With complaints of inconsistent moderation standards plaguing social networks, many are looking to host their own data:

• Blogs with WordPress, Drupal, etc.
• Social media instances such as Mastodon
• Video sharing sites like PeerTube

And now there’s a self-hosted Twitch alternative – Owncast, a decentralized, single user live video streaming and chat server application. The setup process is painless, arguably fun. All you need is root access to your Linux VPS.

• Install Owncast
  • Additional Server Configuration
• Use the Owncast Twitch Alternative
  • Owncast Admin Settings
  • Broadcasting Settings

Install Owncast 

1. Log into SSH.
2. Navigate to the directory you want to install Owncast (e.g. /opt or /root).
3. Run the installation script:

   curl -s https://owncast.online/install.sh | bash

4. To run the Twitch alternative automatically upon system reboots, skip to step 6. To start Owncast manually, navigate to the Owncast directory:

   cd owncast/

5. Start Owncast:

   ./owncast

   
   When you close the terminal session, Owncast will close. Skip to step 11.
6. Create a service file:

   nano /lib/systemd/system/owncast.service

7. Add the following data:

   [Unit]Description=Owncast Service
   
   [Service]Type=simple
   WorkingDirectory=[path_to_owncast_root_directory]ExecStart=[path_to_owncast_executable]/owncast
   Restart=on-failure
   RestartSec=5
   
   [Install]WantedBy=multi-user.target

   
   Update the working directory to the full file path for where you installed Owncast. Update the “ExecStart” to the full file path to the Owncast executable file.
8. Save the file.
9. Enable Owncast to start automatically and start it:

   sudo systemctl enable owncast && sudo systemctl start owncast

10. Update the Systemd daemon:

    sudo systemctl daemon-reload

11. Ensure ports 8080 and 1935 are open in your firewall.

Additional Server Configuration

Install a free Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate with Certbot for greater security.

Create a web proxy with NGINX to negate the need to use the port number for the URL.

Use the Owncast Twitch Alternative

Open your Owncast instance in the web browser (e.g. example.com:8080).

• Select the username in the upper right corner to change it
• Select the chat icon to the right to hide the text chatroom (chatroom is enabled during live streams)
• Scroll down with the mouse wheel or PgDn key to view the page content under the video stream

Owncast Admin Settings

Open your Owncast admin dashboard in another browser tab (e.g. example.com:8080/admin). The default admin username and password are “admin” and “abc123” respectively.

To change your password, select “Configuration” and “Server Setup” on the left. The stream key is your admin password. Type a strong password and select “Update” on the right. You’ll then need to login again.

Here you can also change the Owncast instance and Real-Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP) ports. RTMP accepts inbound streams on port 1935 by default.

To update the stream page content, select “Configuration” and “General.” 

Update the following:

• Owncast instance name
• Server URL (required to be listed in the https://directory.owncast.online/)
• “About” description about your live streaming
• Logo (also a placeholder when there’s no video stream)
• Whether you want your instance listed publicly in the Owncast directory
• Whether you’re live streaming NSFW content

On the right you should add applicable tags to help potential viewers find your instance when listed publicly. Don’t forget to add your social media handles.

At the bottom you can customize the page content in the Markdown markup language and add custom CSS to further improve branding efforts for your instance. Don’t forget to save changes.

Broadcasting Settings

To set up broadcasting, select “Configuration” and “Video configuration.” Specify the stream output, latency buffer appropriate for your hosting plan, and codec.

Your RTMP endpoint URL is “rtmp://OwncastURL/live” or “rtmp://OwncastURL/live/StreamingKey” if your broadcasting software lacks a separate text field for the streaming key.

If you need a broadcasting application to feed Owncast, we recommend one of the following:

• Install Open Broadcaster Software (OBS) on your computer
• Install Jitsi Meet on a cloud server
• Create a Jitsi Meeting with the free Meet.jit.si web application (no account required)

If you’re ready to start your own podcast, you’ll need a service that will store your podcast audio files and can also generate an RSS feed listing your available episodes. The RSS feed URL can then be used to submit your podcast to major podcast sites.

