YouTube Live Events: Setup Your YouTube Channel for Live Streaming [How To]

YouTube

Last week YouTube announced that in June, all YouTube accounts that meet certain criteria will start getting YouTube Live Events. You will be able (with the help of 3rd party software) to stream straight to your YouTube channel. With the new YouTube instant processing in place, your event could be up online within minutes of finishing.

I had Live Events for a while now and have been playing with the features. In this video I show you what requirements you need, how to enable YouTube Live Events and how to create an event to Live stream.

Is Live Events Different from Hangouts?

Yes. With Google Hangouts, you are bringing in up to 9 other people to your video. With YouTube Live Event you can do this solo. Sure, you can bring Hangouts into your Live Events to make it more interactive but its not necessary.

Another advantage is the quality of the Live Event. Whereas hangouts are limited to 480p (right now), Live Events HD can bring your cameras up to 1080p – 6,000Kbps – if you have the bandwidth to do so.

Requirements for YouTube Live Events

According to YouTube, you must have an account that is in good standing. If you have any major copyright violations against, you will not get Live Events until you can rectify that.

You must also have at least 1,000 subscribers to the channel. Now before you do something like go to Fiverr.com to get your 1,000 subscribers – don’t. That could put your account in bad standings.

How to Enable YouTube Live Events

In the Channel Settings – Account Features you will see all the items you are approved for. At the bottom, you will see “Live Events” with a button next to that. When you press the button, you must fill out the information and agree to the Terms of Services (TOS)

Basically, the TOS says that you will not live stream any copyrighted material – audio or video – unless you have the proper consent to do so. You could instantly get taken down if YouTube notices you are violating any copyright and could lose your status.

After agreeing to the TOS, YouTube will announce if you are approved via email. This took me only a day, but could change when they open it to everyone in June.

Live Event Page with One Event Setup

How to Create a Live Event in YouTube

To schedule a Live Event, you will see a new option in Video Manager – Live Events (this link will not work if you do not have approval). The event area is where you schedule all your events.

Choose “New Live Event”. A form similar to the Upload will appear with a few differences. An Event Settings tab will be present, the Start and End times of the event and Agree to TOC of streaming.

Some important parts to this form:

Agree to TOC – You must check this box to go further
Monetization - Some may not have this option. You must opt-in to monetizing your videos.
Event Settings – Broadcast Delay - This option needs to be selected for insert advertising.
Enable DVR – If you don’t want people to rewind the video, uncheck this.
Recording - It is best to record in 2 hour lengths, so set up your event in 2 hour blocks.

3rd Party Software for Creating a Live Stream

Once you create the event, you must tell YouTube what software you will be using and what bitrate you will be encoding at. Choose an image for the Thumbnail, then select the bitrate for a 240, 360, 480p 720p or 1080p video.

Your encoder information will pop up. I used Wirecast in this instance, but you can use other 3rd party software.

Add a Camera

This feature allows you to add another camera source to your video. Maybe another computer with webcam, or a camera with a streaming box attached. They must be FMLE or RTMP compliant.

YouTube Live Event Control Room

Live Control Room – YouTube Live Events

The control room allows you to start/stop the recording, Insert slates, insert ads or give broadcast alerts (such as a reschedule). The Live public video video will show a countdown clock until your show is on. This will be on the page you end up promoting during the week.

Setting up to Wirecast

I’ll be brief since I explain it in the video. When you set your Broadcast settings, you now have a YouTube option. Choose a YouTube stream option that works best. If you want ad insertions, choose the ad box. You can also choose the backup server, but only if there are problems.

Authenticate with Google and you will get your events in a drop-down to choose from.

Once the setting are configured and you are ready to stream, hit the broadcast button (satellite icon on top). That will send the feed to YouTube, but doesn’t start the recording. You will still have to go back into the web page and choose “Enable Preview”, then “Start Recording”.

*Note – this process can take a few minutes. If you are setting for a 9 AM start, you might want to get the preview set and record ready a few minutes before.

Congrats! You Have Streamed on YouTube!

When its all said and done, you will have successfully streamed on YouTube. It will take a few minutes for the video to show up in your video manager, which you can add or edit items. You will also be able to see the analytics of the live stream as well as the downloads.

As YouTube continues to grow this area, you might see more editing and other options. Maybe even a web interface to control camera angles. For now, happy streaming! Let me know where your events will be!