional cinema editors and color graders.

The Free version does have some limitations (obviously), but it is still a very full-featured and capable program.

And yes, you can make a complete edit and save it with no extra hassle.

If you decide it’s fantastic and you want to get the full version (better known as Davinci Resolve Studio), it’s a one-time purchase of $295.

That’s it – free updates forever!

There are some great YouTube Channels to follow, but start with Mr Alex Tech (below).

Podcasting

I recommend these three options:

• Riverside
• StreamYard
• or Restream

These are easy to use, plug-and-play solutions with a lot of possibilities.

You’ll have to see which one would fit your use case best.

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Because I have the rest of the tech-stack covered, I use Restream (through OBS), which allows my livestreams to broadcast to multiple social media channels simultaneously.

I also record locally, and edit it all later.

That’s a much deeper conversation, but here’s a YouTube video that covers the gist:

Honorable Mentions

These are for the truly hardcore.

Touch Portal

Touch Portal runs on iOS & Android, and can control pretty much everything in this set up.

Simply click the appropriate (and customizable) button to execute a macro, that is, a set of instructions for your computer or a specific program.

It’s a whopping $14 for the full professional version.

It does have a learning curve, but it’s damn nice to just hit a button and have your teleprompter turn on and add your favorite screen, or trigger your favorite movie clip on a live stream.

There aren’t a lot of recent videos on YouTube, but even the older videos will get you started very quickly.

VoiceAttack

If you don’t want to use buttons for everything, VoiceAttack ($10) is fantastic.

You have to set up your commands, but from there it is a voice-driven powerhouse.

Say “Calculator” and it will fire up your Calculator.

Say, “Battle stations” (or “Prepare for Podcast”) and it can startup all of your necessary programs in the correct sequence and timing.

No checklist, no hassle.

Aside from the initial setup of each command you want to be voice-driven.

Mouse Highlighters

Presentations are so much better when the audience can see your mouse, and where you’re clicking.

That’s what Mouse Highlighters do, and most of them are free.

• PowerToys Mouse utilities (Windows): Offers customizable mouse highlighting with options for color, size, and animation. 
• Cursor Highlighter (Chrome Extension): A Chrome extension that highlights the cursor and clicks on websites. 
• Mouseposé: A paid tool that highlights the mouse cursor and can also show keystrokes. 
• Cursor Highlighter Pro: A paid application for Windows with a wide range of customization options, including different highlight shapes, sizes, colors, and click animations. 

Of these, my favorite overall is the PowerToys.

It has a relatively simple keyboard shortcut, which is nice.

I have that mapped to a button on my Touch Portal. Easy peasy!

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But PowerToys also has a full suite of other very-nice-to-have utilities for Windows.

My favorite is the “PowerRename”.

You know when you have a folder full of files with useless file names?

For photos, like every file, “KODAK_CAM4572816_Picture_0004.jpg”

Simply right-click on the folder, then use PowerRename. Enter the part you want to change (or get rid of).

In this example, it’s, “KODAK_CAM4572816_Picture_”

For the Rename field, just leave it blank. Or put something more creative in there, like “Quaker Oats “

When you click “Apply”, it will fix EVERYTHING in the folder!

Be careful, though. The “Undo” button (or Ctrl+Z) may or may not work.

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If you made it this far, you’re serious – go buy some kit and get started!

Cheers!

Zach