How to Broadcast to Facebook Live with Wirecast
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Looking for the Facebook Live button to go live with Wirecast or OBS Studio? It's moved!
Just click the button below to scroll down...
In this article, I show you how to broadcast to Facebook Live from your computer to your Facebook Profile, Pages AND groups using Wirecast
UPDATE: Wirecast now supports broadcasting live videos to Facebook groups directly from the tool
I wrote an article recently on How to Broadcast to Facebook Live from your Computer using the free software OBS Studio.
This free software works really well, runs on Macs, PCs and under Linux and you can stream to your Facebook page, profile and groups.
However, there is another tool on the market that is highly recommended, and that is Wirecast from Telestream. There's no question, this is the professional live streamer's tool. Wirecast Studio costs $449 and Pro costs $699.
I'll be giving a full comparison of OBS Studio and Wirecast soon, but for now I wanted to walk you through how to broadcast from your computer to Facebook Live using Wirecast. Many marketers are choosing Wirecast as their main tool including Mari Smith, Guy Kawasaki, Joel Comm, Jeff Sieh and Mike Stelzner.
Going Live from your Computer?
Facebook Live launched last year with a feature to stream live video from your phone. It started rolling out to verified users first, and then to iOS users and Android users have begun to receive access to Facebook Live on their profiles recently. It's also possible to go live to groups and pages from your smartphone.
But, Mark Zuckerberg has his sights on something much bigger. At the recent F8 Facebook developers conference, Mark Zuckerberg displayed drones, 360 cameras, studio set ups and more - all of which integrate with Facebook Live. Combine that with Facebook acquiring virtual reality headset company Oculus VR and the future of Facebook Live is very exciting!
You can now broadcast live from your computer, using multiple cameras, webcams, share your screen, apps and even your smartphone to all your friends, group members and business page fans.
You can do this for free using OBS Studio (see my guide here) or using the professional software Wirecast here.
#1 Download and Install Wirecast
Wirecast is paid tool (starting from $495) however they do have a free trial. I highly recommend trying both Wirecast and OBS Studio to see which one is going to best for you.
Wirecast allows you to stream to multiple sources including Facebook Live, and you can capture any of the following:
- Multiple webcams
- DSLR cameras
- Monitor displays
- App windows
- Images, videos and media files
- Your smartphone display
Like, OBS Studio, Wirecast supports multiple displays at the same time (including picture-in-picture) and you can easily set up keyboard shortcuts with slick scene transitions. In fact, Wirecast has more varied scene transitions than OBS.
#2 Set up for your Profile, Page or Group
Like OBS Studio, Wirecast supports Facebook Live out of the box. Wirecast in some ways is a little easier to set up than OBS Studio, as you can just click a button to connect to Facebook as opposed to fiddling with stream keys.
Until recently, Wirecast did not allow you to broadcast live video to your Facebook groups.
In a recent update, however, Wirecast allows you to broadcast live video to your Facebook groups as well as your pages and profile. However, I've kept the alternative way of broadcasting to Facebook Live using the RTMP protocol because it does allow a bit more flexibility. If that means nothing you don't worry, just choose the easy option!
Go Live with your Profile, group or Page...
There is a "go live" feature in the publishing tools section of our Facebook pages, but you don't need to use this with Wirecast. You can connect your Facebook account with Wirecast directly.
Click Output settings:
Then select "Facebook" from the Output Destination drop down:
Click OK
Enter the name of your Facebook Profile, then click Authenticate:
Log in to Facebook in the pop up browser:
Enter your Facebook Live video title and description, then select your profile or the page/group you want to go live to:
If you are going live to your Facebook profile, you can also select privacy settings to share publicly, with only your friends or just with yourself.
I recommend sharing only with yourself while you are testing, so you can watch later, just to make sure everything is working properly:
Click Refresh, then click OK.
Once you've set up your webcam or screen sharing you are ready to go live. Skip to #3
Alternative way...
There is a different way to stream to Facebook Live from Wirecast. In this you can create the post on Facebook directly and mention other profiles and pages.
This uses a similar method that I outlined in my previous article on How to stream from your computer to Facebook Live.
