Live Station broadcast transmission

Available in Classic and VPC

It explains the recommended transmission options and precautions when a broadcast is transmitted, and how to transmit a broadcast for each encoder.

Recommended broadcast transmission options

When creating a channel and selecting quality settings through Live Station, refer to the following options for transmission.

Overseas transmission support

• Live Station has forward-arranged the proxy for receiving transmission in overseas regions for supporting more stable broadcast transmission in foreign countries.
• The forward proxy is built based on Singapore, Japan, the U.S., and Germany, and you can service more stable transmission in those countries or adjacent countries.

Precautions when transmitting a broadcast

For a successful live broadcast transmission, be sure to check the following items before starting a broadcast transmission.

• Network quality

  • Even if there is no problem when checking email or loading a webpage, the Internet environment may be unsuitable for transmitting a live broadcast.
  • For the Internet used for transmission of a live broadcast, it is recommended to use a dedicated line that is not shared with others.
  • Please use a tool like speedtest.net to check if your upload bandwidth is sufficient to transmit a live broadcast.

• Whether to use Wi-Fi

  • When transmitting via Wi-Fi or tethering connection, transmission quality may be unstable and frame drop is likely to occur.
  • In particular, when transmitting via tethering connection, it is recommended to transmit via hardwired Ethernet as the mobile (LTE/5G) network environment cannot be guaranteed.

• Bandwidth

  • Before transmitting a broadcast, you need to check the network upload bandwidth where the broadcast will take place.
  • Upload bandwidth should be more than double the bitrate you want to transmit. For broadcasting of 1080p quality, the minimum measured network upload bandwidth should be 8 Mbps.

• CPU usage

  • The CPU usage of the encoder can be controlled through the encoder settings.
  • When transmitting live broadcast of HD quality or higher, a lot of CPU resources are used for capture and a high bitrate is used for encoding.
  • If buffering, interruption of transmission, disconnection, etc. occur frequently during transmission, it is recommended to transmit by lowering the bitrate and resolution with reference to the recommended transmission options.

• Keyframe interval

  • If the keyframe interval value is large, the image quality may deteriorate.
  • The default settings may differ from the recommended transmission options in some encoders. For optimal quality, refer to the recommended transmission options.
  • When using options like auto keyframe interval or scene change detect, the keyframe interval is transmitted variably during transmission. So, it is not recommended to use those options.
  • When transmitting at irregular keyframe intervals, issues related to transmission quality, e.g. video quality degradation and buffering, may occur.

Settings and broadcast transmission for each encoder

Broadcast equipment can be used to transmit a live broadcast through channels created in Live Station. For information on settings and broadcast transmission methods for each frequently used general-purpose encoder.

• Wirecast encoder
• OBS encoder
• Prism Live Studio
• FFmpeg encoder

Wirecast encoder

The following describes how to transmit a live broadcast using the wirecast encoder.

1. Download the wirecast encoder software.
2. When the download is completed, execute the wirecast encoder.
3. Click Output > Output settings in the menu at the top of the screen.
4. Select RTMP server in the output target selection pop-up window and click the [Approve] button.
5. Enter the following in the output setting popup window.
   • Name: enter the name of the output setting.
   • Address: enter the stream information URL of the channel to transmit a broadcast.
   • Stream: Enter the stream key of channel for transmitting broadcast

6. Click on Encoding > New preset in sequence.
7. In the pop-up window, enter the setting name and click on the [Approval] button.
8. If you want to stream broadcasts through a regular channel, in the encoder preset pop-up window, set it as follows and click on [Save].
   
   • Copy and paste the following to the x264 command line option.
     • cabac=1 bframes=0 keyint=30 min_keyint=30 scenecut=-1
   • To transmit a broadcast through the LL-HLS channel, set Quality to 3 - (very fast encoding), and click the [Apply] button.
9. Click the [Set credentials] button, enter the username and password, and then click the [Approve] button.
10. Click the [Approve] button.
11. Click .
    • Broadcast is transmitted through the set Live Station channel.
    • You can click to end the broadcast transmission.

OBS encoder

The following describes how to use the OBS encoder to transmit a live broadcast.

1. Download the OBS encoder software.
2. Once the download is completed, execute the OBS encoder.
3. Click File > Settings> Broadcast menu in the top menu in that order.
4. Enter Server and Stream key, and click the [Apply] button.
   • Server: Stream information URL of the channel to transmit a broadcast.
   • Stream key: Stream key of channel for transmitting broadcast

5. Click the Output menu.
6. If you want to stream broadcasts through a regular channel, set it as follows and click on [Apply].
   
   • The default option of Data rate control is CBR. When using LED or flashy lighting in broadcast, the VBR option is recommended.
   • Copy and paste the following into the x264 settings (separated by spaces):
     • cabac=1 bframes=0 keyint=30 keyint_min=30 scenecut=-1
   • If you want to transmit a broadcast through the LL-HLS channel, click the [Apply] button after setting the CPU usage to veryfast.
   • Be sure to change the following option during x264 setting according to the set FPS value, and enter it.
     • keyint={FPS} keyint_min={FPS}
7. Click the audio tab to set the audio bitrate, and click the [Apply] button.
   • Set the audio bitrate of the track selected in 6. to 192.
8. Click the Video menu to set the resolution and number of frames per second, and click the [Apply] button.
   • It is recommended to set it as follows:
     • (Adjusted) Output resolution: 1920x1080
     • Common FPS value: 30
9. Click of the Source list, and add a video/audio input device.
   • You can change properties by double-clicking the added device.
10. Click the [Start broadcasting] button.
    • Broadcast is transmitted through the set Live Station channel.
    • You can click the [Stop broadcasting] button to stop transmission of the broadcast.

