Publishing a Live Event to YouTube

In this topic you will learn how to publish a live event to YouTube using Brightcove Social.

The Brightcove Live to Social Media feature can be used to schedule and then broadcast a live event to YouTube. To do this, the following tasks will be completed:

Creating a live channel in the Live module

Before a YouTube live event can be published, a live channel must exist in the Live module. Live channels are listed on the Channels page and become available as a source in the Social module's Publish flow.

Live module Channels list

When creating a channel for a live-to-YouTube event, keep the following points in mind:

  • For recurring events, you can create the channel ahead of time and activate it when you are ready to start streaming to YouTube.
  • For non-recurring events, the live event must be started within 30 minutes of the channel being created.

For detailed information on creating live channels, see Getting Started with the Live Module.

  1. Open the Live module.
  2. Click New Channel. In Step 1 of 3, select Event Channel for a one-time broadcast (or Linear Channel for an always-on stream) and click Next.
    New Channel wizard - Step 1: Event vs Linear
  3. In Step 2 of 3, enter an Event Channel Name and configure the Renditions Profile, Frame Rate, Region, and Input Transport Protocol. Click Next.
    New Channel wizard - Step 2: name and general settings
  4. In Step 3 of 3, expand and configure Media Asset Configuration, Custom Fields, RTMP Output, Stream Controls, and SSAI as needed. Click Create Channel.
    New Channel wizard - Step 3: configuration and advanced settings
  5. Open the channel from the Channels list. The channel detail page displays the Input Source URL and stream key needed to configure your encoder.
    Live channel detail page with Input Source URL

Publishing the live channel to YouTube

Publishing a live channel from the Social module connects it to a YouTube destination so the broadcast can be made available on YouTube. Before publishing, a YouTube publishing destination must exist. For information on creating publishing destinations, see Creating Social Media Publishing Destinations.

  1. Open the Social module. The Published page is displayed.
  2. Click Publish in the top-right corner. The Publish dialog opens.
  3. In the Select the video you want to publish step, locate the live channel you created. Live channels are listed alongside videos and show a 59:60 placeholder thumbnail. Select the channel's checkbox.
    Publish dialog - select the live channel as the video to publish
  4. Click Add.
  5. In Step 1 of 3, select your YouTube destination card. A red border and check icon confirm the selection. Click Next.
    Publish dialog - choose YouTube destination
  6. In Step 2 of 3, optionally enter a Title, Description, and select a YouTube Category. These values will appear in your YouTube post and on the live stream.
  7. Configure the remaining YouTube settings as appropriate:
    • Schedule — set the event date and time.
    • DVR — if enabled, viewers will be able to pause, rewind, and continue during the event.
    • Visibility — sets the privacy of your live video on YouTube.
    • License — sets the license and rights ownership of the video.
  8. Add a custom thumbnail image. YouTube recommends the image:
    • Have a resolution of 1,280 × 720 (minimum width 640 pixels)
    • Be a JPG, GIF, or PNG
    • Remain under the 2 MB limit
    • Have a 16:9 aspect ratio
  9. Continue to Step 3 of 3, review the configuration, and click Publish to schedule the event in YouTube.

Previewing and broadcasting the live stream

Before previewing the event in the Social module, the live event should be started and visible in the Live module.

  1. In the Social module, open the published live event from the Published page and confirm the stream preview appears.
  2. Click the Preview Live Stream link, then click Preview. Click Play to confirm the stream that YouTube will broadcast.
  3. To broadcast the live stream to YouTube, click Broadcast to Viewers, then click Broadcast Stream. The preview will update to show the number of viewers.

Click View on YouTube under the player to view the YouTube player. As YouTube comments are added by viewers, they can be viewed inside the Social module by clicking the Comment Feed tab.

Ending the live stream

  1. Return to the Social module and open your published event from the Published page.
  2. Click the End Social Live Event link, then click End Live Event.
  3. Return to the Live module to end the channel and stop your encoder.
  4. If you used a recurring channel, return to the Live module and deactivate it.

Completed events appear in the Social module on the Published page. Removing a completed event from there will also remove it from YouTube.