This allows your podcasts to be distributed across the internet using popular platforms such as iTunes, Google Podcasts, Tunein, iHeartRadio, and Spotify. These are critical tools for getting broad exposure and the best way to gain new listeners. Because, no matter how good your podcasts are, you need an easy way for people to find and listen to them.

In this guide, we’ll show you how to create an RSS feed for a podcast on RSS.com. This is a free, easy-to-use, and popular podcast service. You can then use the Google Podcasts Manager to track your podcast analytics and learn more about your listening audience.

Create an RSS Feed on RSS.com

The first step to create a podcast RSS is to create and verify an account with RSS.com. You will then set up your podcast details and select an RSS URL. Follow these steps to learn how to get going.

1. Create an account with RSS.com by entering your email address and creating a new password.
2. Check for an email with the subject “Please validate your RSS account email” and view the verification code. Then, click the Verify Email Button.
   
3. Login with the username and password you set up in step 1. Enter the provided code in the available field.
   
4. You should then be automatically logged in to your RSS.com account. If not, login now.
5. Click the New Podcast button.
   
6. Enter a Title for your Podcast.
7. Enter a Description of your Podcast.
8. Enter an address for your RSS feed and public website. All RSS feed URLs will begin with “https://rss.com/podcasts/”. This is the RSS address you will use to register with popular podcast distributor sites.
9. Choose a Language from the drop-down menu.
10. Check the available box if your podcast has explicit content.
11. Click the Upload cover art button. They recommend using a square .png or .jpg image with a minimum resolution of 1400 x 1400 pixels.
12. Click the Next button.
13. Enter Author Details on the next page which should include: Name, Email, and Copyright year.
    
14. Click the Next button.
15. Choose up to 3 Active categories from the drop-down menu. There are many to choose from such as Health & Fitness, Music, Science, Sports, and Technology.
16. Select a Primary Category from the drop-down menu.
    
17. Once you have entered all of your podcast details, click the Let’s go button.
18. You can now click the New Episode button to upload your first episode. You may want to check out our guide on choosing a Free Audio Editor if you don’t have one yet.
    
19. You can also click the RSS Feed button to copy your RSS Feed URL.

Start recording! Because now you know how to create an RSS feed for a podcast on RSS.com. You can begin signing up for major podcast sites with your RSS Feed URL. Check out our Live Broadcasting Education Channel for more helpful tutorials.

Google Podcasts Manager is similar to Google Analytics but built specifically to help podcasters better understand their listeners. With this free tool, you can collect data about the traffic patterns, devices, and demographics of podcast listeners.

Understanding your subscribers is an important step when targeting your marketing efforts, especially if you are spending money on advertising or pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns.

We will now explain how to set up and manage podcasts with the Google Podcasts Manager tool.

• Set up Google Podcasts Manager
• How to Manage Podcasts
• Google Podcast Analytics
• How to Manage Episodes

Set up Google Podcasts Manager

The first step in utilizing the Podcasts Manager is adding your RSS feed URL and allowing access. It can then begin gathering data to help you determine your target audience. There are many free podcast publishing platforms available online.

We will now walk you through the set up and verification process.

1. Visit the Google Podcasts Manager website.
2. Click the Start now button.
   
3. Enter the address for your podcast’s RSS feed. If you want to review your feed data, see our full guide on how to Test Podcast Feeds With Cast Feed Validator.
   
4. Click the Next Step button.
5. You will then be able to preview your feed. Review the Title, Description, and Most recent episodes sections.
   
6. If everything looks correct, click the Next step button.
   If something is not right with your Podcast information, you should correct it wherever your Podcast is hosted or where the RSS feed is generated.
7. Now a verification code will need to be sent to the email address associated with the podcast RSS. The Google address you are using to set up Google Podcasts Manager will also be displayed in the email. Verify both of these addresses are correct.
   
