SetStream supports streaming via OBS Studio using a custom WebRTC version. Download link found below.

OBS WebRTC allows for maximum flexibility, and is the best way to stream high quality, high resolution, low latency, color accurate video. OBS is a powerful tool with many options and settings for custom workflows. But we are going to focus on the basics to get you streaming, with a focus on color accuracy.

Note – There is a bug in versions after 1.3.2 (27.2.4) through 1.5.0 (28.1.2) that affects color rendering.  The bug was fixed in V 1.5.1 (thank you CoSMoSoftware).   Please use either V. 1.3.2, or V 1.5.1 or newer to ensure color accuracy.

First we’ll install OBS, and open it. Once open, we’ll add a source. For our example we’ll add a ‘Blackmagic Device’ from the source list. However you can also add other devices by choosing ‘Video Capture Device’ as your source.

Click ‘OK’ and you’ll be taken to the source properties where you can select your specific Blackmagic device.

scroll down until you see ‘Color Space’ and ‘Color Range’. Sometimes the ‘Default’ setting will make a mistake, so I recommend you select ‘Rec709’ and ‘Partial’, assuming your video source is a standard Rec709 legal signal.

Then Click ‘OK’.

This next step is optional. Most browsers and devices display video in sRGB-2.2 color space. If you’re a colorist that grades in Rec709-2.4, we’ll need to apply this conversion LUT that causes browsers/devices to correctly display your image in Rec709-2.4. Here is a link to download the conversion LUT. OBS uses PNG image files as LUTs. Don’t be confused.

To apply a LUT, we’ll add a filter to the source. Select your Blackmagic Device in the source list and click ‘Filters’.

Now add an ‘Effects Filter’ and ‘Apply LUT’ and click ‘OK’. Then click ‘Browse’ and select the PNG LUT file you downloaded. Then click ‘Close’.

Now that our source is setup, we’ll go to the OBS settings.

We’ll focus on the Stream, Output, Video, and Advanced tabs.

First, let’s go to our SetStream project page, ‘Keys’ tab and copy our Stream Name and Publishing Token.

Now, back in OBS, let’s go to the ‘Stream’ tab in the settings. Here you can paste your Stream Name and Publishing Token.

You’ll also select your Codec. All of these codecs have advantages and disadvantages, but to keep this short, we highly recommend VP8. VP8 is the best compatibility/color accuracy combination.

Let’s move on to the Output tab. Here we only need to focus on Video/Audio bitrate. This version of OBS bypasses many of the encoding options. The bitrate you set is a limit. The actual bitrate will fluctuate based on the video content and your connection speed. For color and post production, we recommend starting at 10000. The bitrate may settle in around 5000. You can set it to 20000 for critical work. For on-set work we typically recommend below 5000 due to the limitation of both the streaming internet as well as internet limits for client devices.

On the Video Tab you can set your canvas and output resolutions. Typically I match these both to 1920×1080.

You can also set the frame rate. Again, match this to the frame rate of your video content. A quick note that ’24 NTSC’ is equivalent to 23.976.

Lastly we’ll make one adjustment to the Advanced tab.

Because most of our streaming codecs are interpreted by browsers and devices as Rec601 colorspace (then converted to sRGB), we have to set OBS to Rec601. This will cleanly convert our Rec709 image into a Rec601 package, which will then get re-decoded correctly by the browser. So in this tab, simply select Rec601 for your colorspace. Everything else can be left alone.

All you need to do now is press ‘Start Streaming’.

Troubleshooting

There are a couple errors whose dialogue can be confusing. If you get either of the two following error messages, the most likely problem are the following:

1. There is a misspelling in your Stream Key or Publishing Token.
2. Your project doesn’t have a pass currently activated.

Color Accuracy Notes

Our above recommendations are based on in-depth testing and analysis using both image pipeline capture, and spectrophotometer color patch sampling, all confirmed by trained eye.

We also highly recommend recent Mac laptops, iPhones, and iPads as color accurate viewing devices. Apple has done a spectacular job with consistency in their screens.

