How to Use XSplit Broadcaster with Facebook Live
Last Updated on September 24, 2019 by Michael Brockbank
Although it’s not as popular as Twitch or YouTube, a lot of people like watching live gaming feeds on Facebook. It’s a good way to help grow an audience and engage viewers who use the system. So, how do we us XSplit Broadcaster with Facebook?
Actually, it’s quite a simple process. All it takes is a plugin and a few settings to start streaming live.
In this tutorial, I’m going to show you how to use Broadcaster with Facebook Live including how to add comments to the live feed.[template id=”145″]
Using XSplit Broadcaster with Facebook Live
First, I’m going to assume you already have XSplit Broadcaster and a Facebook account. If you don’t, you’ll need to set these up before you continue.
Even the free version of XSplit can connect to Facebook.
Adding the XSplit Facebook Plugin
From XSplit Broadcaster, click the “Broadcast” function from the tool bar.
Go to “Set up a new output” and click, “Find more outputs.” This will open the Plugin Store for XSplit Broadcaster. Don’t worry…Facebook Live is a free tool.
Click the “Facebook Live” option in the list. You might have to scroll down a bit to find it depending on how your list is set up. Mine is alphabetical, so it’s near the top.
Click the “Install” button on the plugin page.
XSplit will then download the plugin and install it into your system.
After a few moments, you can connect Broadcaster to Facebook live. The installation itself is rather quick.
Adding Your Facebook Settings
The channel settings page for Facebook is very similar to that of setting up Twitch in XSplit. The only real difference is the credentials and the lack of servers.
Click the “Authorize” button on the right.
The Facebook authentication window will load. Enter your Facebook info and click, “Log In.”
Click the “Continue as” button after logging in.
The next window just advises you that XSplit is going to post content to your Facebook account. Click the “OK” button on the bottom right.
Your Username will then show in XSplit.
Select where you want to post from the “Post On” drop down window.
There are two ways you can share video on Facebook Live. You can post it to:
- Your own timeline
This will place the video into your personal Facebook timeline for friends and family to see. If you have your timeline open to the public, then technically anyone can watch it…but then they can also see any personal interactions. - A page you manage
Creating a page for your gaming brand is perhaps the best method. It keeps your personal views and interactions away from your gaming persona. And since I am setting this up for Colorado Plays, I will select this option.
If you have Facebook pages you manage, they will list in the “Post As” drop down. Select the page you want to post the video.
But if you don’t have a Facebook page, you can simply use the default post.
Adjust Your Video Settings
The video and audio encoding work much the same way they do for Twitch and YouTube. These settings are going to depend on several factors from computer processing power to your Internet connection.
I suggest leaving the settings at default for now. Afterward, you can adjust the settings as you see fit to optimize your stream.
Personally, I find the nVenc H.264 codec at a 3500 bitrate works well for my setup and Internet connection. Sometimes I’ll go a bit higher if the stream is running great on the viewer end.
You can also record XSplit Broadcaster with Facebook Live by checking the box to enable the feature. Keep in mind this may tax some of your system’s resources and may push the limits on older computers.
This gives you a recording that you can edit and upload to YouTube if you want to expand your audience.
Once your settings are complete, click the “OK” button on the bottom right.
Now you can show live video from Broadcaster with Facebook Live…but why stop there? What about adding live comments to the show as well?[template id=”505″]
Adding Facebook Live Comments
Let’s add our Facebook Live comments to the stream.
From XSplit Broadcaster, click the “Extensions” option from the tool bar.
Go to “Add Extensions” and select, “Find more extensions.”
Click the Plugin option on the top left. It looks kind of like a Lego piece.
As you’ll see, you have access to a variety of Facebook plugins. You can add live reactions, reaction counts and more. For this tutorial, we’re just adding the comment portion.
Click the plugin for “Facebook Live Comments.”
Click the “Install” button for the plugin.
Once installation is complete, click the “OK” button.
Click the “X” button to close the plugin.
Exit the Plugin Store in XSplit.
Adding the Facebook Comment Widget
With the comment plugin installed, it’s time to add it to Broadcaster with Facebook.
Open the “Add Source” tool from the bottom of your scene resources.
Go to Facebook Widgets and click, “Live Comments.”
You will have a new window in your list of sources. However, you will get an error the widget isn’t authorized to connect to Facebook.
This is normal.
Right-click the comment window in XSplit.
Click the area next to “Account” to authorize the plugin.
This will load the Facebook authorization window similar to the one above. All you need to do is log in with your Facebook credentials just like before.
Now you can make any adjustments you want for the feed. These are customizations such as font and background color, font size and more.
Settings like these are saved in real-time. Which means all you need to do is change something like the color and then click off the settings window to close it.
The comment window will connect as soon as it detects you’re going live on Facebook.
Resize Facebook Live Comments in XSplit
What if you don’t want a huge block of your live video taken up by Facebook Live chat? Grab the corner of the comment window and size it.
Then, you can move it around to different areas of your screen depending on where you want the chat to show.
Going Live on XSplit Broadcaster with Facebook
Now we have the plugin for the live feed installed and our comment window ready, it’s time to go live!
Go to “Broadcast” from the tool bar and click “Facebook Live.”
To end the stream, just go to Broadcast and click the Facebook Live tool again.
Engage the Masses
One of the reasons I like XSplit Broadcaster is because of the support Splitmedia Labs has for its product. You have access to a variety of plugins to create a broadcast that is effective and engaging for the audience.
The only thing you have to worry about is being entertaining enough to keep people watching your stream.[template id=”543″]
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