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!
Creating a Session
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, and click the Create button.
Setting up a Session with Swapcard Stream
Once the Session has been created, open it in the Studio, and proceed as follow:
- Under Format, choose Live stream – please note it's the only format that works with Swapcard Stream
- Pick RTMP (Swapcard Streaming) from the Live streaming platform dropdown menu
- Right below, 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. These 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.
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