Streaming With Ecamm Live

What to do during a live stream.

Updated over a week ago

Starting the Broadcast

Start an unscheduled broadcast by clicking Go Live Now in the Create New Broadcast window.

To start a scheduled broadcast,click the blue Upcoming button at the bottom of the Main Window, and then click the desired broadcast in the broadcast list.

Upcoming Broadcasts

Upon picking the broadcast, the button at the bottom center of the Main Window will show a countdown to the planned start time, or a Go Live button if the planned start time has been reached. Click the Go Live button to begin the broadcast.

Starting Early

Once the countdown reaches 120 minutes, (or 15 minutes if a LinkedIn destination is included), the countdown button will turn blue, indicating that early start is available. Click the countdown to start the broadcast before the planned start time.

During the Broadcast

You are now streaming! The Main Window will look a bit different.

Main Window Streaming

Check on the individual destination viewer counts and statuses by clicking on the viewer count at the top of the Main Window to reveal the status popover.

The share buttons in the status popover provide options to view the broadcast in your web browser or copy the broadcast link. During a multistream, there is also an option to end an individual stream.

Share Menu

Comments and Reactions

During broadcasts, any chat comments your viewers post in Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitch, Amazon Live, X (Twitter), or Restream will be displayed in the Comments and Reactions window. Reactions from Facebook and YouTube will also be displayed. If you don’t see this window, pick it from the Windows menu at the top of the screen.

During a broadcast, if there are comments, you’ll see a chat icon in the bottom left-hand corner of the Main Window to reveal the Comments and Reactions window.

Marking Comments as Favorites

Comments can be marked as a favorite by clicking the comment’s star button. Favorite comments will show up in the Favorites section. Click the button again to remove the comment from the Favorites section.

YouTube Super Chats

When a YouTube Super Chat or Super Sticker arrives, it will automatically be marked as a favorite. It will also be added to a Super Chats tab in the Comments & Reactions window. (The Super Chats tab will only show up once a Super Chat arrives.)

Banning Viewers

When broadcasting to YouTube or Twitch, viewers can be banned by clicking the tiny Ban button below their comment.

Posting Comments

When broadcasting to YouTube, Twitch, or a Facebook business Page, you can add comments to the broadcast using the text field at the bottom of the Comments & Reactions window. Type a comment and then press the return key to send it.

The Comment SRT File

Comments are saved to a text file with the file extension .srt. The SRT file is saved alongside your recording file.

Meta to Discontinue All Third-Party Access To Facebook Groups

Facebook recently announced their plan to discontinue third-party access to Facebook Groups on April 22, 2024. This means that Ecamm’s ability to automatically create, schedule, and end Group live streams, as well as the ability to retrieve live comments from Groups will no longer function as of that date. See our blog entry for details on the planned change.

Restrictions on Facebook Group Comments

Due to Facebook privacy restrictions, when broadcasting to a Facebook Group, Ecamm Live is not able to display Group member names and profile photos unless the Group members have explicitly granted permission to the Ecamm Live app. This means that comments from Group members who have not granted permission will show up anonymously.

Figure: Comments & Reactions Window with an anonymous Group comment

Inviting Facebook Group Members to Grant Permission

To invite Facebook Group members to grant their permission, click the Invite Group Members button at the bottom of the Comments and Reactions Window. The window will change to display an invitation link. Provide this link to Facebook Group members.

There is also a checkbox for automatically adding this link to your broadcast’s post description on Facebook.

Figure: Comments & Reactions Window showing invitation link

The link will display a web page where Facebook Group members can log into Facebook and grant permission to Ecamm Live.

Facebook Group members will only need to do this once, and from that point on, comments in Ecamm Live will show up with their name and profile photo.

The code number provided in the link is unique to you and the Facebook Group, so it can also be used as a link to invite viewer to your broadcast.

Note that the above information about anonymous comments and inviting Group members only applies to Facebook Groups. Broadcasts to YouTube, Amazon Live, Twitch, and public live streams to a Facebook Profile or business Page will display all comments and their associated names and profile photos without any special action by viewers.

Displaying Comments In Your Broadcast

If you would like to share your viewers’ comments with the audience, you can add individual comments to the broadcast by dragging them from the Comments and Reactions window to the Main Window, or clicking Add to Broadcast under any comment. The comment will become a styled Text Overlay. Read more about your options in the Overlays section.

A note about delay in Live broadcasts

Live broadcasts have a delay. This is delay is not generated by Ecamm Live. Everyone who watches (including you viewing your test stream) will be roughly 10 seconds behind you. Keep this in mind when interacting with the audience, as any feedback they provide will be significantly behind you.

Adding Markers

At any time during the broadcast, you can add a Marker by picking Add Marker With Info from the Recording menu at the top of the screen. Or, press shift-M. Enter some text for the marker and press return. The marker text and an associated time stamp are added to a text file, which is saved alongside your recording file.

Marker Dialog Box

Ending a Broadcast

Click Finish or type ⌘-E to end the broadcast.

After a Broadcast

After clicking Finish we’ll present you with a message confirming your broadcast has ended, and offer several options for your next steps.

View Post - If any destinations created a video post, click to reveal the post in your default web browser.

Delete Post - If Ecamm Live can remove the post, you’ll see an option to delete it.

The next four items concern the recording of your broadcast. Much more on Recordings in the Recording section, but for now…

Show File - click to reveal the recording file in the Finder.

Send To YouTube - click to send the recording to a YouTube channel. Note that this option will not be shown if your live broadcast was to YouTube.

Quick Edit in Scenery - click to send the recording to Scenery with three quick edit options: AI assisted edits, automatic subtitle creation, or custom edits.

Send to Descript - click to send the recording to Descript.com for editing and transcription.

Next article: Recording Your Broadcast

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