Manycam/Xsplit?

[Logan469]

Since im still new i dont really know if this is something i need. I do know a lot of models use it but is it worth it and does it put much of a strain on your PC?

 

[Magnolia]

Xsplit can eat up your CPU, yes, but it has so many different features and customization possibilities. I personally hate Manycam but if you're just doing simple things then it's not so bad. OBS is another good option and is free, though it can be finicky on PC imo but great for Macs! Camtwist is another great free choice for Mac users.

Honestly, it's not something you NEED but if you want a watermark, to play games, special effects, greenscreen, or to have text on screen it's great. I'd start with one of the free programs or mess around with trial versions before you drop money on any of them.

 

[Logan469]

Thanks Mags... Im gonna play around with OBS before i take the plunge anywhere else.I do love the idea of the effects and text on screen. Plus im working toward building a new computer so i will have to take my old hardware into account. This place is great.

 

[Mintx]

Oh dang. I didn't even know about xsplit. This stuff is so cool! I kind of want to try it out just to make things a little bit more interesting. Thanks for this thread.

 

[Smores]

Since im still new i dont really know if this is something i need. I do know a lot of models use it but is it worth it and does it put much of a strain on your PC?

So if you are only on MFC then use XSplit or OBS, each has strengths. But if you broadcast on CB, their new higher-end broadcasting interface is based on OBS. Does XSplit have a way to impersonate an OBS stream? If it does not, then you would definitely want to be using OBS as a CB broadcaster. Here are the CB instructions for setting up OBS.

One of the big reasons to use broadcasting software is how well it integrates in the audio. You get a pure digital experience for the member listening to your audio, and you can overlay your microphone onto that. You get the ability to completely fine tune volume of the soundtrack versus your voice. Even if you do not want to employ all of the fancy features with text on screen, multiple cameras, etc, broadcasting software just upgrades your overall sound and video quality.

I have heard that - technically - these sites can ban you for playing copyrighted music in the background? Yet everyone does it, and I cannot remember anyone being banned for that?

 

[Lelo1]

I don't think OBS is doing any thing special for CB. If you look at the CB documenation, It's a rtmp stream using x264. The CB server address appears to be rtmp://live.stream.higwebmedia.com/live-origin . But you may want to run the CB OBS setup wizzard to verify it.

looks like Manycam, xsplit, both support rtmp. So it might be worth trying. It might also be possible to broadcast using Broadcast Me on your smartphone.

There are security cameras, video conferencing cameras, real time hardware encoders, camcorders and gopro like cameras that all have RTMP streaming built-in.

 

[Smores]

I don't think OBS is doing any thing special for CB. If you look at the CB documenation, It's a rtmp stream using x264. The CB server address appears to be rtmp://live.stream.higwebmedia.com/live-origin . But you may want to run the CB OBS setup wizzard to verify it.

Makes sense to keep protocols general and usable between different software. I hope you are right.

If any broadcaster here using XSplit or Manycam wants to confirm that they work over OBS, that would be great information to spread around.

 

[DJ_Pioneer]

So if you are only on MFC then use XSplit or OBS, each has strengths. But if you broadcast on CB, their new higher-end broadcasting interface is based on OBS. Does XSplit have a way to impersonate an OBS stream? If it does not, then you would definitely want to be using OBS as a CB broadcaster. Here are the CB instructions for setting up OBS.

One of the big reasons to use broadcasting software is how well it integrates in the audio. You get a pure digital experience for the member listening to your audio, and you can overlay your microphone onto that. You get the ability to completely fine tune volume of the soundtrack versus your voice. Even if you do not want to employ all of the fancy features with text on screen, multiple cameras, etc, broadcasting software just upgrades your overall sound and video quality.

I have heard that - technically - these sites can ban you for playing copyrighted music in the background? Yet everyone does it, and I cannot remember anyone being banned for that?

I don't think you can use OBS with MFC since it lacks a virtual webcam output.

 

[Phobeus Stargazer]

OBS can be used for CB.. they are impementing 3rd party streaming software as an option now. the are rolling it out so if you dont see the option write support and they will add it to your account within a day. (took 3 hours for myself to get it activated after mail was sent, pretty good job IMO). dont think it puts to much strain on the CPU or the RAM. (im using an old (5 years old) alienware laptop and its CPU and RAM are more than sufficient in any case.)