We're going to connect with Facebook using the Facebook Live Video API. In Wirecast, we'll choose the RTMP protocol and you'll need a "streaming url" and "streaming key".
That’s fine for developers, but it's not easy for the rest of us. Where do you get the streaming url and key?
I’ve made it easier for you all by creating a button that connects to Facebook Live using the official Live Video API. All you need to do is click the button at the top of this article.
Click on the "Broadcast on Facebook Live" button above (at the top of this article).
Then, you need to select where you want to post the live video - your own timeline, a friend's timeline, a group or a page you manage:
If you chose a group or a page, start typing the name of the page or group, click to select, and then click next:
A pop-up window should appear. If it does not, you'll need to check your pop-up settings in your browser to allow pop-ups.
In the pop-up, enter your update text and video information:
You can't go live yet, since you'll need to enter the stream url and key into Wirecast and start your stream so that Facebook can receive it.
Once Facebook receives your stream it will no longer display "OFFLINE" and display your stream preview.
Now we need to give Wirecast the correct settings so that it can connect with Facebook.
Click Output settings:
Then select "RTMP Server" from the Output Destination drop down (should already be selected):
Then, paste in your stream URL (from the previous Facebook Live pop up window) in the address box...
Enter your Stream Key into the "Stream" box...
And click the "Set Credentials" button:
Enter in your Facebook username and password into the pop up window, then click OK.
Click OK.
Once you've set up your webcam or screen sharing you are ready to go live!
#3 Start Streaming
It's now time to go live.
If you are streaming the normal way to your profile or page, Wirecast makes it easy:
Click Output, then "Start/Stop Broadcasting" then click your Facebook Live stream that you created earlier.
You are now live!
If you want to stop your broadcast, simply click Output, then "Start/Stop Broadcasting" then click your Facebook Live stream.
For going to live using the RTMP method, it's a little different...
Click Output, then "Start/Stop Broadcasting" then click your RTMP Server Stream that you created earlier.
Now, return to the Facebook Live pop up that was launched from the "go live" button above.
You should see a preview of the stream Facebook is receiving from Wirecast:
Enter your update text and the video title and optionally some video tags.
Now, it's your moment of glory. Click the "Go Live" button to go live:
When you want to stop your broadcast, simply click Output, then "Start/Stop Broadcasting" then click your RTMP Live stream.
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I can not transmit some help me do not load the program. Thank you
Are you using Wirecast? What error are you getting? If you can give me further information, I’ll try and help you.
Thanks for the article, I’m able to authenticate FB and go live on my profile, but i can’t go live on any of my Pages that i admin. Any ideas? It keeps giving me a server error: unable to go live.
Also, i would use the RTMP stream but that also fails as fb&wirecast does not recognize the url & stream key. Facebook now requires a secure RTMPS url, so how are all of you continuing to use RTMP?
Thanks!
Sorry to hear you are having issues. Have you contacted Wirecast about this? Best to log out and log in again. I do know that FB is a bit
thank you the article! tutorial to help me start my first Facebook Live Event. Thank you so much
So glad it was helpful for you!
Love the article! Myself and my three+ friends are trying to launch a podcast, but we’re looking into trying to have multiple cams on site since logistically it seems the better option than trying to get all 4 of us in the same room. Any ideas for a picture in picture for 4 folks?
Hi Marc, glad you liked the article. Are you using Wirecast? If you are all on the same network, you could use a technology called NDI (which Wirecast supports) – that way you can all share your video into Wirecast running on your computer. Or, use a simple service like Zoom. You could either save the video within Zoom (and Zoom also has inbuilt live streaming) or capture this into Wirecast. Hope that helps!
Uff , some days its ok , but many times is imposible the conection!!!
What issues are you having? Is this your internet connection? Or is the connection failing with Facebook Live? Ian
Hello why ins’t the page BROADCAST TO FACEBOOK LIVE uploading? thanks
Thanks for letting me know. For now, please use this page: https://iag.me/socialmedia/broadcast-computer-facebook-live/
I’ve fixed the issue. Thanks for letting me know. Ian
A well written and detailed tutorial to help me start my first Facebook Live Event. Thank you so much 🙂 I am about to get my hands on Wirecast for the first time. Hoping to learn it faster. 🙂 Cheers.