Prism Live Studio

You can use the Prism Live Studio to transmit videos freely on your PC/mobile device.

Prism Live Studio(PC)

The following describes how to use the Prism Live Studio on your PC (Windows) to transmit a live broadcast.

1. Download the PC version Prism Live Studio software.
2. Once the download is completed, execute the Prism Live Studio.
3. Click > Add channel in that order.
4. Click the [Add RTMP channel] button, and enter the information channel for transmitting a broadcast.
   • URL: enter the stream information URL of channel to transmit a broadcast after selecting Direct Input
   • Stream key: enter the stream key of the channel to transmit a broadcast
   • Channel name: This is regardless of the channel name of the Live Station, and you need to enter the channel name to be used in the Prism Live Studio

5. Click the [Save] button.
6. If you want to stream broadcasts through a regular channel, set it as follows and click on [Apply].
   
   • If you want to transmit a broadcast through the LL-HLS channel, click the [Apply] button after setting the CPU usage to veryfast.
   • Be sure to change the following option according to the set FPS value, and enter it.
     • keyint={FPS} keyint_min={FPS}
7. Click the audio tab to set the audio bitrate, and click the [Apply] button.
   • Set the audio bitrate of the track selected in 6. to 192.
8. Click of Source to add a video/audio input device.
   • You can change properties by double-clicking the added device.
9. Click the [Start broadcasting] button.
   • Live broadcast is transmitted through all added channels that are online.
   • You can click the [End broadcast] button to end transmission of the broadcast.

Prism Live Studio (mobile)

The following describes how to transmit a live broadcast on your mobile device using the Prism Live Studio.

1. Download the Prism Live Studio app on your mobile device.
2. Once the download is completed, execute the Prism Live Studio app.
3. Touch LIVE at the bottom of the screen, and touch the [Ready] button.
4. Touch Select channel, and touch the [Add] > [Custom RTMP] button.
5. Enter the information on the channel to transmit a broadcast, and touch Save.
   • Stream name: it has nothing to do with the channel name of the Live Station, and enter the name of the stream to use in the Prism Live Studio.
   • Stream URL: enter the stream information URL of the channel to transmit a broadcast.
   • Stream key: Enter the stream key of channel for transmitting broadcast

6. Configure the created channel, and then click the [OK] button.
   
   • It is recommended to use the PC version when streaming broadcasts through an LL-HLS channel.
7. Touch the [Go Live] button.
   • Broadcast is transmitted through the set Live Station channel.
   • You can touch the [End] button to end transmission of the broadcast.

FFmpeg encoder

The following describes how to transmit a live broadcast through the LL-HLS channel by using the FFmpeg encoder.

1. Download the FFmpeg encoder software.
2. Enter the output source input, the stream information URL of the LL-HLS channel, and the stream key in the following command, and execute it.
   • RTMP_URL: enter the stream information URL of the channel to transmit a broadcast.
   • STREAMKEY: enter the stream key of channel for transmitting broadcast

3. If you wish to stream broadcasts using a webcam and microphone, run the commands in the following order.

   1. Check the capture device
      • MacOS: ffmpeg -f avfoundation -list_devices true -i dummy
      • Windows: ffmpeg -f dshow -list_devices true -i dummy
   2. Check the capture device supported output
      • MacOS: ffmpeg -f avfoundation -i "IDX_DEVICE" -hide_banner -f null -
      • Windows: ffmpeg -f dshow -i IDX_DEVICE" -hide_banner -f null -
        • IDX_DEVICE: index of the capture device identified in 3.a
        • Input ":IDX_DEVICE" when checking the audio device supported output
   3. Stream

      $ffmpeg -f avfoundation \ # In the case of Windows, dshow
      -video_size 1920x1080 \ # Capture device supported resolution
      -framerate 30 \ # Capture device supported frame rates
      -i "0:0" \ #Capture device index (video:audio)
      -c:v libx264 \ 
      -b:v 4000K \
      -maxrate 4000K \
      -pix_fmt yuv420p \
      -s 1920x1080 \
      -profile:v main \
      -preset medium \
      -force_key_frames "expr:gte(t,n_forced*1)" \ # Set the keyframe interval to 1 second
      -x264opts "nal-hrd=cbr:no-scenecut" \
      -acodec aac \
      -ab 192K \
      -ar 44100 \
      -f flv \
      RTMP_URL/STREAMKEY
      

4. If you want to transmit a broadcast of a media file, execute the following command:

   $ffmpeg -re -stream_loop N \ # N is the number of times the media file is played, if it is -1, the file is played repeatedly 
   -i INPUT \ #Media file path
   -c:v libx264 \
   -b:v 4000K \
   -maxrate 4000K \
   -s 1920x1080 \
   -profile:v main \
   -preset medium \
   -force_key_frames "expr:gte(t,n_forced*1)" \ # Set the keyframe interval to 1 second
   -x264opts "nal-hrd=cbr:no-scenecut" \
   -acodec aac \
   -ab 192K \
   -ar 44100 \
   -f flv \
   RTMP_URL/STREAMKEY
   

   • INPUT: Enter the media file path for output