How to Live Stream to Your Own Online Video Platform Plus YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn with Dacast
Dacast is a professional streaming platform that allows you to host, monetize and broadcast your content with an end-to-end live streaming solution. It's not a live streaming studio in the classic sense (like StreamYard, Restream, etc.), but only a solution for live streaming, video hosting and monetization.
These are actually the main benefits you get by choosing Dacast over complete studio like solutions, including the open-source OBS. Dacast has many integration with other live streaming tools - studios, encoders, video capture apps, etc.
This article is a step-by-step guide on Dacast live streaming to multiple platforms with minimal costs, including your own website hosted one, and other social platforms. It also presents a way to make sure you don't run into any live streaming issues, especially those related to Internet connectivity.
What's Important when Live Streaming: Good Internet Connectivity
Internet is what makes or breaks a successful live broadcast, no matter what live streaming software you're using, be it Dacast, OBS or another one. That's why you should definitely think this through.
Having an extra Internet source while live streaming helps, but you have to think how long it takes for you and/or your streaming device (camera, computer, mobile device) to switch between the 2 connections. It's usually a minimum of 10-20 seconds - and that's an optimistic estimate.
That's why you need to use all available Internet connections at once instead of keeping them as a backup and switching between them. That is called Internet bonding (a.k.a. channel bonding, link aggregation, etc.). Speedify is the only app that can combine multiple internet sources into one bonded super-connection for more stable and secure live streaming, video calling, online gaming and web browsing.
Checklist for Dacast Live Streaming to Multiple Platforms
There are several use cases here - we will approach the 3 most common ones.
Live Streaming a Recorded Video or Your Screen (for Games) with Dacast to Multiple Platforms from a Computer
You'll need:
- the recorded video
- a Dacast account
- the OBS Studio software for Mac or PC
- a Switchboard Live account
- a Speedify account - for stable Internet connection.Â
Live Streaming Video with Dacast to Multiple Platforms from a Computer
You'll need:
- a camera - dedicated (like a GoPro, for example), the computer webcam or your smartphone's camera (via Camo)
- a Dacast account
- the OBS Studio software for Mac or PC
- a Switchboard Live account
- Speedify account - for stable Internet connection.Â
Live Streaming Video with Dacast to Multiple Platforms from a Smartphone / Tablet
You'll need:
- your mobile device (smartphone, tablet)
- a Dacast account
- the Larix Broadcaster app on your mobile device
- a Switchboard Live account
- Speedify account - for stable Internet connection.Â
For all the above setups, the idea with Speedify is to use two or more connections together at once, in order to hit your target bitrate and avoid flaky Internet problems while simulcasting with Dacast.
Additional accessories - such as an external battery pack, dedicated microphones, extra lighting, etc. - may be required especially if you're doing IRL streaming.
4 Steps on Going Live with Dacast and Streaming to Multiple Platforms
1. CONNECT ALL AVAILABLE INTERNET SOURCES TO YOUR COMPUTER OR MOBILE DEVICE
Use one or multiple of the following on the computer you'll be live streaming using Dacast and OBS Studio from:
- wired Ethernet connection
- external USB 5G / 4G LTE cellular adapter
- Wi-Fi network / additional USB Wi-Fi adapters
- tethered smartphone
If you're live streaming using a mobile device with Larix, the easiest way is to carry two cellular phones. One can be your streaming device running Larix and the other one would just be used for its cellular data - you would create a Wi-Fi hotspot to connect the streaming device to it. That way you would combine cellular data with Wi-Fi from the second phone on the streaming device.
2. GET STABLE INTERNET BY BONDING YOUR CONNECTIONS WITH SPEEDIFY
If you don't have a Speedify subscription yet, you can get it from our website store, the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store.
Run Speedify and log into your account. All the active Internet sources you connected at step 1 should be recognized by Speedify. All you have to do now is choose a server to connect to - the fastest server options usually works best.
3. CONFIGURE the live streaming software: Dacast, OBS Studio / Larix, Switchboard Live
If streaming from a computer, you'll need to:
- Setup the Dacast live stream from the Dacast dashboard.
- Configure OBS Studio with the live stream parameters from the Dacast dashboard.
- Configure Dacast with Switchboard Live and OBS Studio, for simulcasting (live streaming to multiple platforms).
If streaming from a mobile device, things are simpler:
4. FINAL CHECK, GO LIVE
Before going live with your stream, make sure:
- you are able to see the video you want to broadcast in the preview window
- audio is working
- Speedify is running, and it combines the Internet sources you're connected to.
Ready to go? Just hit the button and make it big!
The good thing about Speedify is that it prioritizes your live streams over other Internet traffic. Thus, you are avoiding issues such as low quality, choppy and laggy videos, buffering and even disconnects from the streaming server.