Robin.
Thanks, Robin. Great stuff! And make sure you get the 30% discount they’re running right now!
And, if you need some help learning how to use it, I’m currently offering 40% off my Wirecast
[…] For a step by step guide on how to broadcast to Facebook Live using Wirecast, check out my sister article – Click here to view. […]
I can not transmit some help me do not load the program
Hy Lymm, you’ll need to give me much more information for me to help you.
What issues are you getting? Can you not load the program at all? Are you getting an error message? Are you using a Mac or a PC? Tell me exactly what is happening and I’ll try and help. But you also might be best to contact
How i can upload the video after done streaming ?
Once it has completed streaming it remains as a video included among all your other videos
.
Thanks, David. Yes, that is the case. Ian
Can’t Load URL: The domain of this URL isn’t included in the app’s domains. To be able to load this URL, add all domains and subdomains of your app to the App Domains field in your app settings. Pls Help me…
Ian, We just started using Wirecast to take our Sunday Services live on Facebook. We are a non-profit and set up with Facebook Payments, so we really want to add the Donate button on the Live feed, but can’t figure out how to do this from inside Wirecast. If you have any suggestions, we would be grateful.
Hi Tammy, great to hear from you. Really interesting question. I’ve not played with Facebook payments yet. Does this work through Facebook messenger? I don’t think there is a way to add a button by the video, but you could embed a call to action on your video to direct people to the Facebook payments link. Or even better (if this is possible), use a Facebook messenger bot – and say that people can find out more about donating by using a trigger word. If they use that word in the comment, they will be sent more information and a link by Facebook messenger. Hope
Ian, thank you so much for taking the time to reply. You can totally add a Donate button into your live video from inside Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/help/377796675887629), but you have to do it before you go live, which is where the conundrum comes in. We go live in Wirecast, so we can’t add the button before going live. I was hoping you might now if Wirecast has that functionality. I wrote their tech support but never heard back. I’m not familiar with the Facebook messenger bot, but I’m going to totally explore that. Thank you!!!!
Hi Tammy, ah, that’s great – thanks for that. From looking through the documentation, it looks like this is only available from mobile – Android or iOS. And that means you have to broadcast from mobile too. So no Wirecast or any other software. It’s a bit difficult for me to test on my page because I’m not based in the US and have a valid page (a charity) to test. I’ll check with the Wirecast team, but if you can’t edit the video from desktop to add the call to action, I don’t think this will be possible. Sorry!
Is there a way to produce multiple streams to engage an audience through facebook live? Think of a panel discussion where multiple experts speak on one topic and push out the stream through facebook live. Possible?
Hi David, I may not be understanding you correctly, so please do give me more details so I can help. But, you can technically stream multiple streams to Facebook – to the same page or different pages at the same time. You’d need multiple computers streaming separately to get the best results. Wirecast Pro also has the ability to stream different audio tracks at the same time, but that’s more for streaming different language tracks at the same time.
Hi again! When clicking on “Broadcast on Facebook Live” I receive the following error: This page isn’t working
www. facebook .com is currently unable to handle this request.
HTTP ERROR 500
RELOAD
Will this be fixed??
Hi Dinorah, As I have mentioned to others, could you check again? I tried this a couple of hours ago and it worked fine for me. It could have been a temporary glitch? It certainly affected a few people yesterday.
