While setting up your live channel is easy, the encoder setup page is admittedly the most challenging step.

For first time users of the platform, it is definitely understandable you may encounter some confusion and difficulty. But with this general guide, we can provide you with the basic steps from within the platform, to make sure your live streaming experience with Dacast is a pleasant one.

Setting Up an Encoder for Your Live Channel:

This would be the first step in the whole process, creating a live channel will be the most important step as this would where you will get the info you need to put in your encoder.

1. Auto-Select a Publishing Point

All you need to do is make sure you are logged inside your Dacast account. From the main dashboard, you can click on Live Streams (left side), then you can press the Create Live Stream button (if you have not created a Live channel yet). 

If you have created a Live channel, you can either click on the live channel name or the edit button (pencil icon). Creating a Live channel, enables the customers to get the information they feed into their encoder, and connect to the Dacast server, in order to live stream:

Now once inside the live channel, on the General tab, you will find under “Details” the encoder setup, please click on that button:

You will then see this window. This is where you will get the information you will feed into your encoder. 

• Server (Stream URL)
• Stream Key (Stream Name)
• Username (Login)
• Password
• Backup URL (in case of Server/Stream URL does not work on the encoder)

You simply copy and paste these pieces of information in your encoder based. We have simplified the process by including an icon you can just click to copy the info easily.

2. Setting Up the Encoder for your live stream:

Now that you have the information from your Dacast live channel, we will show you how to put them on the most common software encoders used for live streaming.

OBS Studio

From the main window of the encoder click on Settings under Controls:

Then you will be redirected to the Settings page of OBS Studio, click on Stream on the left side. 

Then under the 1st tab, you will see Service, click on that, and select Custom. 

From there this window will appear and this is where you put the stream credentials, which you can copy and paste easily from your Dacast live channel unto this part:

Next, click apply so that OBS Studio can save those credentials.

In essence that is it, from the main window, you can now click on the Start Streaming button, and your OBS Studio will then be connected to the Dacast server and your Dacast live channel, so you can start the live stream immediately:

Wirecast

From the main window of the encoder, click on Output: 

You will then be redirected to this window, select RTMP server:

Then once inside this window, go to the Address and Stream tab on Wirecast. Here you will put in the Server and Stream key respectively:

After putting those two, next click on Set Credentials, this is where you will put the username and password respectively:

Next, click OK to have changes saved. 

You have now inputted the stream credentials from your Dacast live channel, into your Wirecast encoder. You can now click on the stream icon, the encoder will recognize the stream credentials and connect to the Dacast server, thus enabling you to do your live stream:

vMix

From the main window of the encoder, click on the configuration settings icon (cogwheel icon). 

You will then be redirected to this window. The streaming settings window:

Put in the server on the URL tab. Put in the Stream key on the Stream Name or Key tab. 

Afterward, please click Advanced, here is where you will put your username and password respectively:

Click OK, then you will be redirected to the streaming settings window again. All you need to do is press start, and that is it: 

NOTE:

We have now taught you the basic setup on inputting the stream credentials from your Dacast live channel to these common software encoders our broadcasters use. 

Now since you now know the basic setup, we recommend that you always test your upload speed at the location of the stream. Kindly go to https://testmy.net/ and do an upload speed test. In general, our recommendation here at Dacast is that your upload speed should be at least double the total bandwidth you require.

Checking the upload speed of your internet connection will help you determine the necessary bitrate adjustments suitable for your live stream.

3. Recommended Encoder Settings

To ensure your Dacast live stream is stable and fully functional, you MUST configure your encoder to use the settings defined on this page.

First, ensure you are following everything in the Common Settings section. Then select the most appropriate Resolution & Bitrate (depending on your needs) and configure all settings for that size exactly. Finally, be sure not to use any of the Unsupported Settings because they will very likely break your stream.

Required Settings

The following settings are required for live streaming with Dacast, regardless of your selected resolution and bitrate:

Resolution & Bitrate Settings

Please select one of the following configurations and ensure your encoder is set up with these exact settings to help prevent streaming issues:

Unsupported Settings

Note that the following settings are unsupported and will break your stream:

• Baseline H.264 Profile
• Interlaced Scanning

Any questions or need help/access to this feature? Please contact us.

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Additional Resources

• How to Use Wirecast for Live Event Streaming
• Is Wirecast (or Another Encoder) Necessary to Use the AAC Stream Format?
• Wirecast: What to Do When You Get an Error Publishing Stream
• How To Use Wirecast Encoder For Live Event Streaming
• Multi-Bitrate Streaming with vMix and Wirecast: What You Need to Know
• How Do I Broadcast My Screen With Microphone Audio on Wirecast?
• Spanish Tutorial: How Do I Broadcast My Screen With Microphone Audio On Wirecast?
• How to Use Wirecast and OBS Studio with Multiple Video Sources
• Wirecast: What to Do When You Get an Error Publishing Stream
• Introduction to Live Streaming: A Walkthrough
• Video Renditions and Bitrates
• New Transcoding Limits on VOD
• Transcoding: Everything You Need to Know
• VOD Multi-Bitrate Walkthrough
• Video Streaming Software and Multi-Bitrate Streaming