Day of Livestream with OBS
Step 1: Speed Test
Test your internet connection from your streaming device using our speedtest instructions. Union recommends that you have more than 10Mbps UPLOAD speed or your livestream may be choppy, disconnect, and generally be frustrating for participants.
If your upload speed is under 10Mbp, we recommend that you decrease your resolution from your OBS settings (on your computer). Simply double click on your camera source to adjust.
Step 2. Open OBS and Check Devices are Connected
Be sure you have OBS opened on your computer. Then check to make sure your camera and audio source are connected! You can confirm everything is working because you should see your camera feed coming in and your audio source type lit in green.
Helpful Reminders:
- Make sure your computer and phone are being charged while your class is live.
- If you are using your phone as your camera source, please put in do not disturb mode or airplane mode.
- Check to make sure your audio device is fully charged.
Step 3: Sign In to Union
Open your browser (preferably Chrome) and sign in to your Union account at https://www.union.fit. You will use this to access Union's Streamboard so you can see who's live with you in your class as well as chatting with them all!
Click on DASHBOARD. You should see a few of your upcoming classes.
15 minutes before your class begins, the Check-In (as pictured above) button will change to a View Stream button
Once you see the View Stream button appear (you may have to manually refresh your Union dashboard, click Start Streaming in OBS.
Back on your Union dashboard, after ~10 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 (it will always appear 15 min before class starts). This opens the Union Streamboard. You can check your audio/video feed is coming into Union before and during class, see students file in to your virtual classroom, and monitor the chat room for questions.
Be sure to MUTE your feed to prevent feedback. Hover over the video block and click the speaker button to mute.
By default, as long as your stream is active, your students can start entering the class 5 minutes before the class begins. Use the live chat to give some shout outs to your students! *If you would like to change this, please visit your Union Settings > Online Events or refer to our support article here.
If you would like to ‘step away’ before class, we recommend clicking Stop Streaming in OBS. *If you are using wireless ear buds, please be sure to put these back into its container and completely close. Once you come back, put your ear buds in, check your OBS Audio Mixer to confirm you're connected and then click Start Streaming.
At the end of class, we recommend saying "thank you" and/or "goodbye" to complete the practice. Once you leave your mat, you can choose to Stop Streaming or leave the feed rolling to answer some questions vocally that may have come in the chat before signing off. We have found teachers who engage with their students in this way have created a strong community with their students.
Reminders for OBS:
OBS provides you with active bandwidth data while streaming your class. If you notice dropped frame rates, a high CPU percentage rate, or the colored square in the red or yellow range, please visit our Troubleshooting with OBS guide.