it doesnt work so good. For a replay of video, it NEVER starts from frame 1 of the video. It is always a bit down stream. Bad. Fewer people will click a replay if it doesnt have a great thumbnail opening screen which I can not get to show
Hi Bob, thanks for your comment. There is often a slight delay at the start of the stream. It’s a little difficult to get it perfectly timed. I often start with a pre-show slot – with a countdown timer. And then I’ll play the intro video. But another way would be to start with an animated graphic for a couple of seconds and then play the video. And remember, you can always change the thumbnail for your replay viewers afterwards – just by editing the video on Facebook. Hope that helps. Ian
Great article! I have been using your “Broadcast on Facebook Live” for a few months now and it has worked perfectly with Facebook however, for the last few weeks, whenever I click “Go Live” the window just disappears. When I go to end the broadcast I can’t click to post it. Any ideas?? 🙁
Hi Dinorah, Earlier last year, the window closed when you clicked “Go Live”. Then Facebook kept the window open to allow us to view information about the broadcast and the ability to end the broadcast. However, I noticed a few weeks before Christmas, it reverted back to the old way. It is frustrating because you have to go to the live video post and edit it and then stop the broadcast. I’m going to submit a bug request to Facebook about this. You are the second person to let me know about this. Thanks for letting me
What’s else works with Wirecast in terms of cameras. Can you use my android and it will still be good quality?
Sorry I missed your comment, Mark. You can use Android and iPhone cameras. The quality probably won’t be as good as decent webcams, but it might be worth trying.
Thank you
Great article
I’ve tried both the Wirecast Facebook Live setting and the RTMP setting. The Facebook live setting is easier, but if the connection is interrupted it needs to start a whole new post/video. Whereas with the RTMP setting you can reconnect to the existing post. Seems like a flaw, should people stick with RTMP? Are there any advantages besides convenience for using the FB setting?
Hi Rich, Yes, using the integrated Facebook feature in Wirecast is a lot easier. But there are a few advantages in using RTMP. One is the flexibility you have – you can reconnect to the existing post like you say. Also, you can more easily start streaming 20-30mins beforehand and check the preview, and even start broadcasting earlier if you like. Then there is multicasting – if you want to broadcast to Facebook Live and another platform within Wirecast, the only option is RTMP – that’s because Facebook restricts 3rd party tools from broadcasting to Facebook Live and other platforms via their API.
Hello! I’m live streaming an event tomorrow where we have 4 speakers who will wear 4 different microphones. They are all connected to a mixer for controlling the sound. I’m wondering how I can connect the mixer to my computer to stream the sound from the external microphones instead of the built in? Don’t know if my question makes sense, but worth a shot. Thanks, Elinor
Hi, Elinor. Sorry that I couldn’t get back to you earlier. There are so many moving parts to live broadcasts, that’s always best to do a lot of testing and leave yourself a lot longer than you think to make sure everything is working! I have learnt that from experience! I usually just use USB connected microphones. However, if you have a mixer, you’ll need another option. If the mixer can be connected to your computer via USB, then the mixer should appear as an audio source in OBS Studio and you’ll be able to use that. If not, you’ll need to plug it into your computer’s audio
Hello, You can also connect the audio mixer output to your main camera input. Use an XLR input. That’s how videographers record more than a couple of audio sources. (You could even use a wireless transmitter hooked up to your camera) The source from the main camera is set as your Wirecast audio source when switching. Any switching from camera to camera will only output the main camera audio. Don’t use a separate audio input to your computer as it only adds potential issues to your set-up.
Ian, thank you for your help to the live streaming community. I am wondering if there’s any way to control PTZ cameras from either OBS or Wirecast?
Thanks, Lee. Interesting question. The most important consideration is, can you display the image of the camera on your computer, either as a device or in a window. If you can capture the video from your camera using a capture card, for example, an HDMI capture card like this – https://www.amazon.com/Blackmagic-Design-UltraStudio-Mini-Recorder/dp/B009D91314/ that will work- you’d just chose the capture card device as the device in OBS or Wirecast. Or if your camera allows you to display the video in an app window, you’d choose a display capture. Hope that makes sense.
Thank you Ian. I appreciate your reply!
As shown in this screen shot, I’m getting everything rocking, BUT…
I can’t get anything to show up in my “live source” audio window! Any tips? I’m unable to capture any audio!
Screen shot: https://www.screencast.com/t/3IZRqEZf
Hi Jim, apologies, your post ended up in my moderation queue due to the link.
It depends on how you’ve set things up. What audio are you trying to capture? Make sure you check the box “capture system audio” if you are wanting to capture the sound from your desktop.
