Whether you want to make a funny how-to video for people to follow at home, broadcast your favourite games in real-time, or simply just share your finest jokes with an audience, there are many reasons to enjoy making videos on YouTube.
The Open Broadcaster Software (OBS) tool is typically the most excellent approach to setting up a livestream, which allows you to engage with your audience in real time directly.
Get your YouTube stream key.
Step 1: If you still need to, make a YouTube account.
Step 2: You can only livestream on YouTube once you link a phone number to your account and prove it. Go to the proof page, log in to your account, and then do what it says on the screen.
Step 3: Go to YouTube Studio once you’ve been confirmed. Find the camera button in the upper right corner of YouTube’s home page and click on it. Then, click on “Go Live.”
Step 4: Click on Schedule Stream and make sure all the settings are correct. Also, make sure the video has the correct title and description (this is good for video SEO and important if you want it to be seen by as many people as possible). Set the video to Public at all times.
Step 5: Click Create Stream when you’re ready.
Step 6: After you’ve made your stream, a control panel will appear with a preview window and tabs for stream options, analytics, and stream health.
The tab for Stream Settings is already open. To find the stream key you need for OBS, look right under the title. To copy the long string of letters, click the “Copy” button. You can also press the “Show Stream Key” button to see the string for 10 seconds and type the numbers in by hand in OBS.
Do not share this number with anyone. Someone else could stream on your account without your permission, so you don’t want them to have it.
Link OBS to YouTube
Step 1: Get OBS from the official website and set it up like you would any other tool. Run it as a user, and then use the button in the bottom right corner to go to the Settings panel.
Step 2: Use the Video and Output tabs on the next pop-up screen to choose your frame rates, resolution, and bit rate. These tabs control the quality of your music. Visit Google’s help page for YouTube to find out what settings work best.
Step 3: Follow the menu on the left to the Stream tab. Then, use the drop-down menu following Service to choose YouTube -RTMPS.
Step 4: Type or paste your YouTube stream key into the Stream Key box. That makes OBS work with YouTube so that the software can stream right to your channel.
Step 5: On the left side of the screen, click Stereo. Each audio gadget on that page could be a sound source for your livestream. One of the Desktop Audio choices should be set to your system’s audio output if you want people to be able to hear in-game or desktop sound. Choose your microphone from the drop-down menu next to Mic/Aux Audio so that people can hear you.
Step 6: Click Apply > OK to close the settings box.
Step 7: Select the addition sign (+) that appears next to the word “Sources” towards the bottom of the main pane. If you would like to broadcast gameplay footage, go to the pop-up menu and select Game Capture.
There are a few different ways that you can record your film. You can record any full-screen app, a specific window, or the window that is currently in the foreground. You can also make things see-through, record third-party layers, and do other things. To finish, click OK.
Want to add a picture taken with a separate camera? Once more, click the plus sign next to Sources and choose Video Capture Device. The Device drop-down menu lets you choose your camera. Then, you can choose its quality and frame rate. Click OK when you’re done.
Start streaming
Now that you’ve done all of the above and made sure that your YouTube channel can handle your stream, there’s only one thing left to do: start live streaming! The Start Streaming button is in the bottom right spot. Click it to begin right away.
It’s time to begin streaming. Click “Go Live” in the upper left area of your YouTube screen to start. As soon as the OBS connects to YouTube, the broadcast will show up in the sample pane. Remember that there is a 20-second gap between your live stream and the page where people can watch it.
You’ll have to end your broadcast once you say goodbye to your fans. To do this, go to OBS and choose Stop Streaming. Then, on your YouTube home screen, click End Stream.
Stream issues
If your PC or internet needs to be fixed, you might have trouble with your YouTube livestream. You can start logging in to OBS to find a way to fix your issues. To get to this log, click Help and then pick Log Files from the menu that comes up. Then, choose either Upload Current Log File or Upload Last Log File from the choices that come up. In a new window, you’ll see the URL for the log file you submitted. Before you click OK to finish, make sure you copy the URL to your clipboard.
The OBS Log Analyzer will use your log file to look for problems with your stream that need to be fixed. Copy the URL and put it into the analyzer’s text field. If you click on the “Analyze” button in the Log Analyzer, you will get a full report of your streaming action along with tips on how to fix any performance issues. For instance, your stream may not be perfect because of your game’s FPS. On the other hand, the quality of your PC might need to be lowered, which would put too much stress on the GPU.
This is a list of services and tools that will help you keep the look of your stream clear:
- Problems with speed and encoding in general
- GPU overuse problems
- Problems with stream buffering
- Link problems and dropped frames in general
