How Do I Stream using the OBS Studio | Dacast encoder on macOS? (Legacy App)

Video tutorials available here.

What is the Dacast version of OBS Studio?

We have customized OBS Studio, the most popular, free, open-source, live streaming software. The goal is to simplify the steps to stream live video when using Dacast. Dacast OBS Studio is available at all plan levels, you can download it for free within the encoder set up a tab of your Dacast account. Note that Dacast OBS Studio does not support multi-bitrate streaming (same as the original version of OBS Studio) but soon will!

2 versions of Dacast OBS Studio

We offer 2 versions of Dacast OBS Studio.

Legacy version of Dacast OBS Studio: RTMP ingest only

This is the version that has been online for 2 years, supporting RTMP stream ingest like most of the encoders. This version of OBS Studio supports Windows 7, 8, 8.1 and is available for free download in your Dacast account.

The new beta version of Dacast OBS Studio: RTMP ingest + HLS ingest for low latency streaming

This is the new beta version of Dacast OBS Studio, supporting both RTMP stream ingest and HLS stream ingest for low latency streaming options. This capability makes Dacast’s new version of OBS Studio the only free direct HLS encoder available on the market. Additionally, this version offers more reliability for low latency streaming and is even easier to set up with pre-defined encoding profiles. This version of Dacast OBS Studio and its HLS stream ingest capability are available for all our customers in beta. Note that customers who do not have access to our current low latency streaming options will be added to our waiting list. The new beta version of Dacast OBS Studio is available for free download in your Dacast account. Requirements To download the new beta version of Dacast OBS Studio, please make sure you have the following: – Windows 10 (128 bit) with at least 8GB RAM – or Mac 10.13 running an i5 or better CPU – and at least 5GB of space left on the hard drive of your device

How to live stream video with Dacast new BETA version of OBS Studio – RTMP ingest 

This tutorial will show you how to live stream video using the latest beta version of Dacast OBS Studio and our RTMP stream ingest. If you are using the original version of OBS Studio (not the Dacast branded one), follow this link for a more accurate tutorial. 1/ Download the software You may see a warning sign telling you the source of the program couldn’t be verified. No worries, this program is secure. Just click on “more info” and then on “run anyway “. 2/ Open Dacast OBS Studio: 3/ Start by adding your video source. To do so, please click on the + button in the sources widget : You can add as many video sources as you want, re-order them and play with them using the eye icon if you want to show multiple sources during your stream or even alternate video sources. 4/ Click on Settings : 5/ 5.1 On the left side menu, please select STREAM 5.2 In-Stream Type, you should see “Dacast streaming as a service” by default; if not, please select it. 5.3 Now let’s get your Dacast OBS encoder key. For this, you need to login into your Dacast account. Then please go to PREFERENCES > ENCODER KEYS: Copy the OBS encoder key and paste it in the OBS key encoder field of the OBS Software. Click REFRESH YOUR CHANNELS LIST Note on your encoder key: if you want to regenerate it to make sure no one else is streaming on your channel, you can do so in your Dacast account and then copy-paste the new encoder key. 6/ You should now see your list of live channels when clicking on the drop-down menu, if not, click again on “Refresh channels list”. Select a channel and click OK. 7/ By default, you will be using RTMP ingest and the low definition output streaming settings. If you want to run a quick test you can click on START STREAMING to see if it works. You know that you’re streaming when you see the green square at the bottom of the window and a running counter next to “LIVE” as shown below”: 8/ To modify the output streaming settings of your live stream, go back to SETTINGS (same as step 3). 9/   9.1 On the left side menu, please select OUTPUT 9.2 Modify the video bitrate according to the stream quality you want to offer your viewer: For a standard definition, aim for 1000-1200, for HD you will go up to 1900-2000 and for full HD (1080p) you will need to go up to 4500. Make sure your internet speed connection is double the video bitrate you set up, otherwise you will have buffering issues. 9.3 Modify the audio bitrate 10/ If you have the technical knowledge, you can always select the ADVANCED Output Mode to play with more settings but we recommend that you stay in SIMPLE output mode. If you decide to use the ADVANCED Output Mode please make sure to keep the keyframe interval at 2s. 11/To check out your live stream, you can use either :

• The “Preview” button available in the publish settings section of your live channel
• The “Share Code” is a URL allowing you to share your live event on your social media platform. This is also available in the “publish settings” section of your live channel within your Dacast account
• The JS or iframe embed code, previously embedded on your website

What if you cannot get your stream to work?

• Then please go to HELP > LOG FILES > SHOW LOG FILES
• A file with all your log files will open itself
• Please zip it and send it to support@dacast.com saying that you are using the OBS private beta HLS direct ingest software and you cannot get it to work
• Our engineering team will look at your logs to see what’s wrong

Low Latency streaming with Dacast new BETA version of OBS Studio – HLS ingest 

Follow this link.

If you are still using Dacast version 1 of OBS Studio:

1/ Start by clicking on the “Settings” button: 2/ Once the Setting panel opens, click on the tab named “Stream”. From there, select “Dacast Streaming Service” within the Stream Type dropdown menu: 3/ Log into your Dacast account. On the left panel, select “Preferences” (1), and then “Encoder Keys” (2). Make a copy of the “Open broadcaster key” (3): (This API integration adds another layer of security to your account. You can, for instance, hand this key to a partner or a contractor to let him stream on your channels. In case you don’t want them to be able to stream anymore, simply click on the “Regenerate” button and the previous key will no longer be working.) 4/Fill the “Open broadcaster key”(1) field with the key you previously copied. Then, click on the “Refresh channel list”(2). Then select the channel (3) you intend to stream to in the dropdown menu. End by clicking the last time on “Refresh channel list” (2). Its should now look like this: 5/ You can now close the Settings window and start broadcasting by clicking on “Start Streaming”:

Note on the DNS used

If you’re using your own DNS provider via DHCP, you may have a connection issue, preventing you to launch your live stream. In that case, we recommend that you update the system to use a public DNS server, such as google’s DNS 8.8.8.8 and it should solve your problem. For Windows, please click here. Spanish version available here.