8. Click the Send code button to send the verification code.
9. An email will be sent to the podcast administrator address. Open the email with the subject line “Verify ownership of your podcast ‘[Name of your Podcast here]’ in Google Podcasts Manager” and copy the 6 digit code.
   
10. Click the Open Podcasts Manager button in the email.
    
11. Enter the verification code and click the Submit button.
    
    You are finished when you see an “Ownership verified” message. The Google Podcasts Manager will now begin collecting analytics data for your podcast.
    

How to Manage Podcasts

Now that you have the Google Podcasts Manager set up, we’ll go over some of the management tasks. This information will be especially useful if you have multiple users accessing the data or are managing several podcasts.

View Verified Feeds

These are the steps to determine what specific podcast feeds have been successfully set up in the Podcasts Manager.

1. Login to the Google Podcasts Manager.
2. Click the Settings cog, then the Feeds link. A pop-up will then show you all confirmed RSS feeds in your account and their feed URL.
   

Add Users (Permissions)

Follow along and we will show you how to give additional users access to the Podcasts Manager tool.

1. Login to the Google Podcasts Manager.
2. Click the Settings cog, then the Permissions link.
   
3. Enter the email address of the user you want to give access.
4. Click the dropdown menu and choose the level of permissions. Options are: Viewer, Editor, and Admin.
5. Click the Add button.
   
6. When you are finished adding users, click the Done button.

Google Podcast Analytics

Understanding how people are finding your content via Google search engine is key to targeting the right audience. This listening data can help you determine if you are promoting your content through the right channels or possibly need to re-target your ads or inbound avenues. We will now go over the primary analytics that you will have access to in the Google Podcasts Manager and how to change the date range you are reviewing.

How to change the Date Range

The podcast analytics data will be based on the date range you have selected. Changing this range will affect all the information listed on the page. Here is how to change the date range.

1. Login to the Google Podcasts Manager.
2. Over to the right, you will see the current date range. Click the drop-down menu.
   
3. You can then select a new date range or the Custom option to select specific dates. This will then update all the sections of stats on the page.
   

Main Analytics Stats

When you first access the Google Podcasts Manager, this is the first section you will see on top. It contains the following information based on the date range you selected.

• Plays (Total)
• Minutes Played (Total)

In my screenshot examples below, I am using a brand new podcast so there is not any data to report yet.

Episodes Section

The next dashboard you will see contains data specific to the episodes. This makes it easy to determine which ones are performing better than others. This is the data you will find there.

• Plays
• Plays in the First 30 Days
• Average Played
• Length
• Published

Device Breakdown (Percentages)

You will then see information about how your listeners are attaining your podcasts. It will be broken down into the following devices.

• Phone
• Tablet
• Desktop
• Smart Speaker
• Other

Total Traffic From Google Search

In this next section, you will only see data regarding how people find your content in Google search. Impressions are the number of times someone searched and saw a link to your podcast. Clicks are how many people searched, saw your podcast in the results, then clicked and went to your podcast. Click-through rate (CTR) is the percentage of people that saw a link to your podcast and clicked it.

• Impressions
• Clicks
• Click-through rate

Top Search Terms

Here you can see information about the common words people are typing into Google search to find your podcasts. Keep in mind that much of the data is not shown or shared with Google due to the security settings of users. You can choose a specific metric from the drop-down menu.

• Impressions
• Clicks
• Click-through rate

Top Discovered Episodes

• Impressions
• Clicks
• Click-through rate

How to Manage Episodes

Most of the episode management is handled where your podcast is hosted and your RSS feed is generated. Typically, when you release a new episode your RSS feed will then be updated. This automatically submits your show to the Google Podcasts Manager next time it crawls your feed. For detailed troubleshooting information, I recommend the official guide on how to Manage your podcast and episodes on Google.

Now you know how to manage podcasts and episodes with the Google Podcasts Manager. For more helpful articles, including how to submit your podcast to iTunes, check out our Live Broadcasting Education Channel.

Mattermost is an open-source communication system for chatting among remote users in a secure manner. Mattermost has many plugins to streamline your collaborative efforts and run your business remotely. The Mattermost Jitsi plugin offers remote teams an easy, free method for having video conferences.