 

[Phobeus Stargazer]

I don't think you can use OBS with MFC since it lacks a virtual webcam output.

dont you just stream it and use the 3rd party info to connect the site with the software output?

 

[DJ_Pioneer]

dont you just stream it and use the 3rd party info to connect the site with the software output?

If the site has such capabilities you do. MFC uses Flash so it grabs what ever you have set as a webcam in the Flash settings.

 

[AmberCutie]

OBS currently does not work on MFC. Xsplit is the next best thing as you can set it as your source in Flash settings, as @DJ_Pioneer noted above.

 

[Smores]

I don't think you can use OBS with MFC since it lacks a virtual webcam output.

Makes sense. I didn't realize OBS had no virtual camera.

I tried XSplit on CB and the weird thing is XSplit implemented a virtual camera but not a virtual microphone!! To get any kind of sound from XSplit into CB I had to buy third party software to create a "virtual speaker wire" and then do some strange routing of sound signals.

 

[DJ_Pioneer]

Makes sense. I didn't realize OBS had no virtual camera.

I tried XSplit on CB and the weird thing is XSplit implemented a virtual camera but not a virtual microphone!! To get any kind of sound from XSplit into CB I had to buy third party software to create a "virtual speaker wire" and then do some strange routing of sound signals.

The short explanation for XSplit lacking a virtual microphone is that there isn't anything for audio like Directshow that XSplit use to capture video. Also some sound cards has stereo mixing their drivers so my guess is that there isn't economically viable to put coders to work on a feature that there is only a small demand for. If you are serious about streaming and sound quality you should look into getting an actual physical sound mixer that way you can do a lot of cool stuff and have more control.

 

[Smores]

The short explanation for XSplit lacking a virtual microphone is that there isn't anything for audio like Directshow that XSplit use to capture video. Also some sound cards has stereo mixing their drivers so my guess is that there isn't economically viable to put coders to work on a feature that there is only a small demand for. If you are serious about streaming and sound quality you should look into getting an actual physical sound mixer that way you can do a lot of cool stuff and have more control.

I agree with the mixer idea in any case. For the real microphone it makes sense to channel that through a mixer if you can, and then you have so many more options for mixing in additional inputs.

That said, playing a soundtrack will give the best quality if you can go right from a digital source file to the video stream. So you want a way to do both hardware mixing and software mixing. You mix all your real-world audio on the physical mixer. That then becomes the input to a software mixer, where you can mix in other digital inputs. That lets you play the soundtrack right from XSplit in a purely digital format, while combining in analog sources from your microphone(s).

I guess the challenge for XSplit is to make doing that easy. The way it is configured today it's a bit of an exercise, and if you are the kind of person who never did understand those 20 wires coming out from behind your stereo receiver, you might get lost.

 

[DJ_Pioneer]

I agree with the mixer idea in any case. For the real microphone it makes sense to channel that through a mixer if you can, and then you have so many more options for mixing in additional inputs.

That said, playing a soundtrack will give the best quality if you can go right from a digital source file to the video stream. So you want a way to do both hardware mixing and software mixing. You mix all your real-world audio on the physical mixer. That then becomes the input to a software mixer, where you can mix in other digital inputs. That lets you play the soundtrack right from XSplit in a purely digital format, while combining in analog sources from your microphone(s).

I guess the challenge for XSplit is to make doing that easy. The way it is configured today it's a bit of an exercise, and if you are the kind of person who never did understand those 20 wires coming out from behind your stereo receiver, you might get lost.

Actually there is no point in using both a hardware and a software mixer for a stream. Unless you use equipment that is damaged the signal to noise ratio is not going to so that bad that it matters that the signal is analog. Also the sound compression on the stream itself will distort the audio more than an analog source will in most cases. Then when you get to the end user they are not going to sit with reference class head phones, a dac and an amplifier listening after distortions in the audio.

I believe you are over thinking this quite a bit. For any one wanting to have a good sound setup you need a USB sound mixer connected through USB to the computer (this will be what you choose as a recording device in windows or whatever software you use), a microphone that is connected to the mixer with an XLR cable and a sound cable from the computer or any other audio source into the mixer. To monitor the sound you just plug a pair of headphones into the mixer and then you are ready to go. With this very basic sound setup for streaming there is no need for a lot of cables or overly complicated software solutions. The only big downside with this setup is if you use Skype or some other software to talk with people they will end up hearing themselves.

