Swapcard Stream is a feature that makes it easy for Organizers to broadcast high-quality, professional-looking live streams. Swapcard Stream provides Organizers more flexibility as it allows them to directly connect web conferencing tools like Zoom or Microsoft Teams to Swapcard. Swapcard Stream also provides powerful data to give Organizers key insights to improve audience engagement.
Another good news is that Setting up Swapcard Stream is super easy!
Setting up a Session with Swapcard Stream
First things first – you need to create a Session, which can be done as follow:
Log in to the Studio
Go to Content ➡️ Sessions, and click on the Add Sessions button
You can then import your Sessions via an Excel file, or create one Session at a time manually. For the purpose of this article, we will go with the latter.
Pick a Session title, Start date, Start time and End time.
Select the format of your session as RTMP stream from 3rd-party tool
Once the Session has been created, open it in the Studio, and proceed as follow:
Set an Availability start date, and optionally, an Availability end date.
This will prompt the platform to generate an RTMP URL and a Stream key. T
hese can be copied for the purpose of using them as credentials to connect the stream to a third-party (OBS, Restream, Streamyard, etc...).
You can preview the stream by clicking on Preview only.
Other considerations
Recordings: You can record streams powered by Swapcard Stream. For this, you simply need to toggle on the Record the stream option. Recordings are available under each Session, and can be downloaded as soon as they are terminated. In order to publish recordings, you need to set up a separate On-demand Session, in which you either upload the downloaded MP4 file or paste the recording's URL into the iFrame video ID field.
Lost connection at the source and recordings: if the connection at the source is lost momentarily while recording a Session, Swapcard will generate two separate MP4 files (one until when the connection is lost, and another one starting when the connection is up again). Once downloaded, you will be able to pair them using a basic video editing tool.
Editing: Editing should be performed through an external tool.
Switching RTMP credentials: If any issue is detected while streaming, such as bandwidth, quality, servers, and so on, we are giving you the option to regenerate your credentials anytime during the stream so you can avoid streaming issues.
Credentials and API Keys: Sessions have their own separate credentials and API Keys. You can't use the same stream keys for two different Sessions in Swapcard even if the source (e.g. Zoom, Streamyard, etc) is the same.
Controlling the Live Stream from the Studio: You can manually start and stop streaming directly from the preview window instead of returning to your third-party software. This option will override the availability start/end time, giving you more control over your streaming.
Test it! It’s important to perform several tests to make sure that the source connection bandwidth is adequate to run the stream properly.
Converting it to on-demand: When your Session is over, you simply need to click on the “Convert to on-demand” button just below the Format option to make your content available for those who weren't able to attend live.
Timing is everything: As the RTMP will stop immediately at the Session's End time, it is crucial for the success of your Session, as well as the satisfaction of your audience, that you properly set Session times. If Session dates are edited in the Studio, changes will be reflected immediately in the Event App for Attendees, without the need to refresh the Session page.
Integrating Swapcard Stream with Zoom
Prerequisites
Zoom Account: Pro, Business, Education, or Enterprise
Host: Licensed
Zoom desktop client: macOS: 4.0.29208.0410 or higher / Windows: 4.0.29183.0407 or higher
Start connecting Swapcard Stream and Zoom
1. To connect a Zoom Stream to Swapcard Stream, the Zoom Meeting Host need to click the More button in the Zoom interface and choose Live on Custom Live Stream Service
2. Zoom will then display a dialog box to set up and start the RTMP broadcast.
At this point, go back to the Swapcard Studio and open the Session you wish to link. There, copy the RTMP URL and RTMP Key found under RTMP stream settings and preview.
Paste these two in the Zoom dialog box: RTMP URL = Streaming URL / RTMP Key = Streaming Key
In Live streaming page URL you can enter the URL of your website or event platform. Please note that this field is irrelevant streaming-wise as it serves no other purpose than a page redirection from Zoom.
Click Go Live! once ready.
Testing the stream in the Swapcard Studio and in the Event App
In order to test your stream, please make sure that the Session start time is either ongoing or set in the future. It won't work if it's already over.
Then, you can click on the Preview only button to test it.
To preview your Session in the Event App, you need to make sure that your Session start time is in the past so it can be displayed as Live in Swapcard. Then, you simply need to head to the corresponding Session to watch it as an Attendee.
Other considerations
If you want to stream multiple Sessions through Zoom leveraging our RTMP feature, it is necessary that you create a URL for each Session separately.