How to Use XSplit Broadcaster for YouTube Live Streaming
Last Updated on September 21, 2019 by Michael Brockbank
Live streaming is a great way to build an audience or simply to have some fun. Even if just one person is watching and holding a conversation, it’s often worth the effort. And using XSplit Broadcaster for YouTube live content is easy to set up.
The hardest part is marketing your videos to draw in an audience.[template id=”145″]
Why Use XSplit Broadcaster with YouTube Live Video?
If you really want to rack up the hours in YouTube in terms of watch time, going live is a prime option. Though, you’ll still need 1,000 subscribers before you can monetize the channel, each person watching your stream greatly affects your channel.
For instance, my small writing channel racked up more than 1500 minutes of watch time, or 25 hours, even though we were only live for an hour and a half with about 5 consistent viewers.
XSplit Broadcaster is full of useful tools. The best part is how the developers create the system to make it easy for even the most novice of users. Though I do use OBS in some situations, going live is so much easier with XSplit in some aspects.
Don’t get me wrong, OBS is a great platform. However, I just find using XSplit Broadcaster for YouTube live events to be simply easier to manage.
In this XSplit Broadcaster tutorial, I’ll show you what I mean.
Today, I am using XSplit Broadcaster version 3.8 on a paid account. For me, the $15 every three months is worth the quality and functionality I get from XSplit.
Setting Up XSplit Broadcaster and YouTube Live Streaming
I am going to assume that you have added a video camera to XSplit as a source. If not, I have a tutorial covering that as well.
From the XSplit Broadcaster screen, select “Broadcast” and go to “Set up a new output.”
This will show you the list of platforms you can use to stream live.
Click, “Find more outputs.”
The Plugin Store for XSplit will open. Don’t worry, the output you’re going to add is free.
You can arrange the list of tools in a variety of ways. In my example, the list is according to the number of total downloads.
Find and click the “YouTube Live” output.
Click the “Install” button on the page.
Once the output is installed, the YouTube Live Properties window will appear. This is where you can change the codec, bitrate, mode and other settings.
XSplit Broadcaster and YouTube Live Settings
The settings you use will depend on a variety of factors. Internet speed and computer processing power will be two of the biggest.
For myself, I use the nVidia NVENC codec at a 6620 bitrate. It took a while to find the best properties for my setup for live streaming. You may have to do a bit of trial and error to find the best settings for your own stream.
But before you can do that, you need to authorize XSplit Broadcaster with YouTube Live streaming.
Click the link to “authorize” XSplit to use YouTube.
Sign in to your Google account and pick the YouTube channel you’re connecting with.
If you have multiple YouTube accounts, you need to select one for each instance of YouTube Live. This way, you can create videos through XSplit separately without accidentally recording to a different channel.
For example, I am active for WriterSanctuary and Crossing Colorado on YouTube. Which means I need to set up a separate Output for each of those channels.
Once you’ve selected the YouTube channel, click the “Allow” button on the bottom.
Now that your channel is connected with XSplit, you can fine-tune the settings for the video stream. For example, you can enable automatically saving the video to your computer or adding a stream delay.
It may be a good idea to click “Test Bandwidth” as it gives XSplit a method to see what settings are ideal for your situation.
For this example, I’m just going to leave the settings as they are and click the “OK” button.
You may see a popup letting you know about the different plugins and widgets you can add to the live stream. Some of these are pretty nice, and it’s completely up to what you want to do with your broadcast.
For instance, I use the Extra Life widget when streaming to Twitch.
If you don’t want anything else, simply click the “Maybe Later” button. You can add plugins and extensions later if you so choose.
Streaming XSplit Broadcaster to YouTube Live Video
Now, here comes one of the nice parts about this YouTube live streaming software. Instead of just going live, you can set up the stream information first.
Go to Broadcast and click your YouTube output.