Jitsi Meet is a free open source software (FOSS) available to use via the Meet.Jit.si web application or installed on your own server for better privacy. Whichever option you choose, within minutes your team will be able to set up Mattermost video meetings and use all available features including:

• Text chat
• Screen sharing
• YouTube streaming and video sharing

Below we’ll cover the following:

• Mattermost Jitsi Plugin Integration
  • Install the Jitsi Mattermost Plugins
  • Private Jitsi Servers
• Create Mattermost Video Calls
  • Moderated Jitsi Meetings
  • How to Use Jitsi Meet

Mattermost Jitsi Plugin Integration

Below we’ll cover the Mattermost Jitsi Meet integration process.

Install the Jitsi Mattermost Plugins

1. Visit your Mattermost domain and login. Ensure that the user you login as has Mattermost system admin privileges.
2. In the upper-left corner, select your username, then Marketplace.
3. Select Install for the Jitsi plugin.

   

4. Select Configure to access plugin settings.

   

5. On the Jitsi configuration page, select Enable Plugin.
6. Change the Jitsi Server URL to a custom Jitsi server (e.g. jitsi.example.com) or https://Meet.jit.si.
7. You may choose to Embed Jitsi video inside Mattermost. Although it should work fine while enabled (it shows in the lower-right of your Mattermost page), keep in mind that it is still an experimental feature.
8. Specify the naming convention for Jitsi Meeting Names.
9. Configure the other options if your custom Jitsi server uses JSON Web Tokens (JWT).
10. Save changes at the bottom.

Private Jitsi Servers

Installing the app on a web server for private Jitsi Meet hosting grants access to more customization and security options including:

• Creating admin users to grant moderator rights automatically
• Further customizing features restricted from regular users
• Safely storing and reusing room names
• Secure integration with Google and Microsoft calendars

Create Mattermost Video Calls

After you’ve installed the Jitsi plugin, there are two methods for creating Mattermost video meetings with your specified naming convention from any channel. The simplest is to select the video camera icon to the left of the search bar in your upper-right corner. Alternatively, you can type the following command as a message in a channel or direct message:

/jitsi

A message will display for users to enter the Jitsi meeting room in a new browser tab.

To create a Jitsi room with specific URL, add a custom text string at the end of the command:

/jitsi CustomTextHere

This will create a Jitsi room including your custom text, followed by your specified naming convention.

You can view more options for managing the Jitsi plugin settings with the help command:

/jitsi help

Users can override settings for how rooms are created and whether Jitsi opens in a separate window with the following command:

/jitsi settings

Moderated Jitsi Meetings

Moderated rooms, available at https://moderated.jitsi.net, allow the room creator to control who has moderation privileges. This will prove helpful for conferences that require more control over who can speak at once.

Remember, with private Jitsi server hosting you can create admin users within the Jitsi configuration during installation.

After brief testing, it seems the Mattermost Jitsi plugin (v2.0.0) doesn’t support moderated meetings. To start Mattermost video conferences with moderated.Jitsi.net, you’ll need to:

1. Manually create the moderated room.
2. Manually share the guest and moderator URLs with respective users as necessary.

The output will resemble the image below.

If your team uses Google accounts, you can live stream your Jitsi meeting to YouTube and embed that stream in Mattermost.

How to Use Jitsi Meet

Your Jitsi meeting might offer different options depending on what’s available on Meet.jit.si at the time or the custom configuration on a private Jitsi admin panel. By default, users will usually be able to:

• Share an application window or their screen with the room
• Raise their hand in moderated meetings
• Communicate in the text chatroom
• Enable/disable their mic and camera
• Adjust individual video quality to mitigate local streaming issues
• View speaker stats (how long each user has been in the room)

Learn more about how to use Jitsi Meet.

Once the Mattermost video conference is complete, click the red phone icon at the bottom to exit.

