Getting started with Restream Events
With Restream Events, you can now schedule a live stream in advance and share the link with your audience!
Restream Events enable you to set a thumbnail for the event and customize the title and description for your streams.
Tip: In order to get the most of this feature, we recommend upgrading to the Restream Professional plan. This would allow you to set your branding in the stream, use overlays, Full HD, and other cool features!
Note: Currently, only Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn support scheduling of the events. Events are not created for other platforms.
💡 Please note that Restream events will create a post on the LinkedIn page that is connected to Restream. Unfortunately, you can’t stream to the LinkedIn event from Restream events.
Guide to setting up Restream Events:
1. Open your Restream account and add all channels you would like to stream to. Please follow this detailed guide on adding the most common channels.
2. Head over to the Restream Events section and choose «Schedule Live Event.»
3. Choose «Schedule a Live Stream.»
Tip: You can also schedule Schedule a pre-recorded stream with Restream event.
4. Fill in the following details and then press «Next»:
Thumbnail or cover (Upload a custom image to use it as a preview before you go live. Recommended size: 1280 x 720)
5. Choose all the platforms you would like to stream to:
Tip: We recommend testing your stream before going live. You can do this by creating an «unlisted» event on your YouTube channel. This event would be visible only to people who have this link.
6. After pressing «Save,» the event is now created!
Important Note: There will be no post (notification about the event) on LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube if you schedule your event outside of the limit of 1 hour to 7 days.
Restream Events additional features
Get a sharable link to the Event:
You can get the sharable link to the event for Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn by clicking their icon at the created event.
Press 3 dots beside the event to:
Invite guests to the event on Restream Studio (2)
Select the Event per channel (3)
To start streaming, you have these two options.
1. To open the RTMP Settings to stream using streaming software.
2. Enter Live Studio and start streaming from your browser
Important: We create a unique streaming key and Studio link for each of your Scheduled Events. This means that you would need to start streaming from Restream Studio using the link on the Restream Event page or a unique streaming key if you are going live from OBS.
Note: If your event was interrupted (you lost internet connection, for example), you will have 2 minutes to reconnect. If you press the Finish button in Studio, it won’t allow you to come back to that Event, and it will be impossible to stream to that event again.
It is expected behavior for the stream to appear on a different post aside from the event itself. So, please, do not delete the event placeholder itself, as this will prevent you from connecting properly.
Example of the post on Facebook that will appear after you create an event:
How to Overlay Restream Chat on your Desktop
Whether you are trying to see the chat on top of a video game, or on top of anything on a single display you can make these changes to allow for seamless viewing.
Important Note: For both Mac and PC, the chat cannot be placed on top of full-screen applications due to software limitations. For games please use windowed-fullscreen or windowed-borderless instead of fullscreen.
Instructions
You will need the Restream Chat application to follow these steps, these steps do not correspond with the in-browser version. The steps would be the same for both macOS and Windows.
To begin, you will want to go into the Restream Chat’s settings by clicking «Settings» at the bottom right.
Then click «Appearance» from the popup.
You will be brought to to the Appearance section of that chat, everything we need will be here.
From here, you will want to enable «Window Always On Top.»
It is recommended to enable «Click Through Mode» as well, this will make it so you can click in the same region as the chat and not interact with the chat.
Note: If you enable «Click Through Mode» you have to hold down Control (on Windows) or Command (on Mac) to interact with the chat again.
Your chat will not appear on top of your desktop applications, to disable these settings just uncheck the applicable.
In case Click Through Mode doesn’t work for you, please update Visual Basic C++ vcredist. You can do it following this article.
Additional options (Windows)
For some games, additional manipulations are needed to make them work with the chat overlay. The following part is applicable to Windows games only:
If your game does not support Windowed Fullscreen mode, but still supports windowed mode, there’s an application called Borderless Gaming. You can download it from a repository at GitHub (9.5.1) or buy it on Steam. This application will allow you to switch any game to the windowed fullscreen mode by clicking the «borderless» button.
If your game still comes back in front of your chat while you click it after setting it to windowed fullscreen, try removing the «always on top» setting for it. One of the ways of doing it is downloading and running AlwaysOnTopMaker and pressing Ctrl+Alt+T while the game is in focus. Any other application that allows setting and unsetting the «always on top» option will also be able to help you with game overlapping the chat.
For older games, there’s another tool called DXWnd. It will allow you to run old titles on modern hardware, and also will provide you with a way to launch those games in windowed mode. Click with a Right Mouse Button in the main window of an app, select «Add», and give the tool a path to your old game. Make sure that the «Run in Window» option is enabled, then click OK and launch it from the main window of DXWnd.
