How to: Stream in Greenroom

Greenroom's built-in encoder makes it easy to start & stop your stream right from the page.

Besides being a video production tool, Greenroom is also a streaming tool that encodes to a cloud source, allowing you to stream to any preferred destination. Greenroom's built-in RTMP functionality also allows you to stream directly to your associated session page. In this article, we'll go through the stream settings, how to stream, and how to terminate a stream.

Stream Settings

Streaming in Greenroom is plug-and-play, with little configuration needed. When navigating to the "Streaming" panel (Gear Icon > Streaming), you'll have three configurable options.

• A toggle to turn streaming on or off.
• Adding alternate streaming destinations
• Output quality. By default, Greenroom is set to 1080p with the ability to toggle down to 720p or 480p.

Check out our article on Greenroom RTMP (streaming) specs for more info on technical stream settings.

Destinations

Greenroom builds incredible shows – and once they are built, a destination is required to send the broadcast where it needs to be seen. If you are streaming to the Brandlive platform, a Brandlive destination will be selected by default.

With Greenroom, you can stream to multiple destinations simultaneously. Simply toggle on each of your RTMP enabled destinations.

To add new destinations, select "Add Destination" to add additional options.

Greenroom can be streamed to Facebook, YouTube, Vimeo, LinkedIn, or another custom destination. To add a destination not listed, click other at the bottom of the available list to add your own.

No matter the destination selected, there are three key inputs required:

• the RTMP address
• the Stream key
• desired video quality option: 1080p (default), 720p, 480p.

If adding a custom destination, it is required to add a title, and optional to add a logo. 

Once created, at least one destination must be toggled on. Note: It is possible to edit a streaming destination, but it is not currently possible to delete a streaming destination.

How to Stream Instantly

Your streaming status is displayed in a colored pill at the top of the page, to the left of the clock. Upon the Producers' entry into the Greenroom, the room will be in Showbuilder mode. If you select the "Showbuilder" button in the top navigation, a dropdown will appear with a "Stream" and a "Record" option in addition to Showbuilder. Select Stream. 

A popup will appear that will allow you to configure what type of stream you will be broadcasting: an instant stream or a scheduled stream in the future. For this section's purpose, leave the slider in it's default position, "Start Now":

If needed, configure any non-Brandlive destinations. Upon hitting "Stream" the status bar at the top of the Greenroom will update to "Starting":

Wait patiently until you see your status indicator change to "Streaming":

Congratulations! You are now live streaming to your event page or any number of other destinations.

Feel free to check your broadcast session page to see your content broadcasting. Keep in mind there may be a delay of ~15 seconds between what is viewable within Greenroom and what is viewable on the session page. 

How to Schedule a Stream

If you would like to schedule a broadcast in the future, simply follow the above steps for streaming until you hit the popup. In the popup, slide from "Start Now" to "Schedule":

Here you will able to change the go live time (either "On Schedule," 5-15 minutes prior to show time, or a custom time of your choosing) and configure one or multiple streaming destinations. It will default to Brandlive, but you can change the endpoint to any number of destinations that support RTMP.

Please note that electing to schedule a stream will automatically set all of the shots in your Showboard to Autoplay. 

After selecting "Schedule," you will see a countdown timer to the right of the Greenroom name indicating the time remaining before your broadcast will go live:

Scheduled Streaming Frequently Asked Questions

1. Can you be inside the Greenroom when a scheduled stream occurs?

Yes.

2. What happens if you put a live feed into a scheduled stream?

The shot will be skipped.

3. What happens if you put an image into a scheduled stream?

If you add a duration to an image, it will autoplay with the rest of the shots. If no duration is added, the shot will be skipped.

4. Is it best practice to use scheduled streaming for a show that has a mix of live and pre-recorded content?

Yes! We think it's a great way to get the best of both worlds: the sleek preparation of pre-records and the exciting off-the-cuff energy of live action. 

Terminating a Stream

After your show, hovering over the "Streaming" indicator will give you the option the end your stream.

If you have scheduled the stream, it will automatically terminate at the end time set in the Admin Console. However, you can always terminate the stream early by using the hover action described above.

The stream will also terminate if no producer is in the room for 3+ minutes.

Check out our article on broadcast failure troubleshooting for more info on streaming issues.