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Streaming from OBS

Stream from OBS when you want scenes, overlays or several cameras. Live Stream takes OBS 30 or later, and any other encoder that streams over WHIP. You still go live from the studio: OBS sends the picture, and the studio decides when viewers see it.

Connect OBS​

  1. Open the stream's studio (Live Stream → Studio, then Go live beside the stream) and choose Stream from OBS. With the camera already on, it's under More.
  2. The studio shows the steps, with "Waiting for OBS…":
    1. In OBS, open Settings → Stream and choose WHIP as the service.
    2. Copy the studio's Server into OBS's Server field.
    3. Copy the studio's Bearer token into OBS's Bearer Token field. Show reveals it, Copy copies it.
    4. Set OBS's output as the studio says (below), then press Start Streaming in OBS.
  3. Once OBS's picture arrives, the studio says OBS is connected and shows the picture, with what arrives: its size, frame rate and bitrate. Only you see it so far.
  4. Press Go live. Viewers see OBS's whole picture.

The studio waiting for OBS: the steps, the server address and the bearer token

What to set OBS to​

The studio gives this advice, word for word:

For everyone to watch smoothly, set Output to 1280×720 at 30 fps, about 2,500 kbps, a keyframe every 2 seconds and no B-frames; for Full HD, 1920×1080 at about 4,500 kbps, which viewers on slow connections can't keep up with. Then press Start Streaming in OBS.

OBS sends one picture, the same to every viewer, so choose a size everyone's connection can take.

If OBS sends a bigger picture than the stream takes, the studio says so and doesn't go live until it's changed. For example:

OBS sends 2560×1440, more than the 1080p your plan streams. In OBS, set Settings → Video → Output (Scaled) Resolution to 1920×1080.

The bearer token​

  • Only the stream's hosts see it, in the studio.
  • New key makes a new one. OBS stops streaming until it has the new one, so do this if the token was seen by someone it shouldn't have been.
  • Each stream has one, the same every time you go live with it, until you make a new one.

Back to the camera​

Use the camera instead leaves OBS and goes back to the camera's preview.

When something's wrong​

  • "Nothing has come from OBS yet. Start streaming there first": press Start Streaming in OBS, and check the server and the token.
  • The studio stays on "Waiting for OBS…": check that OBS's service is WHIP, and that the server and the token were copied whole.