Hi Ian, i already follow your guide step by step, but when i start to broadcast, it says “Cannot connect to the RTMP/Flash server at the given IP adress” how to fix it? thanks
Hi, Revian. Unfortunately, this can happen. Something is blocking your connection. Can you check your upload speed? It should be at least 5Mbps UPLOAD speed, but ideally a lot higher than that. I’ve also sometimes found that Facebook just blocks the connection and I’ve had to wait. Or, I have used a different connection or a VPN service like Private Internet Access. I wish I could be more helpful, but hopefully that does help!
I am getting the same “Cannot connect to RTMP/FLASH server at the given IP address.
Verify the server is reachable at the given address. [-4018]” error on Mac OS X, but when I go to my windows machine, on the same network, to the same facebook account, it works.
How can I debug the OS X issue since this is just affecting a single machine?
I have also tried with and without VPN, and multiple locations on VPN too. Something else is causing this issue on Mac.
Hi Mike, That is very frustrating. I’ve had similar issues very occasionally. I could never get to the bottom of it. It sometimes worked on my PC and not my Mac and then the other way round. The same when comparing OBS Studio and Wirecast and with a VPN and not. At the end of the day I have a feeling that the issue is with certain FB servers. Some of them allow connection without any issues, and some servers are being picky.
I’d try again and see if it works. Have you tried contacting Wirecast support?
Hello. I want to broadcast online on YouTube + Facebook. He writes error: “Facebook restricts simultaneous streams to other online services”. How to fix the error?
Yes, Facebook’s terms only allow apps that use their API to broadcast to only Facebook. If you want to broadcast to Facebook as well as YouTube, you’ll need to choose RTMP and use the button at the top of this article.
Do I need to use a blackmagic ultra studio recorder to do live stream with DSLR camera for Windows
Hi Micah. It’s likely you’ll need some sort of HDMI capture card such as the Black Magic ultra studio recorder. Most DSLRs don’t appear as a usable camera on either PCs or Macs. Make sure your DSLR is capable of a clean HDMI output (i.e. one that won’t output any overlay information). Ian
Super tutorial! I would like to be able to stream from desktop to my FB group. I see now that wire cast does this directly which sounds great! Although I’m still hoping to do this less expensively. I am fooling around with OBS. It possible to stream to a group with OBS? I’m only seeing the FB Page/Key option, but I’m brand new to it.
Hi JJ. So sorry I totally missed your comment. Wirecast is the pro tool for live streaming, but you can do a lot with OBS Studio, and perhaps it’s good for you to start off with that and then move to Wirecast when you’re ready? Wirecast does make it easy to connect with Facebook, but you can do it with OBS Studio with a bit of work. Check out my other article – https://iag.me/socialmedia/broadcast-computer-facebook-live/
You can get the stream key for your Facebook page by visiting your page’s publishing tools. For your profile or group, you need to use the button on my post.
Wow! great article! thanks for sharing this.
Thanks, Abegail! Glad you found it useful!
What a great article, I had no idea that wirecast had upgraded to being able to broadcast to FB Live.
Question: Do you know if wirecast will work with DSLR Canon t5i?
Seem to be pretty difficult to make it work with DSLRs, but you mentioned above that it works.
Thank you!
Yes. You will need a capture card like Game Capture HD60 | elgato.com. It is what I use and is perfect!
Thanks, great tip!
It has! And the latest version of Wirecast – 7.3, even gives displays the number of shares, comments and reactions to your live video. Really cool!
You should be able to use your DSLR, but you’ll probably need a video capture card such as the one Jose suggested. Ian
I click on the button BROADCAST to FB live. Then the Popup comes up. After I click NEXT, no more Popup comes?
This probably means you are officially logged in to your Facebook account. If in Wirecast it shows your Facebook user name, you can now enter a title, description and choose where to stream (profile, pages, groups, etc.) then can start to create your live event!
