This article describes how to use #Wowza #ClearCaster™ Manager to configure and #broadcast a live #video #stream to your #Facebook #Timeline, #Group, or #Page that you manage.
Important: Your Wowza ClearCaster™ device must be registered with Wowza and paired with a Facebook account from which you'll share the live video stream.
Note: If your ClearCaster is configured to broadcast to Workplace by Facebook, you must create your broadcasts directly on work.facebook.com/live/create.
Connect a video source to your Wowza ClearCaster
First, you must connect an #SDI/#HDMI-capable video source to the ClearCaster device.
Press the power button to turn on the ClearCaster device, and then verify the Internet connection.
Connect an SDI or HDMI-capable video source to the ClearCaster device.
Create the Facebook Live broadcast in Wowza ClearCaster Manager
After connecting the video source, you must create your broadcast.
Note: Broadcasts can also be created directly on #Facebook at facebook.com/live/create. For more information, see Go live with a broadcast from Facebook. Broadcasts created in Facebook can still be configured and managed in the Wowza ClearCaster Manager.
1. Sign in to Wowza ClearCaster Manager with your Wowza account.
2. Click on Broadcasts, and then click Create Broadcast.
3. In the Create Broadcast dialog box, enter the following settings:
Destination - Select where on Facebook you'd like to post your live stream: Share on a Page you manage, Share on your Timeline, Share in a Group, or Test Broadcast.
Page/Group - If you select Share on a Page you manage or Share in a Group as your Destination, you must then select the page or group.
Who can see this live stream? - If you select Share on your Timeline as your Destination, you can specify who can see the live stream post: Public, Friends of Friends, Friends, or Only me.
Note: When you paired your ClearCaster device with Facebook, you configured a privacy ceiling. If you select a privacy setting for a broadcast that is more public than the privacy ceiling, the privacy ceiling setting is used instead. For more information, see Change the Facebook privacy ceiling for Wowza ClearCaster.
Output Aspect Ratio - Select the aspect ratio you want to use for your broadcast: Match Input Source (default), Square (1:1), Standard (4:3), Vertical Crop (9:16), Vertical Rotate Right (9:16), or Vertical Rotate Left (9:16).
Broadcast 60 frames per second - Select this checkbox if your live stream is 60 fps.
This live stream is a 360 video. - Select this checkbox if your live stream is 360-degree video.
4. Click Create. After clicking Create, you're automatically taken to the broadcast details page where additional configuration can be done.
Configure a Facebook Live broadcast in Wowza ClearCaster Manager
When you create a new broadcast or edit an existing broadcast, you're taken to the broadcast details page. There, you can configure your broadcast, save changes, monitor the stream, Go Live, and end the broadcast. To configure the broadcast, do the following:
1. Open the broadcast details page.
When adding a new broadcast, this page is opened automatically after you create the broadcast.
To edit an existing broadcast, go to the Broadcasts page, find the broadcast you wish to edit, and then click Edit.
2. Under Broadcast Setup, modify the following as needed:
ClearCaster - Select the ClearCaster to which you connected your video source.
If you have more than one ClearCaster registered to your Wowza account, you'll have the option to select a redundant ClearCaster device (ClearCaster 2) to function as a backup to your primary device (ClearCaster 1). For more information, see Set up redundant ClearCaster live streams for Facebook Live broadcasts.
Note: If a video source is connected to the ClearCaster you select, a monitoring tab will appear, a preview of the video will be displayed, and the status of the broadcast will change to Preview.
Title - A timestamp title is automatically assigned to your broadcast when it's created. We recommend renaming the broadcast to something more descriptive so that it can easily be identified and managed on the Broadcasts page.
Description - (Optional) Enter a brief description to include with your video in the Facebook post.
Who can see this live stream? - Depending on your Facebook destination, you may be able to modify this privacy setting.
3. Under Simulcast, select the #Wowza #Streaming #Cloud live stream target to which you want to simultaneously broadcast (simulcast) your stream.
Notes:
You must add the simulcast target before it can be added to a broadcast.
Before you go live, you must start the Wowza Streaming Cloud live stream. Either go to the broadcast details page and click started on the Simulcast tab, or sign in to Wowza Streaming Cloud, find your live stream, and click Start live stream.
For more information, see Simulcast a Wowza ClearCaster Live Stream on Facebook Live and Wowza Streaming Cloud.
4. Under More Options, modify the following as needed:
Publish this as a continuous live video - Select this check box if you want to publish the broadcast as a continuous live stream.
Allow embedding - Embedding is allowed by default. Clear the checkbox if you want to prevent the generation of embed code for the broadcast.
Unpublish after live video ends - Depending on your Facebook destination, you may be able to select this check box if you want to remove the stream after the live video ends.
Add a Donate button - If your Facebook destination is your Timeline or a verified nonprofit or charity's Page, you can display a Donate button on your broadcast. Just select this checkbox and enter the Facebook charity ID. For more information on Facebook's strict requirements for eligibility, see Facebook Charitable Giving Tools.
Tags - Start typing to search for tags you'd like to add to your broadcast.
Titling and Graphics - If you'd like to use browser-based overlay and graphics sources, select one of the sources (Vidpresso or Custom if using a different tool such as Singular.live) and enter the External URL. For more information, see Add titling and graphics to a Wowza ClearCaster broadcast.
Custom Monitor View - If you'd like to build and use your own custom monitoring view, select this checkbox. Note that this is a preview feature and performance may vary. Contact Wowza Support for assistance.
Audio Channel Mapping - If your video source has multiple audio channels, you can use the defaults or select the Left and Right channels.
5. Your changes are saved automatically. When you're finished configuring the broadcast, either click Return to the Broadcast List or click Go Live to publish the broadcast. See Go live with your broadcast from Wowza ClearCaster Manager.
Go live with your Facebook Live broadcast from Wowza ClearCaster Manager
After creating and configuring a broadcast, you can publish it from Wowza ClearCaster Manager.
1. If you're going to simulcast the broadcast, you must first start the Wowza Streaming Cloud live stream. To do this in Wowza ClearCaster Manager, go to the Broadcast page, find your broadcast in the list and click Edit, and then click started on the Simulcast tab. It may take a few minutes, but the started button will turn green when the live stream simulcast target is started.
2. Publish the broadcast:
Go live from the broadcast details page: save any changes you may have made and then click Go Live above the video preview. (This is recommended if you're publishing a broadcast that you just created or edited.)
Go live from the Broadcasts page: find the broadcast in the list of broadcasts and click Go Live.
3. Click View on Facebook to confirm that the live stream is visible and playing properly.
4. (Optional) Use the following methods to monitor your live stream:
To monitor statistics about the live stream broadcast, see Monitor Wowza ClearCaster live stream health.
To monitor viewer comments and emoji reactions on the Facebook stream, see Monitor viewer engagement with Wowza ClearCaster Facebook streams.
5. After a live stream is finished, finish the broadcast.