Are you just getting started with Mattermost and looking for ways to secure your team communications? We recommend configuring ClamAV to scan uploaded files. Also, check our Support Center for more info on how to secure your Linux cloud server.

Remote learning (also referred to as distance learning or virtual learning) is rapidly becoming more popular than ever, leading to an increased demand for reliable, feature-rich remote learning solutions. Software such as Moodle, Big Blue Button (BBB), Canvas, and Google Classroom offer video conferencing, screen sharing, and other remote learning tools that can be used to create an online learning environment suitable for any classroom or training program. In this article, we will discuss some of the various options for remote learning and explore important features.

Remote Learning Platforms Include:

• Moodle 
• Big Blue Button 
• Canvas 
• Google Classroom

Moodle

Moodle is an open-source online learning platform that was originally designed in 2002 to help educators create interactive online courses. Moodle, as it exists today, contains a wide variety of features for classrooms and training programs. By creating a private Moodle website, educators can maintain and customize their own remote learning solution through the use of 3rd party plugins. With hundreds of plugins available, Moodle provides a level of flexibility and customization that is not found on other remote learning platforms. 

Additionally, users can install different themes that allow you to modify the appearance and functionality of Moodle pages. Built on PHP, Moodle can function on virtually any web browser, including mobile devices. There are also Moodle apps for mobile devices, available via the various app stores. With such a high level of versatility and control, it is clear why some educators choose Moodle when looking to set up remote learning environments.

Big Blue Button

Big Blue Button is an open-source online learning and video conferencing platform developed by BigBlueButton Inc. BBB can be installed and managed on Ubuntu machines and accessed via web browser, making it widely available across all platforms. With screen sharing and video conferencing features, BBB is useful for any classroom or training program that relies on visual aides and communication. In addition to video conferencing, BBB has public and private chat rooms as well as Voice-Over-IP (VoIP) functionalities that make the platform well-suited for project management and collaboration. As BBB can integrate 3rd party applications such as Moodle and other content management systems, the platform can serve as a powerful complement to existing remote learning solutions.

Use Big Blue Button and Moodle on a Bare Metal server to set up your own remote learning infrastructure today!

Canvas

Canvas is a learning management system developed by Instructure Inc., an educational technology company founded in 2008. The Canvas platform is a type of Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) system. MOOC platforms are online courses that are designed for unlimited participation and accessible via the web. These platforms typically include interactive courses, discussion forums, and feedback systems for quizzes and tests. Canvas contains all of these features, making it a powerful tool for remote learning. With mobile apps and browser access, Canvas can be used with most devices on the market today. Unlike BBB or Moodle, Canvas is not entirely open-source, making it slightly harder to customize the platform to suit your individual needs. 

In addition to the standard Canvas platform Instructure Inc also released Canvas K-12 in 2012. This version was specifically designed for elementary and middle school classrooms, with a feature that allows parents to enroll with their students and monitor their progress. Additional features such as SpeedGrader allow for rapid grading and rubric-based assessments and the Canvas Commons feature allows teachers to easily share Canvas resources with each other. While Canvas is not as customizable as other remote learning platforms, it makes up for that fact with a rich array of features that can enhance your remote learning experience.

Google Classroom

Google Classroom is a free web-based education service created in 2014 by Google. This service is designed to assist with the creation, distribution, and assessment of assignments. Google Classroom integrates other Google resources such as Google Docs, Google Sheets, Gmail, Google Drive and others, making it a cohesive platform for student-teacher collaboration. With mobile apps available on most devices, Google Classroom is widely accessible for both students and teachers. 

In January 2020, the “Originality Report” feature was added to Google Classroom, which allows students and teachers to check submitted work against existing documents. This assists students in identifying quotes or citations that require attribution and teachers can use it to verify the academic integrity of the submitted work. By checking against existing text sources, the Originality Report helps students and teachers avoid plagiarism. 

As a Google application, Classroom is not open-source and cannot be customized as much as some of the other online learning tools explored in this article. Despite this, Google Classroom’s integration with other Google tools makes it a strong remote learning solution for any classroom or training program.