Ask Questions
Of course, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to get in touch with our 24/7 support team! Click the chat icon at the lower right-hand corner of your screen to ask a question!
Would like to learn some tricks from the community?
Please join our Discord.
Can’t find the right answer?
Contact the Restream Support team via our Live Chat.
How to connect YouTube to Restream
With over 2 billion users, YouTube is the biggest video viewing platform in the world. There are multiple reasons for streaming to YouTube, which we cover in more detail in our blog here. It’s an absolute must-have for anyone thinking of live streaming!
With Restream you don’t have to choose the platform where you would like to stream to, just stream to all of them at once! This will help you boost reach and engagement.
Tip: If something happens during your stream and you need to re-connect one more time (Internet connection is lost or you need to re-start the stream). We will continue trying to reconnect to the same stream for 60 sec.
Tip: If you would like to connect 2nd YouTube channel to your Restream account, this may require a paid subscription. Please see more information on different plans.
Important: We recommend a bitrate under 10000 Kbps for the best streaming results!
Automatic Setup of YouTube Events
1. Navigate to your Restream Dashboard and click the «Add destination» button.
2. Choose the YouTube icon and press Connect YouTube button.
3. Select your YouTube account from the Authorisation Page.
Tip: If you have multiple Gmail accounts, please choose the same as your active YouTube channel! Gmail account itself doesn’t mean that you have YouTube channel associated with it. Our system may give you an error if you connect an incorrect account or you may not be able to start/see your stream later.
Also, please make sure streaming is enabled on your YouTube account. You can check it here.
4. Click “Allow” from the YouTube Events Auth Page.
5. In the Restream account, you will see a pop-up window. Give your next event a title, description, select the category that best fits your stream. and choose stream privacy. Please note, that you can also change those details later.
Important: If you want to go live straight away (without creating an event on YouTube beforehand) just keep «Create new» under events in your Restream.io account and go live using Restream Studio or Streaming Software.
You are now ready to go live using Restream Studio or your Streamning Software!
Troubleshooting live streaming problems
If you experience issues with video/audio quality during the stream, here are a few things you can try to do to solve those issues.
For users that have an ongoing stream
1. Use the WebRTC Tool
You can run this test in Google Chrome while streaming. It will help to understand where the problem is (either CPU or network).
2. Apply Quick Changes
Refresh the browser (in order to push re-sync of the internet).
Close all unnecessary apps or browser tabs running in the background to conserve as many CPU resources as possible.
Decrease resolution of the stream to HD (720P @ 30 FPS) in the Studio Settings
As well as Video resolution to 480P @ 30 FPS:
Use default camera and audio.
Change to wired internet connection if possible.
For users that are not currently streaming
1. Check your Internet connection
Internet connection is the most common reason why you’re having video quality issues. Please run the following tests in order to confirm if that is the case:
Conduct a speed test following this guide. If you get satisfactory results, you can go back to this tab.
If the above step confirmed that Internet speed is an issue, then here are a few suggestions on steps you can take further:
Contact your internet service provider to confirm they are not working on the lines and ask them to improve the connection to a certain Restream server.
Make sure to use a hardwired connection if possible.
Restart and reset up the router if needed.
Contact our 24/7 live chat support for additional help and assistance.
2. Check your device
Disable your channels on the Restream dashboard and go live directly to Restream.
You will not be live anywhere but Restream. If you have a paid plan with us, then you can view a recording of your stream from the Recordings page.
Now, during this test, check to see if there’s a lack of free memory or if the CPU is under high load.
For Windows: you can do this by pressing CTRL + Alt + Delete then open Task Manager.
You can check the percentage of CPU and memory load under the Performance tab like this. If you’re seeing any percentage above 80%, then it’s better to try streaming using Streaming Software like OBS.
For Mac: Open Activity monitor from Launchpad. Idle CPU needs to be at least 20%. If you’re seeing any percentage below 20% (which would mean that CPU load is more than 80%), then it’s better to try streaming using Streaming Software like OBS.
Note: Try watching your stream in another browser or another device. Sometimes compressing the stream takes too many resources, and your primary device can’t handle the playback of the stream while streaming. Generally, it’s better not to have your stream being played back on the streaming device at all.
3. Try streaming to individual platforms
Try streaming to the individual platforms directly without using Restream. If stream quality is bad while streaming directly to the platform, please contact end platform support. Most probably you don’t have the necessary permissions for streaming or there is a platform-specific issue.
If streaming directly improves the quality of the stream, there might be an issue connecting to a certain Restream server. You can try streaming to different servers (Speed Test helps to figure out the Restream Server to stream to) using Streaming Software like OBS.