Our recommendations and tests were based on using recent OBS Studio WebRTC (27.2.3-m99-2.27) for streaming, and MacOS 12.4, Safari 15.5, Chrome 102.0.5005.61, and iOS 15.5 for viewing. Using older software may affect the results. Please be sure that you’re using the latest OBS WebRTC, and your clients are using the latest software on their devices.

If you want to dive deeper into the color accuracy, see our updated Color Accuracy article here.

SetStream.io is a WebRTC-based infrastructure. We distribute globally to our viewer portal via WebRTC which is a fast and reliable way to deliver to viewers. This delivery system is what makes SetStream so successful at delivering high quality content in low latency, whether you use WebRTC or RTMP for the camera uplink. This article discusses the camera uplink methods that we offer, each of which provides specific benefits for your workflow. Lets dive into the implications of these different protocols.

WebRTC is a Real Time Communication protocol that is implemented directly in your web browser. You don’t need any plugins or special apps. To send a camera signal to SetStream with the Web Broadcaster, all you need is a capture device and a supported browser. It’s the simplest way to get going, and there are very few settings you need to worry about. It’s also going to be your lowest latency option (200-500ms). If simplicity and realtime broadcast is important to you, this should be your go-to choice. Check out our Streaming via Web Browser article for more details.

Traditional implementations of RTMP can have several seconds of delay, or even minutes. Therefore RTMP gets a bad rap. But RTMP doesn’t inherently mean multi-second latency when implemented certain ways. With a WebRTC-based delivery system, we are able to reduce the latency of the RTMP uplink down to approximately 1/2 – 2 seconds. With such low latency, RTMP becomes an attractive option.

Our RTMP uplink option gives you as much customizability of the stream as your encoder allows, enabling you to get an extremely high quality image. This should be your option if image quality is most important. RTMP works with both software and hardware encoders, giving you all the flexibility you need in different shooting scenarios.

Piping an image signal through the internet generally requires good network infrastructure, both for the encoder as well as for the viewers. We’ll go over some general guidelines and best practices that will get you the best signal possible.

The most important thing to enable a good quality stream is to know what your internet situation will be like before the shoot. Here are some tips on how to prepare ahead of time.

Having a physical connection to the internet is the gold standard in streaming connectivity. It should always be your first choice whenever your shooting conditions allow for it. You’ll avoid all the headaches involved in wireless methods of connecting.

If a physical connection isn’t possible or practical for your shoot, your next option to consider is a wireless LAN.

This is probably a last resort, but might be the perfect solution for your production. It isn’t cheap, but in some circumstances, it can provide optimal flexibility.

Now navigate to the Encoder settings. We’ll select H.264 for our codec. HEVC is an option for streaming to SetStream via Core, but latency is added. 2-4 Mbps is a good target to aim for quality video without too much bandwidth requirements. Refer to our bitrate recommendations article for an in depth look at bitrate options.

Under the advanced options, we can use Encoder level 4.0 and under most circumstances the compression profile can be set to High. Most browsers support High profile with SetStream.

Look Ahead Frames allows you to delay the image a certain number of frames in order to increase image quality. For lowest latency, set this to ‘0’.

Now, let’s go to the ‘Video Stream Output’ settings. Select RTMP/RTMPS. In the ‘RTMP/RTMPS Server URL’ entry, paste the URL that is associated with your project under the ‘Stream Keys’ tab . Then copy the Stream Key listed in ‘Stream Keys’ tab and paste it in the ‘Stream’ entry of your Cube/Bond. This is the stream key that is paired with your project and is how your Cube will communicate with our servers. Personally I like ‘Auto Start’ and ‘Auto Reconnect’ because then anytime you loose power or connection, or video signal, the stream will start back up as soon as you are powered up and connected. You can always pause the stream by pressing the red button twice.

This covers the basics of how to setup your Teradek Cube for streaming. You’ll also want to configure your Cube’s network settings to work optimally with your network.