If you’d rather coordinate remote learning through WordPress, check out the 5 of the Best eLearning Plugins for WordPress.

Topics Include: 

• Installing Big Blue Button
• Configuring Browser Access

Install Big Blue Button on your Dedicated Hosting plan and start video conferencing today!

Installing Big Blue Button

1. First, you will want to check the locale of your system using the following command: 
   
   

   cat /etc/default/locale

   
   
2. In order for Big Blue Button to function properly, it must be set to en_US.ETF-8. If it is not set to that already, you can change the locale via the following command:
   
   

   apt install -y language-pack-en && update-locale LANG=en_US.UTF-8

   
   
3. If you are using a virtual server such as a VPS, you will need to add entropy, or randomness, to the server in order for Big Blue Button to function. To do this, we will install the haveged random number generator utility using the following command:
   
   

   apt install -y haveged

   
   
4. Next, you will need to add the multiverse repository to your repository (repo) list using the following command: 
   
   

   echo "deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ xenial multiverse" | sudo tee -a /etc/apt/sources.list

   
   
5. Then add the BBB repo using the following command:
   
   

   wget http://ubuntu.bigbluebutton.org/repo/bigbluebutton.asc -O- | sudo apt-key add -

   
   
6. Next, you will need to designate the URL of the packages being used for the installation using the following command: 
   
   

   echo "deb http://ubuntu.bigbluebutton.org/xenial-110/ bigbluebutton-xenial main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/bigbluebutton.list

   
   
7. Now, you can install BBB using the following command:
   
   

   apt install bigbluebutton

   
   
   Once the installation has finished, restart BBB with the following command:
   
   

   bbb-conf --restart

Configuring Browser Access

1. To set up browser access, you will first need to install the BBB API demos using the following command: 
   
   

   apt install -y bbb-demo

   
   
2. To access the login page, visit your hostname prefaced by “bbb-”, for example: 
   
   

   bbb-hostname.com

Congratulations, you have successfully installed Big Blue Button!

Topics Include:

• Big Blue Button
• Available Features

Set up a custom video conferencing solution with Big Blue Button on a Dedicated Hosting plan today!

Big Blue Button

Big Blue Button is a Linux-based video conferencing solution that is affiliated with the Open Source Initiative, an organization dedicated to promoting the use of open source software. As such, BBB serves as a free, custom solution that allows users to take full control over the video conferencing platform itself, as opposed to relying on the services of a provider such as Zoom or Google Meet. After you have BBB installed and configured, users will be able to participate as either moderators or viewers, depending on what type of access they are provided. Viewers can join active video conferences to participate via webcam and text-based chat, while Moderators are able to mute/unmute users and designate who the current presenter in the conference is. Through the application of user roles, you can further control how users interact with your video conferences.

Available Features

Big Blue Button contains all of the standard features one would expect from a video conferencing solution. The ability to share video and audio inputs as well as the ability to conduct presentations with a whiteboard functionality that allows for pointers and zooming as well as screen sharing. There are also text-based chat rooms that can be created in both public and private formats. And since BBB uses a pure HTML 5 client, the software can be used in most common web browsers available today. For these reasons, BBB is the obvious choice for users looking for an open source comprehensive video conferencing solution.

Use Big Blue Button with Moodle on a Dedicated Server to set up an online learning solution today!

The easiest way to install FFmpeg on CentOS is with the EPEL (Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux) repository, which provides more software packages than are available in CentOS by default, and RPM Fusion which includes the FFmpeg repo.

The RPM Fusion repo for FFmpeg is behind the latest version available. For the latest FFmpeg version, you’ll need to install FFmpeg from source code or email our 24/7 Live Support to request a free installation on your managed VPS or dedicated server.