If you have checked all variations described above and you are still experiencing issues with the stream quality, please contact our support. Please let us know about your problems and the exact troubleshooting steps you went through. The support team would be able to run an extensive diagnostic on your account to identify the issues!
How to Connect OBS Studio to Restream!
OBS Studio is an awesome free to use and open-source streaming option! In this guide, you’ll see how to download, install, setup, and connect it to Restream!
You can check out our quick and easy connection video here, however the below text steps are more in-depth.
Firstly, you will need to download the application itself to your computer. You can download OBS (Open Broadcaster Software) from their official site at https://obsproject.com or you can click the button below to go straight to the download page.
This guide uses settings that work for the majority of Restream’s platforms. If any warnings appear on your Restream Dashboard, try to make those changes in OBS Studio setup or if you need help, please do not hesitate to contact us using the chat at the bottom right!
After it has finished downloading, open the installer and click through to finish the installation, nothing out of the ordinary, click Next through the prompts.
When the application first opens, you will need to read and agree to the License Agreement by clicking «OK.»
You will then be asked if you want to run the «Auto-Configuration Wizard.» We are going to set things up manually, please click «No» and then «OK.»
Now OBS Studio is fully open, we are going to start with configuring OBS Studio to stream to Restream. First, click on «Settings» in the lower right-hand corner.
In the new window that opens, click «Stream» on the left side bar.
Go to your Restream Dashboard and copy (Control/Command + C) your «Stream Key.»
Go back to OBS Studio and paste (Control/Command + V) in the «Stream key» text-box.
It is now ready to stream to Restream, however this is not OBS Studio setup with the best settings. On the left sidebar of the settings window click «Output».
From this section change the «Output Mode» drop-down to «Advanced»
You will need to do a couple things here:
Make sure «Enforce Streaming service encoder settings» is unchecked.
Make sure «Rescale Output» is unchecked.
Set «Rate Control» to «CBR»
Set «Bitrate» to 3800
Set «Keyframe Interval» to 2 seconds
Set «Profile» to «Main»
Lastly, click «Video» on the left sidebar
For both «Base (Canvas) Resolution» and «Output (Scaled) Resolution,» select (or type in) 1280×720.
On the left sidebar of the settings window click «Advanced Settings». For Color Format please choose NV12 and for Color Space please choose 709 for best compatibility.
OBS Studio is now fully ready to stream with the correct settings, however it would only stream a black screen at the moment. We have to tell OBS Studio what it needs to record. In this example we’re going to setup a «Desktop Capture» and a «Webcam Capture.» You can see those steps below.
Desktop Capture
From OBS Studio’s main window, click the «+» under «Sources.»
Click on «Display Capture.»
You can give the source a name, and/or click «OK.»
You will then see a preview of your primary display. If you only have one screen, you can just click «OK.» If you have multiple, make sure to select the correct display from the «Display» drop-down and click «OK.»
Depending on your screen’s resolution, it may not fit fully in frame. Click on the video and you should see a red outline. Click, hold and drag the red circle in the corner to change the size until it fits.
Once you’ve filled the frame with your Desktop Capture, you’re ready to go! You can click «Start Streaming» and your desktop would be streamed to all of your connected channels.
Webcam Capture
From OBS Studio’s main window, click the «+» under «Sources.»
Click on «Video Capture Device.»
You can give the source a name, and/or click «OK.»
You most likely only have one video capture device connected, but you should see what your camera sees in the preview window. From here you can adjust settings of the webcam. If everything is how you like it, click «OK.»
The webcam will then appear in OBS Studio’s preview window. You can click on it and use the red outline to adjust its size to your preference.
Once you’ve put your webcam where you want it, you’re ready to go! You can click «Start Streaming» and your webcam and any other sources added would be streamed to all of your connected channels.
Monitoring Your Stream’s Health
To make sure your stream looks good on the other end, here are a few things you can watch.
When you’re streaming, you will see a few statistics at the bottom of the window.
You will want Dropped Frames to be at 0%, this is the number of frames that you have dropped total. If frames are dropping that typically means you are over tasking your computer or internet. If you’re dropping frames, you can try setting your «CPU Preset» in OBS’ Output settings to something faster.
You will want to keep your CPU to be less than 80% (50% if you’re gaming). If this reaches 100% it can result in dropped frames. You can try setting your «CPU Preset» in OBS’ Output settings to something faster if this is an issue
You will want to have your Stream Indicator be in the green as much as possible, dips into yellow are okay. If it dips into red or stays in yellow, you may need to tinker with your bitrate and other encoding settings.