Hi Gerhard. Are you using the button on this page, or are you authenticating with Facebook using Wirecast? It’s probably best to use Wirecast to set up the post – that way you have more control. However, the advantage in using the button on this page is to stream to multiple destinations or customise your post (by mentioning other profiles or pages). If you’re trying to use the button above, and the 2nd pop up doesn’t appear, your browser is probably blocking that 2nd pop up. Check your browser, and make sure it is accepting pop ups from iag,me
Thanks man
HI, I am using wirecast to stream to facebook live, I set everything up in wirecast and authenticate through the wirecast gui, no adding stream keys, I only have wirecast open on that machine,
While I am streaming, how can I get an idea of how many users are looking at my stream and how can I interact with them if the only thing I have open is wirecast?
At the moment you should pull up the Facebook stream on your phone or in a web browser. Then you can keep an eye on comments and live viewers. There is no view counter in Wirecast.
It’s a common question – for both OBS Studio and Wirecast users. A good way is to use your smartphone or tablet while you are live. You could even attach this to your microphone stand. Or, put this on a separate monitor and check it there.
UPDATE: There is now! In Wirecast 7.3 you can now see how many viewers, comments and likes your live stream on Facebook has! If you still want to read the comments you will still need to open a browser or another device, but the new tally counter is a great way to keep track of how much engagement your stream is getting.
https://youtu.be/iDQTFlPBEQk
Thanks, Andrew. Great to see how quickly you are adding more features and integrating with the Facebook Live API!
hi , iam using wirecast to go live on my page using videos already saved on my computer , the broadcast goes well for few seconds then it stops… plz can u suggest a solution for this problem? thnks in advance
Hi Hadyl, it sounds like potentially a bandwidth problem. What is your upload limit? For Facebook’s minimum 720p HD video stream size, you probably need a solid 5 Mpbs upload connection. Otherwise it will be subject to dropping or stopping. If you have a lower internet connection speed, you can always stream a still image or a tiny video box of yourself in front of slides. The image/visuals might not be that exciting, but you’ll get a nice quality, uniterrupted stream with audio, and it won’t require a 5Mbps connection. Still images/smaller video can be streamed at 1 or 2 Mbps.
Thanks for replying, Andrew. I’ve not had a chance to reply to these comments until now. I agree, it does sound like a bandwidth problem. Am I right in saying you can reduce the quality for Facebook Live in Wirecast if you select RTMP? I wonder if that is an issue for the bandwidth impaired?
I think you are right, Ian. You can set the stream to whatever size you want, including SD sizes like 480p. How that will end up looking on Facebook I’m not entirely sure… but there’s nothing in Wirecast that would prevent you from doing that way. If there is a limitation to streaming resolutions it would be on Facebook’s side. I would assume they are ok with anything UP TO 720p…
I’d just like to say thank you so very much for building this and allowing anyone to use it. I have started doing a lot of Facebook live streaming to chat with friends all over the world and it can be so cumbersome using my iPhone or iPad. Being able to do this right from my desktop makes life a breeze.
Thanks, Michelle. So glad you’ve found this useful! Ian
Hi! What is the optimal output settings for facebook live in terms of bitrate, framerate etc.? And the encoding options? Guess i’m a little confused!
Hi Frederik. Most of the time, you shouldn’t need all these settings – it should just work. However, Facebook do give optimal settings and I added it to my other Facebook Live article – https://iag.me/socialmedia/broadcast-computer-facebook-live/ Here they are… You’ll need a fast internet speed. At least 3Mbps UPLOAD speed, but preferably 4Mbps+. A good download speed is useful, but it is the upload speed that is important. Check your upload speed with the speedtest tool. Your computer needs to encode the video before sending it over to Facebook. Encoding video requires a fast processor. If you have a dedicated graphics card that helps too – as will a good bit of memory. To help things, it is best to close as many apps running in the background as possible – so that OBS Studio can have as many resources as possible to encode the video. If you’re using the Go Live button on this page, you’ll need to allow pop-ups from this site (iag.me). Usually the first pop-up will open, but once that closes, a 2nd pop-up should open. If it does not, you’ll need to enable pop-ups. Your firewall, router and ISP all need to allow RTMP. You don’t… Read more »
If you set it up using RTMP, you can tweak the settings that the default FB ones (that start at 2mbit) don’t allow you to. I have seriously downscaled mine via RTMP because I only have a 1mbit upload here in Cape Town, RSA. Tonight I tested it, and it worked very well. For a normal web broadcast, this is a godsend, because 2mbit on a 1mbit upload is only feasible with no moving image.