Whether you’re trying to figure out how to install FFmpeg on cPanel servers or unmanaged cloud servers, below we’ll cover how to:

• Install FFmpeg
• Use FFmpeg

Install FFmpeg on CentOS

To install FFmpeg on CentOS with EPEL and RPM Fusion:

1. Log in to SSH
2. Install the the EPEL software repository:

   sudo yum install epel-release

3. Install RPM Fusion:

   sudo yum localinstall --nogpgcheck https://download1.rpmfusion.org/free/el/rpmfusion-free-release-7.noarch.rpm

4. Install FFmpeg with YUM:

   sudo yum install ffmpeg ffmpeg-devel

5. Check your FFmpeg version:

   ffmpeg -version

Rebuild your secure website today with our CentOS Cloud Server Hosting.

Using FFmpeg

Want to play with the newly installed FFmpeg media editor? Here are a few options on getting started with FFmpeg.

• Convert multimedia files with FFmpeg
• Create visual spectrum videos with FFmpeg to upload to YouTube, Vimeo, and other online video platforms
• Look into FFmpeg GUI applications for your operating system (OS) to ease into learning how to make the most of FFmpeg
• Discuss advanced features with other FFmpeg users in official internet relay chat (IRC) channels and forums

After you learned how to install FFmpeg in cPanel accounts, what tasks did you learn to get started? Let us know in the comments below.

Below we cover how to:

• Install FFmpeg
• Use FFmpeg

Keep in mind, the apt version of FFmpeg is behind the latest version available. For the latest, stable FFmpeg version, you’ll have to install FFmpeg from source code or email our 24/7 Live Support to request a free installation.

Install FFmpeg on Debian

1. Log in to SSH
2. Update Debian package lists:

   sudo apt update

3. Install FFmpeg with the apt package manager:

   sudo apt install ffmpeg

4. Check the installed FFmpeg version:

   ffmpeg -version

Start working on your next secure website today with our Debian Cloud Server Hosting.

Use FFmpeg

You just installed this powerful CLI multimedia editor. How can you test its capabilities?

• Convert audio and video files using FFmpeg
• Create visual spectrum videos with FFmpeg
• Check online for FFmpeg GUI applications to ease into learning the software
• Talk with other users in official FFmpeg internet relay chat (IRC) channels and forums

How do you use FFmpeg? Let us know in the comments below.

Topics Include:

• Installing OBS
• Connecting To Your Streaming Server
• Capturing with OBS

Create a custom streaming server with one of our Dedicated Hosting plans and start streaming with OBS today!

Install OBS

1. To install OBS, you will first need to go obsproject.com.
2. On the homepage, select the operating system that your computer uses.
3. The download should start in your browser automatically. Once that is done, run the file to begin the installation process. 
4. Click through the prompts to complete the installation process. When the installation has finished, launch OBS.
   

Connecting To Your Streaming Server

With OBS open on your desktop, you will now need to connect to your streaming server.

1. On the lower right hand corner of the OBS window, click on “Settings”. 
2. In the Settings menu, click on Stream. 
3. The drop down menu on the Stream page will allow you to specify which service you are using to stream. If you are using a dedicated streaming server, you will want to select Custom.  If you are using a service such as Twitch, you will want to select that option from the menu and connect your Twitch account to OBS.
4. Selecting Custom will allow you to input a server IP and a stream key. The server IP will simply be the IP address of your server. 
   
   *Depending on which software you are using on your streaming server, you may need to use a specific port and stream key.*
5. Once you have entered the correct information, click Apply to confirm the changes.

Capturing with OBS

1. Now that you have connected to your streaming server, you will next need to add a Capture Source. In this example, we will use OBS to capture the computer desktop screen. 
2. To add a source, click the + sign under the Sources box. From the menu, select Display Capture. This will add the desktop display as a source for capturing. You should see your desktop displayed in the OBS preview window. This means you are now successfully capturing your desktop screen. 
3. Once you have started capturing your screen. You can press Start Streaming in the bottom right-hand corner to begin broadcasting your screen capture to your streaming server. If the stream is working, you will see the timer next to Live start to tick along. This represents how long your stream has been active. Once you are done streaming, you can click Stop Streaming to stop broadcasting your screen capture.

Congratulations, you are now set up for streaming with OBS!