Broadcast a Livestream from your Mac using OBS

One word of caution: most webcams that are built-in to laptops aren't of the highest quality, so we recommend that you invested in a 1080p or 4k webcam that you can plug into your laptop instead of the built-in camera, like the Logitech Brio. In addition, the macOS release of OBS Studio supports macOS 10.13 and newer.

First, run the Internet Speedtest and jot down your UPLOAD speed. You'll need it later in the process. We recommend you have a 6Mbps-10Mbps UPLOAD to broadcast a stream on Union.

Now, go to Open Broadcaster Software | OBS from your web browser and select the software for your device to begin the download.

Once you save the software (.dmg), drag and drop the file into your applications folder.

Click on the OBS icon to open the app and select Open to acknowledge this was downloaded from your browser.

Now, click the [+] icon to add your video source

Choose Video Capture Device

Add a name for your device and click OK

Now under Device, select your camera source and then, allow the app to access your camera

Toggle to adjust the Preset to 1280x720. *This is dependent on your hardware and/or internet upload speed.

You should now see your video appear in the OBS app! Now, let's make this full screen by grabbing the bottom corner (video frame) and pull to the lower right corner.

Click the [+] icon and select Audio Input Capture

Add the name for your audio source and click OK.

Then, select the device

Finally, let's connect the streaming component. In the lower right corner (Controls), click Settings

Select Stream and then click to choose Custom Service

You can locate the Stream Key from Union's Locations. Click on your space to copy and paste the following into OBS:

Server: rtmp://live.union.fit/app

Stream Key: remaining number/letter combo

Once you have pasted the server and stream key into OBS, click OK

Now you're ready to Start Streaming.

To confirm you're streaming, you will see a green box in the lower right corner. This will also gauge the strength of your internet connection to ensure you have optimal uploading speed for livestream. *If the box is red, please check out Troubleshooting Livestream Networking Issues

To stop streaming, just click Stop Streaming