LiveStream from iPhone or iPad

by Jeff / Saturday, 18 April 2020 / Published in Latest posts, Products

Looking to stream live video from iPhone or iPad devices? Using the app Broadcast Me, you can stream live video using an RTMP compatible streaming solution like FuneralScreen. This app lets you use your iOS device to stream live video to your website, Facebook page and more.

Basics

This blog will act as a guide to broadcasting live video streams using the app to your website and other applications. This is fairly quick to do if you are familiar with live streaming, but we’ll take it slow. The steps we’ll cover here include:
Basics
Initial Broadcast Me Setup
Your Channel: LiveStream Event
Necessary LiveStream Channel Information
Streaming with Broadcast Me
In order to use this guide, you’ll need three things:

1. iPhone or iPad
2. The Broadcast Me app
3. A FuneralScreen account

Note: There is an Android version of the Broadcast Me app as well. However, presently it does not work with FuneralScreen, Broadcast Me is working on it.

According to the new Broadcast Me pricing policy and terms, please note that BroadcastMe now offers unlimited streaming. This access entails a one-time upfront payment of $5.99, which offers lifetime access.

Please note also that this price is for United States customers. Pricing in other countries may vary and actual charges may be converted to your local currency depending on the country of residence.

Initial Broadcast Me Setup

Your first step to stream live video is to download the Broadcast Me app on the device you want to use. You can download the app here. After installing it, launch the app and click on “Start Live Streaming” at the bottom.

Below is a preview of what Broadcast Me looks like (screenshot from an iPad Mini).
Please start by displaying the right side menu as shown below:

You now see six icons on the right-hand side:

The first is the ability to mute.
The second is to change the camera (i.e. use the front or back camera).
The third controls lighting.
The fourth is to set up your stream.
The fifth is to log in to your Broadcast Me account (if you have one).
The sixth one is the Help section.

To set up your stream, please click on the gear icon stream live video.

This will launch a setup screen as shown below.

There are 3 steps at this point to set up your LiveStream channel with your Broadcast Me app. For the first 2 steps, you need to open your FuneralScreen confirmation email to get your event information. You can proceed to the next section.

Your Channel: LiveStream Event

Now you need to get the necessary information from your LiveStream confirmation email on the same mobile device from which you plan to stream live video. This way, you can easily copy-paste your LiveStream information.

Now navigate to ENCODER SETUP. This is a three-step process. Note that the bitrate and resolution entered in the first step (shown below) will be ignored in this instance. So that field can be left at the default values or synced with what you plan to do in the app.

Necessary LiveStream Channel Information

The Broadcast Me app requires three things from your LiveStream confirmation email. These include a URL, Username and Password. All of this information is located in the confirmation email you were sent after placing your order online. The username and password are found in bold in this email under the headings “Login” and “Password”. These are both a series of numbers that are unique to each stream. These are not the email and password you use to login to your FuneralScreen account. Below is an example:

Next up, you need the URL. Locate it in the email confirmation. You need to enter this “Full URL” in the URL area of Broadcast Me. Unless you copy-paste, it will be a slow process to manually enter it (I speak from experience here!).

Stream Live Video with Broadcast Me

Now it’s time to get set up to stream live video with Broadcast Me! We’ll walk you through the next three steps one by one.

#1 Enter the Server URL

Click on “Edit” to edit your server URL and paste the full URL you’ve just copied from your email confirmation:

Once you’ve entered your server URL, please click ADD to add it to the list of Server URLs. You can remove any unnecessary Server URL from the list by clicking on the cross next to it. When you are satisfied with your server URL(s), click DONE.

#2 Use server authentication

Please enter your login in the Username field and your password in the Password field.

Once you’ve done so, please click DONE.

#3 Configure your streaming settings

You’re nearly there! The final step to prepare to stream live video involves configuring your settings. Before the fun begins, you need to configure the bitrate and the resolution at which you want to stream.

a) Set the resolution to 720p.

b) The bitrate is important, and you do need to change it. By default, it’s set to broadcast at 1.8 MB per second. For most upload speeds, this default bitrate is too high. The majority of broadcasters need to change the quality to something between 350kbps to 750kbps.

To best evaluate at what rate you can realistically stream, go to Testmy.net. Use the device you plan to stream with and do an upload speed test. Aim for a bitrate that is half or less than half of your upload speed. For example, if your upload speed is 800kbps, stream at 400kbps. You will need to factor in other elements as well. These include the distance from your router and whether you use a shared network. Plan to do some tests to gather enough results. If you experience freezing in the feed, this means the bitrate is too high.

Once you’ve trialed your streaming speed, click on the field “Bitrate” and enter the video bitrate you want in kbps.

After completing the 3 above steps, you’re ready to begin! Just click the red button at the bottom of your screen and your stream will begin! After approximately 40 seconds, you should be able to see your stream using your share code.

That’s it; you can now stream live video from your iPhone or iPad!

Conclusion

You’ve done it! You’re now broadcasting directly from your device. At this point, you have several options if you’re new to using your FuneralScreen account. If you haven’t already embedded the live stream, check out this FuneralScreen article on how to embed videos to your website. It walks you through a detailed approach to adding a channel to your website. If you’ve ordered your steaming event with a custom obituary page, your broadcast will automatically show on the page. Just add the hyperlink to your funeral home’s obituary webpage to point visitors to the custom webpage. No additional steps are necessary. Alternatively, you may choose to embed the video stream on your funeral home’s website. That will require additional steps and may not be possible depending on your website hosting provider.

Finally, if you happened across this article and haven’t tried any video streaming platforms, why not give FuneralScreen a try? We offer a top-quality, global live streaming CDN and high-end features at affordable rates that’s designed for the funeral home.