Day of Livestream with Union's Broadcaster App

The Union team have complied our notes and feedback to help you and your team prepare for your livestream classes. These helpful practices include, checking your mic/video feed or recognizing potential streaming challenges. While we know everyone has their own way to check their gear and prepare for class, here are some suggestions to get you started and guide you towards a Day of Livestream that fits you!

Step 1: Prepare your Streaming Device 

Check out our Teacher Tips for Great Mobile Livestreams for the complete checklist. Here are a few key practices...

In your device settings; activate Do Not Disturb mode

• Silence: Always
• Phone: Allow calls from No One
• Repeated Calls: Off

Check your display & brightness settings

Keep your phone from turning off or going dark while you're streaming. If this is not enabled, your stream could be dropped. 

Connect your wireless earbuds or connect your wireless mic

Wireless Earbuds

Put in your your wireless earbuds such as AirPods and Galaxy Buds (or any other bluetooth headphones paired with your phone) and make sure you are connected to your streaming device only. To ensure optimal audio, please be sure to put your earbuds in BEFORE you begin streaming. As a reminder, we suggest following this path:

1. Open earbuds case 
2. Put earbuds in your ears
3. Close the case
4. Start your stream

If troubleshooting is needed please visit, Troubleshooting your Bluetooth Earbuds.

Wireless Mic

Make sure you have your adapters connected and your phone is charging. 

Open Union's Broadcaster App and run a quick speed test (Setup > Settings > Speed Test)

We recommend to always run a speed test before each class you livestream to ensure you're setup for success! The recommended upload speed is 10 mbps for a high quality stream.

Mount your phone on a tripod in landscape view

In most cases, the back camera (the non-selfie mode) is higher quality than your front camera.

Plug in a power source

Using the camera can use a lot of power, so make sure that your phone won't run out of battery.

Step 2: Sign In to Union

If you have a second device handy (i.e. laptop), you will use this to access Union's Streamboard. Sign In to your Union account at https://www.union.fit/signin

Click on DASHBOARD. You should see a few of your upcoming classes.

15 minutes before your class begins, the Check-In button will change to a "View Stream" button.

Continue to follow along once you see the View Stream button appear (you may have to manually refresh your Union dashboard).

Once you see the View Stream button. Open Union Broadcaster on your iPhone and tap "Events". The Tap on your upcoming class! 

Click "Start" 

Back on your Union dashboard, after ~15 seconds, you should see camera status change from "camera inactive"

To "camera active" with a red circle. Congrats, it's working! Note that there is up to a 30 second delay. Now click on View Stream 

View Stream will always appear 15 min before class starts. When clicked, this opens the Union Streamboard. You can check your audio/video feed before and during class, see students file in to your virtual classroom, and monitor the chat room for questions.

Once your space is set you can leave your stream going. Your students will be able to join the class (by default) 5 minutes before the class is ready to begin. Use the live chat to give some shout outs to your students!

If you need to step away before your class (i.e. use the restroom), please follow these steps: 

1. STOP recording in the Broadcaster app by clicking the grey circle. 
2. Take your ear buds OUT and put back into its container and close the container.
3. Once you come back, put your ear buds in FIRST, open Broadcaster, then click record.

At the end of class

We recommend saying "thank you" and/or "goodbye". Then, step out of camera's view, and once again click the grey button on the phone to stop recording. Lastly, close the Union Broadcaster app.

NOTE: By default, the livestream will end for your users 60 mins after the scheduled class time unless you have another class booked after. If you go over 60 mins, your customers will no longer see your stream but the class will continue to record until you end your livestream. Please see Livestream End Time for more details. 

Key Notes:

1. Once your device settings are set follow this path:
   1. Take your bluetooth mic (i.e. airpods) out of their case and into your ears
   2. Open up Broadcaster
   3. Start streaming
   4. If you need to take your bluetooth headset off at any time, put them back into their case (and close it), stop the stream. When you come back, follow the steps above. Please visit Troubleshooting your Bluetooth Earbuds if additional assistance is needed. 
2. Make sure your HD Video settings are correct in Union's Broadcaster app (either 1020x720 or 1920x1080 depending on your upload speed)
3. Make sure the device you are streaming from is on do not disturb (this is not just airplane mode or silent notification, please be certain to check your do no disturb settings)
4. Check Auto-Lock device settings (keep your phone from turning off or going dark)
5. Make sure everything is charged for your classes if not charging while the class is live (phone, laptop, tablet, earphones, etc). We recommend keeping your streaming device plugged into a charging station while you're streaming. 
6. It is recommended that you disable bluetooth from any surrounding devices to ensure your airpods are only connected to your streaming device (i.e. phone). 
7. If you have tech issues before class please reach out to support@union.fit. Be sure to let us know what gear you are using (i.e. iPhone and AirPods, what app you're using to stream, and what class you're trying to stream! Any direct URLS you can provide or screenshots are helpful!