YouTube Live Streaming with Live Vid Ranker

Everyone knows YouTube as a video sharing platform, but not everybody knows how far YouTube has gone when it comes to serving great video content because it does not only deliver already recorded videos to share. But when used with Live Vid Ranker, you can get your videos ranked in Google much more effectively.

YouTube also allows people to share live streaming video, which is nothing but video broadcasts that are shared in real time, allowing video content creators to offer a much more interactive experience to viewers.

Live Streaming on YouTube is easy, especially with the arrival of Live Vid Ranker and it doesn’t require you to have expensive equipment or anything like that to get yourself on the air. Starting a Live Stream on YouTube is as easy as going to your YouTube channel dashboard and then clicking on the “live streaming” tab on the left side menu.

You will notice that there are two ways to launch your live streams on YouTube: “stream Now and “events”. Each live
streaming option serves a purpose, so let’s take a look at each one that can be used in conjunction with the new cloud based app Live Vid Ranker.

Stream Now - How It Works

“Stream now” is the easiest way to start a live stream on YouTube because it allows you to jump right into a live stream without you having to run a complicated set up. This is possible because the “stream now” option allows YouTube to automatically detect your bandwidth and other technical parameters to give your viewers an optimal viewing experience.

When you click on the “stream now” tab you will only need to set up your encoding software, to add streaming info to your broadcast, to add optional features to your broadcast and to click on “play” to go live.

Let’s start by setting up your encoding software. You will need encoding software that can feed video data from your computer or device to YouTube. We recommend you to use “OBS” because it’s free and easy to set up.

You will simply need to locate and copy the “server url” and the “stream key” on your live dashboard and paste it on your encoding software and click on “start streaming”. Go back to your live dashboard and then add your live streaming information including your live stream title, description and category.

You can configure other streaming options in the “stream options” tab as well as to add cards on your videos in the “cards” section right before starting your “stream now” live stream. Once you are ready to go live simply click on the “play” button and you’re set to go!

Events - Explained
 
Let’s now check the more advanced “events” option, from where you will be able to set up broadcasts requiring more meat, such as when you need to run a multi camera set up. Click on the “new live event” tab to get started. Enter the basic info for your event, including title, a start and end time, a description, and tags. In the “privacy” section specify if your event is going to be public, private or unlisted.

Add a message to your video and choose which social media platforms to share your event on. Choose your type of broadcast as “quick” if you will be using “Google hangouts on air” or “custom” if you want more encoding options available. We recommend you to go with “quick” so you can live stream the easy way. Now click on the “advanced settings” tab. Here you will be able to enable or disable live chat, to choose a category, to set the language of the video, to enable comments, to enable DVR backup recording and to configure video optimizations.

You can also edit information related to license, ownership, syndication, captions certification, distribution, promotions, age restrictions, location, community settings, statistics and content declaration.

Now click on the “Go Live Now” button to continue. This will launch a “Hangouts On Air” session that will allow you to live stream your broadcast using your webcam and computer microphone, or the camera and microphone of the device that you are using to launch your live event, so you will need to “allow” “hangouts on air” to use them.

Wait for “Hangouts On Air” to load this session and then click on “Start Broadcast” to go live. A “this hangouts on air” is live message will appear in the top right corner, and a “live” caption will appear to let you know that your session is alive and healthy!

You will be able to manage your settings, your bandwidth, your camera, and your microphone while live on hangouts, and you will also be able to invite people during your broadcast. You will also be able to manage your live streaming chat, to share screen captures and to manage your cameraman.

You can use the “links” button to share your live video page URLs with your viewers while you are live as well as to get a video embed URL too. Once you are ready to end your live streaming session simply click on the “stop broadcast” button. And that’s it! You can always check and edit your finished live events by going to the “events” tab!