Before the stream actually goes live on your YouTube channel, you can change its attributes:
- Live Event: You can choose between starting a live event now or connect with an event you have scheduled on your channel.
- Title: This is the title of your live stream as it will appear on your channel on YouTube.
- Description: Here is where you put the video’s description just as you would with any other video.
- Tags: Add your tags relevant to the live stream.
- Category: Select the category of the live feed. For instance, you would select “Gaming” if you’re streaming a live feed of your gameplay.
- Privacy: By default, XSplit automatically sets YouTube live streams as private. If you want people to see the footage, you need to change this to “Public.”
- Schedule: The schedule section will open up if you connect to a live event saved on your channel.
- Latency: The kind of latency you want to use will depend on what you’re trying to do. If you’re unsure, it’s best to leave it as “Normal latency.”
- Enable DVR and Use backup server: These two settings will require a bit more power as they are saving the video as you stream. It can be quite convenient to enable these features, especially if you plan on turning the live feed into its own edited video later.
It’s important to note that XSplit will not start broadcasting while you’re adjusting these details.
Once you’ve set up the video’s details, click the “Start broadcast” button.
You’re now streaming XSplit Broadcaster to YouTube Live![template id=”145″]
4 Tips Before Hitting Broadcast
While using XSplit Broadcaster, I’ve discovered a few things that improve visitor engagement. Perhaps you can make use of some of these tips before hitting the button to start your broadcast.
These are all optional, but I’ve found them to be quite useful depending on the circumstances.
1. Have a Plan for the Video
Obviously, the first thing you’ll want is a plan for the video. If you’re streaming gameplay, this is pretty self-explanatory.
But what if you’re doing a live stream of yourself as a vlogger? What if you’re doing an interview with someone during the live stream?
Having a plan of action can prevent having “dead air.” Interacting with viewers can keep the conversation going, but have something ready for when your viewers are being less than active.
If it’s an interview, I’ll have some fall-back filler questions for my guest. If it’s just talking to the audience, I’ll have a specific topic with facts that I want to share.
Just do what you can to keep the ball rolling.
2. Have Your Video Text Ready to Go
I find it useful to have the text for the YouTube Live video already hammered out and ready to copy and paste. This will give you plenty of time to find the best keyphrases, write an amazing description and include the most popular tags.
Plus, it saves a lot of time if you’re trying to push out a live video on YouTube at a specific time and are trying to hurry.
Usually, I’ll have the video details ready for several hours in advance.
3. Use Social Sharing Apps to Share the Live Stream Link
If you want to grab a wider audience, it doesn’t hurt to mention you’re going live on social media. Facebook and Twitter are great places to get your audience, and it’s effective if you use social sharing apps.
Platforms like Buffer, Zoho, Hootsuite or even Social Oomph can be quite helpful for grabbing the attention of others.
For example, I’ll copy and paste the live video’s link and share it in Twitter and Facebook immediately once broadcasting. Since I use tools like Buffer, I can share it with both social media sites with a single click.
It’s also a good idea to have your hashtags for sharing already planned out. It’ll help get your video in front of more people.
4. Consider Adding Plugins
There are quite a few sources and plugins in XSplit Broadcaster that can take your live video to a whole new level. When I’m streaming gameplay on Twitch, I’ll use the Extra Life plugin as I support the charity.
But you can also show an image slideshow, whiteboard, YouTube Super Chat Alert (if you can do Super Chats), chat viewers and more.
The Input Visualizer is nice if you’re doing a tutorial and want people to see keystrokes and mouse movements.
You might want to see what extensions and plugins you can install to add more to your YouTube Live video.
Remember, It’s All About You
A lot of people will watch live streams purely for the person. Deliver a personality that engages your audience. It’s all about you and what you provide to those watching on YouTube.
Using XSplit Broadcaster with YouTube Live will only do so much. You need to add quality if you want to be successful.
So, what is your favorite streaming software and why? How often do you go live on either Twitch or YouTube? Leave a comment down below!
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