That’s a great tip. Could you share a little more about the settings you used? That would be really helpful for others here. What was the quality like in the end? I wonder if it would be possible to tweak the settings for the Facebook Live (as opposed to selecting RTMP).
Hi! thanks for this info!!! Now a situation arises me is that when I give to get the key transmission on facebook, let me in standby mode, there is a solution for that? thanks again bro!
Hi, Jonathan. Sorry, I don’t quite understand. What happens when you add the stream key from Facebook? If you give me a bit more information I’ll be happy to help!
Hi Ian I’m a dj and got wirecast to go live on fb were ever I would dj but they are not letting me and they blocked me from going live for having music !! That’s not my own is there something I can do ?
Oh no, sorry to hear that. The problem is Facebook takes copyright very seriously. Unless you own the copyright or own a licence and can prove it, Facebook can take down the video or ban you from using Facebook Live. I’ve heard from a few people who have been banned for up to 3 months. You could try and appeal or show them you have a licence or own the copyright.
I have been trying to do this in Wirecast but it doesn’t populate in Facebook when you hit preview, it says offline however shows it streaming in Wirecast.
Hi James, do you get any error messages? Could you try the alternative method (RTMP) I listed in this article and see if you get the same issue. If you have a full version of Wirecast perhaps try their support. If you get anywhere with this let me know. A few people have experienced similar issues with OBS Studio and while I suspect it’s to do with their router or ISP blocking the connection, we couldn’t get a definitive answer.
Hi Ian: How do you set up wirecast to record for later playback on Facebook?
Hi Al. So, do you want to record your video, and then stream that video to Facebook Live using Wirecast? If so, you just need to add the video as a media file in a scene and then stream that Facebook Live.
I’m not sure if you were asking this, but you can also save your live streams to your desktop in Wirecast.
Yes Ian, I didn’t explain it right, but YES that’s what I want to accomplish. I was thinking (incorrectly) that I would somehow record the video in wirecast. But if I understand you correctly, I need to record using “let’s say” QuickTime and add it in wirecast as a media file then stream to FB when I’m ready to go live?
Thank you so much!
Yes, that is one way of doing it. You could also do a live segment at the start, then transition into your recorded video – played as a media file. Lots of options! 🙂
Ahhhhhhh…..great tip. Thanks Ian! You rock man 🙂
Something changed
Is it working for you now?
Did FB change something? Live on personal profile was working but the last few days it gives me an error
Hi Trig, yes there were issues a few days ago. This issue didn’t affect Wirecast users using the normal method, however, Facebook was having issues with their Live API from Saturday onwards. Thankfully they fixed after I submitted a bug report. Let me know if it is working for you now.
Hi Ian
How do I stream a live sports stream on my smart tv or laptop to facebook live using my iphone 6?
Hi Shah, you want to use your iPhone’s camera to stream to Facebook Live from your laptop? If so, you’ll need to use an app like Reflector to get your iPhone’s screen on your desktop and then capture that as a scene in Wirecast and stream that to Facebook Live.
Using OBS I can not make it work. it worked yesterday and today is telling me that an error occurred. Any suggestions?
Hi Hector. This issue didn’t affect Wirecast users using the normal method, however, Facebook was having issues with their Live API from Saturday onwards. Thankfully they fixed after I submitted a bug report. Let me know if it is working for you now.
Hi Ian, how can i use my iphone 5 to steam live on Facebook through Wirecast? Can i test this with the free trial version? I just need to live stream a few minutes of a friend gathering on my Facebook page, with my iphone. Thanks for helping out!
Hi there! Do you mean you want to screencast your iPhone’s screen to your computer and stream that to Facebook Live? If so, I recommend an app called Reflector 2. Once you download that you can connect your phone to your computer and the capture the app in Wirecast and stream it to Facebook Live.
