Choosing and Setting Up an Encoder
Which broadcasting software and hardware we recommend, the encrypted connection every encoder uses, the settings every encoder needs, and a setup guide for each one.
Choosing and Setting Up an Encoder
An encoder is the software or device that takes your camera and sound and sends them to us. You need one on the computer or desk your camera is connected to.
If you are starting from nothing, use OBS Studio. It is free, it runs on Windows, macOS and Linux, and it is the encoder we test the platform with ourselves. If your church already owns one of the others below, use it — each has its own guide.
Your stream is encrypted
Every stream comes in over RTMPS: RTMP inside an encrypted connection, the same way YouTube, Facebook and Twitch take a stream. Your video and your stream key never cross the internet in clear text, so nobody on your building's network or along the way can copy the key and broadcast as your church. Plain RTMP is not accepted.
RTMPS uses port 443, the port the web uses, so a network that allows web browsing almost always allows it. Encoders have supported RTMPS for years; if yours is older, update its software or firmware first.
Encoders that offer SRT can use it instead, and we recommend it where your network allows outgoing UDP to port 8890: it copes better with a shaky internet connection and recovers faster if one of our servers fails. SRT is encrypted only, with a passphrase of each stream's own: an SRT connection without it, or with the wrong one, is refused. Nothing secret goes in the Stream ID, which is sent before encryption starts.
Viewers watch about a minute behind the room. That minute is a buffer: while your encoder reconnects, viewers carry on watching what has already reached us, so the picture does not freeze. What they can miss is what your encoder sent just as the connection broke — usually a second or two, which they skip past. In the rare case of two of our servers failing at once, the skip can be longer, up to about ten seconds.
What the Hub gives you
After you start or schedule a stream, the Connect your encoder card shows:
| On the card | What it is |
|---|---|
| Server | rtmps://ingest.streaming.1stflock.com:443/live. The same for every stream. |
| Stream Key | Identifies this broadcast and proves it is you. New for every stream, shown once. |
| SRT URL | The whole SRT address, for OBS and other software that takes one: Stream ID, passphrase and 256-bit encryption included. Shown once. |
| SRT server | srt://ingest.streaming.1stflock.com:8890 — host ingest.streaming.1stflock.com, port 8890, mode Caller. The same for every stream. |
| Stream ID | publish:live/ and this broadcast's id. Paste it whole. |
| Passphrase | The SRT credential: the encoder encrypts with it. New for every stream, shown once. Choose AES-256 where the encoder asks. |
Paste with the Copy buttons rather than typing. The Stream Key is long, and one wrong character gives a connection error that does not say why. It contains a ? and a =; both must be included.
Settings every encoder needs
Whatever you use, set these. Each guide says where they are on that encoder.
| Setting | 1080p | 4K |
|---|---|---|
| Video codec | H.264 | H.264 |
| Resolution | 1920×1080 | 3840×2160 |
| Frame rate | 30 | 30 |
| Video bitrate | 6,000 Kbps | 16,000 Kbps |
| Bitrate control | Constant (CBR) | Constant (CBR) |
| Keyframe interval | 2 seconds (60 frames at 30 fps) | 2 seconds |
| Audio | AAC, 48 kHz, stereo, 160 Kbps | same |
The keyframe interval matters more than it looks. We can only pick your picture back up at a keyframe — at the start, and after any reconnect. At 2 seconds there is never long to wait for one. Left on "automatic", many encoders space them far apart, and viewers see long delays before playback starts.
H.265 (HEVC) is not supported. If your encoder offers H.264 and H.265, choose H.264.
Turn on automatic reconnection wherever your encoder offers it, with the shortest wait it allows. It is what keeps a broken connection to a skip of a second or two.
Recommended encoders
| Encoder | Kind | RTMPS | Encrypted SRT | 4K | Guide |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OBS Studio | Free software: Windows, macOS, Linux | Version 22 or newer | Yes, the SRT URL in Server | Yes | Setting up OBS Studio |
| vMix | Software: Windows | Version 21 or newer | Yes (Key Length from version 24) | 4K, Pro and MAX editions | Setting up vMix |
| Wirecast | Software: Windows, macOS | Current version | Version 15.2 or newer | Yes | Setting up Wirecast |
| Epiphan Pearl | Hardware | Firmware 4.6.0 or newer | Yes | Pearl-2 and Pearl Nano with the 4K add-on | Setting up an Epiphan Pearl |
| Magewell Ultra Encode | Hardware | Yes | Yes | AIO, HDMI Plus and SDI Plus | Setting up a Magewell Ultra Encode |
| Teradek Prism, VidiU | Hardware | Yes (VidiU Go: firmware 3.1.2 or newer) | Prism | Prism | Setting up a Teradek Prism |
| YoloBox | All-in-one hardware | YoloBox 3.7.6, Pro 1.0.9 or newer | No — use RTMPS | Ultra and Extreme | Setting up a YoloBox |
| Larix Broadcaster | Phone app: iPhone, Android | Yes | Yes | On recent iPhones | Streaming from a phone with Larix |
| Blackmagic ATEM Mini Pro, Extreme, SDI | Switcher | Firmware 8.6.1 or newer | No — use RTMPS | No (1080p) | Setting up a Blackmagic ATEM |
We test OBS Studio against the platform ourselves. The other guides follow each maker's own documentation for its current version. Menus move between versions; if what you see does not match the guide, contact support and tell us the model and version.
Not on the list
Any encoder that can send to a custom RTMPS server with a stream key will work — ProPresenter, Streamlabs and many others. Use the Server and Stream Key from the Hub, and the settings in the table above. An encoder that offers only plain RTMP cannot connect; streaming from a computer with OBS Studio is the simplest way around it.
Support is available 24/7 if your encoder will not connect. Tell us the encoder, the stream title and roughly when you tried, and we can see what reached us.