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Introduction to Livestream Producer

Livestream Producer is a free software for Windows and macOS that streams a camera signal and a desktop capture directly to your Livestream events.

   

Why Should I Use Producer?

Producer is one of our most popular encoding products due to its versatility and simplicity. We recommend Producer for customers who:

  • Are looking for a very simple streaming setup, such as a single webcam.
  • Wish to show something from their monitor, such as a slideshow presentation or a software demonstration.
  • Already invested in video equipment (cameras, a switcher, etc.) and need an encoder that can work with them.
  • Need a cost-efficient way to stream their events.

   

What Do I Need in Order to Use Producer?

Outlined below are a few things to consider when using Producer.

 

Computer Hardware Specifications. In order to produce a reliable and high-quality stream, you should consider using a high-performance computer with no other programs or processes running at the same time as your stream. We recommend a using Producer on a system with the following minimum specifications:

  • Quad Core CPU i7 processor or higher
  • Minimum 2.7 GHz
  • 4GB RAM
  • Dedicated video card, 512MB VRAM
  • Windows 7 or higher
  • Mac OS X / macOS 10.6 or higher
    • Important: macOS 10.15 (Catalina) does not support 32-bit applications and thus does not support Livestream Producer. Consider Livestream Studio instead.

Internet connection. Streaming requires a stable internet connection with an upload speed of at least 10Mbps. We recommend using an Ethernet connection dedicated only to the computer running Producer. Be sure to test your connection speed multiple times prior to your event.

 

Camera source. You need a way to get your camera's output into Producer. There are a variety of ways to do this depending on what type of camera you have. Not sure which camera to buy? We have some suggestions.

  • Webcam. This is the simplest albeit lowest-quality workflow. Whether your webcam is built-in to your computer or connects via USB, most will work with Producer.
  • Video camera or camcorder. Producer can also work with consumer camcorders and professional video cameras to get a higher quality picture for your stream. In order to connect one of these cameras to the computer running Producer, you will need to use a supported capture device.

   

Download Producer

Download Producer for either Windows or Mac. When the download completes, open the file.

The install window will open. Follow the on-screen prompts to continue.

You will need to agree to the license terms in order to continue.

The software requires 72.2 MB of space on your hard drive. Click Continue to proceed with the installation.

We encourage Windows customers to select Run Livestream Producer as administrator for the best experience.

Click Install.

The install window will indicate that the installation has completed. You can now launch Livestream Producer.

    

Get Started

Find Livestream Producer within your applications or programs and launch it.

Type in your account email address and password, then click Login.

Leave Remember me checked to skip this step from now on.

You will be brought to the main window. Here you can:

  1. 1. Select your event.
  2. 2. Refresh your events list; this is useful if you created a new event on your account while Producer was already open.
  3. 3. Log out of your account.
  4. 4. Select your camera source (or choose No Camera, which will only capture your desktop).
  5. 5. Select your streaming quality; see tips on how to choose an appropriate quality here.
  6. 6. Open Preferences; see this section for details on what each of these menus can configure.
  7. 7. Go live to your selected event.

When you click Go Live, you will be prompted to give your live broadcast a name. You can also choose whether or not to notify your followers when you go live.

 

Select START to start your stream.

After a moment, the main window will change to the image seen below, which includes a URL to your live event.

On the bottom left corner of your screen is a dashboard that allows you to view your video stream and monitor time, frame rate, bitrate, CPU percentage, and status messages of your stream (e.g. "Perfect Streaming").

 

To the right of this, the Stop button will end your stream.

Farther right is the Mixer button. Selecting this will open a basic audio mixer that allows you to add sources such as your built-in microphone, audio from your computer ("Speaker's audio"), or other audio devices you connect to your computer.

On the right side of the dashboard are basic controls for Producer.

By default, Camera will be selected, which will broadcast just your camera source (i.e. a webcam or a camera connected to a Blackmagic Design capture device).

 

Screen will show just your screen or a selection of your screen. Clicking Zoom Out and Zoom In will reveal the green brackets, which can show just a portion of your screen to your viewers. In the example below, the green brackets are surrounding the slide, indicating that only the slide will be shown on the stream while the rest of the screen will not.

2D Mix and 3D Mix will allow you to show both your camera source and your screen at the same time.

 

When you select Stop, Producer will confirm if you want to stop the stream; select Yes to end it.

The stream will end and you will have a few options for what to do with your video on demand (VOD):

  • Publish Now: Will publish the VOD to your event page for immediate availability. Select this and click Post to choose this option.
  • Save as Draft: Will save the VOD as a draft post on your event page, which you can publish later. Select this and click Post to choose this option.
  • Notify Followers: When checked, will send a notification to your Livestream followers that you posted a video.
  • Delete: Will not save the VOD on your event page. This cannot be undone.

Once you have chosen your publishing option, you will be brought back to Producer's main window.

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