 

[Logan469]

Ive tried OBS and it seems very good but has a huge learning curve... im gonna hit up youtube. I attempted to give manycam a go and i love all the options but it says im getting 0 to -4 frames... i remember mags i think saying she put hers back on a usb 2.0 slot and it worked, no bueno for me.

 

[Magnolia]

Ive tried OBS and it seems very good but has a huge learning curve... im gonna hit up youtube. I attempted to give manycam a go and i love all the options but it says im getting 0 to -4 frames... i remember mags i think saying she put hers back on a usb 2.0 slot and it worked, no bueno for me.

What cam are you using and what are your specs?

 

[Logan469]

I was looking a bit more last night and im pretty sure its just my old ass comp.

AMD A10 6800 (4 cores at 4.1GHZ)
16GB ram
AMD R9 200
MSI FM2-A55M-E33
Logitech C920

It was a budget build for a media PC for the living room when i built it.. turned into my main. UGH i need to Start a new comp fund.

 

[DJ_Pioneer]

I was looking a bit more last night and im pretty sure its just my old ass comp.

AMD A10 6800 (4 cores at 4.1GHZ)
16GB ram
AMD R9 200
MSI FM2-A55M-E33
Logitech C920

It was a budget build for a media PC for the living room when i built it.. turned into my main. UGH i need to Start a new comp fund.

Yeah it looks like the CPU is a bit weak, but you have a good amount of RAM that is DDR3 so you could look into buying used parts and use the RAM that you already have. That GPU that you have is is likely at least a R9 270 so you can use that as well. The things you definitely need are a new motherboard and a new CPU try and find a Core i7 4770K and a motherboard for it., they are a couple of years old at this point so you should be able to find used once at a good price and they will most likely serve you well for another couple of years. You might have to upgrade your case because it being a media PC it most likely can't hold an ATX motherboard. You might also need a new PSU if you current one is 400W or less try to find something around 500W. Hopefully it won't cost you too much to put together something good.

 

[Logan469]

My PSU is at least 750... And yes thats my bad im pretty sure its a 270. Ill do some checking later and check my case. Im SO ready for a new build though.. talk about nerdgasm

 

[nzhere]

Checking the specs you have posted,

That cpu is a bit oddball in the fact that it has built in graphics "AMD Radeon HD 8670D"

unless you have added an external graphics card of some type then that will be the issue in terms of encoding Video using OBS. In terms of performance its from 2013..and probably doesn't support hardware based encoding/decoding.

Try to source a newer PCI 2.0 compatible card with H264 or H265 encoding support and you should be fine.

 

[Maryjane440]

Hi,please... is there a good soul ,who can write here some link or tutorial HOW i can stream through xsplit?because..im nerd.
i didnt find any tutorial step by step..how set it?everywhere are tutorials for gamers..

 

[Logan469]

Ive been messing with manycam and OBS. Though its a higher learning curve so far i prefer OBS. Manycam will broadcast my cam full view but OBS insists on keeping it letterbox with black bars on the sides as you can see in my pic to the left. Ive changed my canvas size ... video size in lots of combos and i cant figure out why it wont show the full cam view. Im sure its something simple that i should slap myself for but i had dial 1-800-helpaderp.

 

[Davd James]

Thanks Mags... Im gonna play around with OBS before i take the plunge anywhere else.I do love the idea of the effects and text on screen. Plus im working toward building a new computer so i will have to take my old hardware into account. This place is great.

I like OBS because the stream quality is good. ManyCam is not good quality and the frame rate can suck when you finally hit the web. Manycam is way more intuitive than OBS however and it some ways that is a plus. Manycam also has an app that allows you to use the camera on your Phone which is awesome if you are doing POV shots this is really good when you are doing couples scenes and you want to do an extream detail shot.

One thing you can do if you want to take advantage of both OBS with its better stream quality and ManyCams with its ability to do SmartPhone camera feed is used ManyCams as a feed source in OBS. I have found room viewers love the POV shots from the phone because they can get a lot closer to the action.

 

[Davd James]

An UPDATE,

there is also an app call

DroidCam Wireless Webcam that lets you use your Phone as a webcam

and there is also an OBS remote app

 

[Logan469]

Thanks man... im still curious why it does it when i select my cam as the source but using the virtual many cam does the trick. Im also gonna look into Droidcam