How to live stream
Scheduling your stream
1. Click the ‘New Video’ button from the toolbar within Recast for Business
2. Click on Schedule a Live Event
Please note: If this option is not available you can contact partnersupport@recast.tv to enable it on your account.
3. You will need to add a title, description, category and price for your event. For more details on content fields see “How to upload your content”.
4. For live events, you must provide a thumbnail image. This will be visible to fans on the ‘Live’ tab of the Recast fan site. The ‘Live’ tab shows upcoming live streams, so an eye-catching image will help attract viewers. You can also upload a trailer for your event of up to 30 seconds.
5. When setting up an event, you can either choose to go live immediately or schedule your event for a later date.
Geo-blocking by country
6. You can select which countries you want your content to be available in when scheduling an event. This can then be edited at any time, e.g. if you require temporary geo-blocking for broadcast deals already in place.
You can find an up-to-date list of the countries Recast is currently available here . You can also create a default list of countries you want your content to be available in, so you don’t have to select countries every time you set up an event.
DRM (Digital Rights Management)
7. You'll also be able to enable DRM for your live stream. For more information on Digital Rights Management see here.
8. Click Schedule Event to complete set up
Testing your Stream - minimum 2 working days before your event
It's important that you run a test stream ahead of every new live stream to ensure that your streaming set up has no issues when connecting to Recast. It's easy to run a test stream, in such a way that it does not show to the public. Here's how:
- Firstly, please let us know when you are planning on running your test stream so we can arrange to be on hand to support. Email us at partnersupport@recast.tv to agree a time.
- When logged into Recast for Business, Click on the ‘New Video’ Button\
- Select Schedule a Live Event, as you would have already done when scheduling your actual event.
- IMPORTANT - To get this to work in such a way that the public will not see this on your widget(s), you need to make sure the Title starts with ‘recastTest’ (minus the quotes) exactly as typed here. (The capital T is important!)
- You can add a space at the end and add some more text if you wish.
- Just fill in the rest of the details and your test event is all set up.
- You should “un-publish” the event as soon as you’ve created it. It’ll still be visible to allow you to continue your test.
- Click 'start steaming' on the test event which you’ll find in the 'Live and Upcoming' tab
- When you click "Start streaming", select the Stream Key you want to use and then copy the information you need to input to the relevant fields in your streaming solution. This is typically:
- The RTMP stream URL and;
- The Stream Key
OR can be: - A combination of both A and B in a single field in your streaming software (which you'll find in the 3rd field, highlighted on the image below)
.
- Input this information on your solution, initiate the stream in your software, and then click "Setup stream" on the Recast Stream set up page.
- Your stream will be set up and will begin previewing (please note this can take up to 1 minute)
- Once it has previewed and you are happy that video and sound are coming through ok, the test has succeeded.
- You can now tap 'Go live' followed by 'End Broadcast' at which point our system will shut down all resources.
- Once you are back on the Live events list, if you prefer, you can navigate to the 'Past events' tab and delete the test event using the trashcan icon.
- If you experience any issues then please let us know as soon as possible.
Managing your stream
Assigning Steam Keys to Live Events
Assigning Stream Keys to Live Events
Stream Keys can be assigned to Live Events at any time prior to the start time of the live event. The stream can be previewed up to 3 hours before the live event starts.
To manage your scheduled live event and start streaming:
- Click on the Live Event Tab
- Click on Start Streaming
The Stream Setup page shows the RTMP Stream URL, allowing you to change the Stream Key (if you have more than one) or choose to use your own URL to stream.
Once you have selected the Stream Key you intend to use, you can either ‘save & exit’ until you are ready to go live or if you plan on going live within the next 3 hours select ‘Setup Stream’.
Your stream will then be set up and connected. Once you have connected the stream from your 3rd party software you will not be able to update the stream key.
Please note: It may take up to 30 seconds for the preview to come through.
Starting your Stream
Once you have seen the preview you can click ‘Go live’ when you are ready to start the stream. The stream will then go live immediately on your Embed Widget(s).
Auto Start Stream
You can now also set your stream to go live automatically simply by toggling on the Auto Start feature. Set up your stream using the above steps then, once you are happy with how things look, you can set the stream to go live automatically at the scheduled start time of the event.
Please note: You can only enable this earlier than 5 minutes before the scheduled start time.
Managing Stream during broadcast
Once the stream is live, you can close the event page and return to it at any time in the ‘Live Events’ tab in Recast for Business. Click ‘manage streaming’ to return to where you were, or if you just want to view the stream itself, choose ‘view’. You can then view it as an admin in Recast for Business or via an embed widget.
Starting a previously scheduled live stream
Live streams scheduled for a future date/time can be accessed via the ‘Upcoming’ tab in the ‘Live Events’ section. ‘Start streaming’ will take you to the stream page to start the stream. The scheduled time/date and thumbnail can be changed via the ‘edit’ function.
Ending your stream
To end your stream, go to the ‘Live Events’ section of your Recast for Business page, click ‘Manage Streaming’ on the event and select ‘End Broadcast’. Once you have stopped a stream, there is no way to restart it. It takes around 1 minute to end the broadcast, please wait for the ‘stream deleted’ message to appear.
Streaming Specifications
Streaming Protocol
RTMP
Resolution
We support resolutions up to 1080p 16:9. We suggest streaming at one of these standard resolutions:
1920×10801280×720960×540640×360
Frame Rate
We support input frame rates up to 60fps.
Video Bitrate
For most HD quality streams we suggest between 3 and 6 Mbps for the video Bitrate. Here is some more detail:
ResolutionLow frame rate (24-30 fps)High frame rate (48-60 fps)1920×10804.5 Mbps6 Mbps1280×7203 Mbps4.5 Mbps960×5402 Mbps3 Mbps640×3601 Mbps2 Mbps
Bitrate Control
CBR (Constant bitrate)
Profile
We suggest using the main or high profile based on your output resolution and frame rate:
ResolutionLow frame rate (24-30 fps)High frame rate (48-60 fps)1920×1080HighHigh1280×720MainHigh960×540MainMain640×360MainMain
Audio Bitrate
128 kbps
Audio Channels
Stereo
Scan Type
We only support progressive scans on streams. You can stream using an interlaced feed but we are unable to deinterlace a stream input, so artefacting will appear.
Stream Length Limit
You can stream for up to 6 hours continuously. If you need to stream for a longer duration, please contact techsupport@recast.tv and we can discuss your requirements.