Hi and thanks a lot for your article. Unfortunately the button above doesn’t work at all. It seems like there is no reaction. The trouble shooting guide didn’t helped either. Can you give a quick advice what i could do to make it work? I also tried chrome, firefox and IE… thanks a lot! 🙂
Hi Stefan, There was a temporary bug that found its way on to this page today. Sorry about that. I’ve fixed it and it should work. Could you try and let me know?
Wow! Thank you so much for the super fast help 🙂 Now it works!
No problem at all. Glad I could fix it so quickly!
Hi, do you know why the windows closes when I try to stream live from some pages? And this pages don’t apear on my the Wirecast list of my pages?
You can see it here: https://youtu.be/1B8WxTUxrFQ
You’ll see when I try to stream to EnterateNorte.com it closes the window instantly, but when I try to stream to another page, it keeps it open
The EnterateNorte.com page don’t apear on the list of pages in the wirecast, but the other pages does: http://www.enteratenorte.com/screen.png
Hi Ricardo. So sorry I missed your message. I’m not sure what the issue is. Do you know if you are using Facebook Business manager for some of your pages? Have you contacted Telestream about this? Maybe their support can help? Ian
I have tried a live broadcast from wirecast to my group – which worked just fine. However, none of the live videos I have done could be seen when viewers watch from Safari. Is this a known issue to wirecast, or perhaps Facebook live?
Hi Stephanie. That is really strange! I’ve never come across that before. It shouldn’t make a difference whether you use Wirecast, OBS Studio or your phone to stream to Facebook Live. Have you experienced this with any other Facebook Live videos, or is it just the ones you are producing?
Hi I have managed to set everything up to do a live video from my facebook page however when i go live it just shows the webcast grey preview page and doesnt broadcast me anything can you help?
Hmm, that’s frustrating. I assume you’ve entered everything in correctly. It sounds like your ISP or something else is blocking the connection. I know this has happened to a number of people using OBS Studio and I am pretty sure the same can happen in Wirecast. Some ISPs are blocking the connection. I’d check with your ISP if they are blocking Facebook Live and see if they can sort it. Ian
Thanks!
Is it full HD or 720?
Can I use smartphone as my camera?
Is it possible to use 2 smart phone as my cameras?
For the time being I would use 720p because that’s the max resolution Facebook Live accepts. Hopefully they’ll do full 1080p full HD soon.
As for using your smartphone’s camera as your camera, it’s technically possible, but you need to install an IP camera app on your smartphone. Then you can view your camera on your desktop and get Wirecast to capture that. It’s not ideal to be honest and I’d use a webcam if you can. However I have tried it and it does allow you to have more cameras by using your old smartphones! Ian
Hey Ian,
Great article. Quick question – what do you think is the best way to interact with your audience/monitor questions if you’re using wirecast?
-Luke
Hi Luke, great question. Facebook are continuing to develop their Facebook Live platform. This includes the way they display comments and allow the broadcaster to interact with the comments. I don’t know whether Wirecast will ever integrate comments into the platform – it would be cool if they did. For the time being you have a number of options. First of all, you could have a smartphone or tablet next to your computer. When you go live you can navigate to your live video and see the comments there. The other option is to have a dual monitor set up and have the Facebook Live post on the 2nd monitor. You can see the comments come through while you broadcast. It’s going to be difficult to respond to these comments while you broadcast – in terms of actually typing a reply. That is, unless you’re great at multi-tasking! If you have someone else who can type the replies while you are speaking then that is great. Otherwise you can verbally reply to people during the broadcast. Do treat your broadcast as a piece of evergreen content as well. It may be live, but once the broadcast has finished it will… Read more »
Thanks Ian!
Hi! Is there a way for me to stream wirecast on a facebook live in one state and have a 2 person shot with 2 different people living in 2 different places? So I’d basically be the control board and my clients would be the ones live on camera. Thanks.
Hi Katie. Sorry for the delay, I’ve been away. Yes, you can do this. You’d need to use another service for the 2 person shot. You could use a service like Zoom, Appear.in or Huzzah. You’d then be able to share that screen to Facebook Live with Wirecast. Then you could control what the audience sees and change scenes. Hope that makes sense! Ian