How to Connect CameraFi Live like a Webcam in OBS

Hi, this is the CameraFi Live team.

I'd like to share with you the manual about how to connect CameraFi Live like a webcam in OBS by using the SRT(Secure Reliable Transport) protocol. With SRT streaming, you can use multiple smartphones like a webcam to create a professional live-streaming with various video sources included.

To connect CameraFi Live like a webcam in OBS, you need to prepare Android smartphones with CameraFi Live and a PC or a laptop with OBS Studio.

• 1. Check your IP address
• 2. Prepare in OBS Studio(PC)
• 3. Connect CameraFi Live with OBS Studio
• 4. Record or broadcast with OBS Studio
• 5. Connect multiple smartphones
• 6. Broadcast to OBS Studio using LTE/5G
• 7. Resolution / encoder format settings




* Your smartphone and PC MUST be connected to the same router. If your smartphones and PC are not on the same network, please refer to Chapter 6.




If you are ready to go, please go to the first step!




1. Check your IP address




In order to broadcast SRT live-streaming, you need to check your IP address first.

For the manual of how to find the IP address, please click the phrase below;

How to Find Your IP Address on Windows or Mac




2. Prepare in OBS Studio(PC)




1) Install OBS Studio on PC.

* OBS Studio: software that enables video recording and real-time broadcasting

- Download: https://obsproject.com/en/download






2) Open OBS Studio and press the + button in the source list.






3) Select the Media Source.






4) Set the name of the media source and click the OK button.






5) Uncheck the 'Local File' option in the checkbox. Then, an input box appears.




6) Enter the IP address and port number in the input box.

* As in the example below, you can write the port number by yourself without changing the IP address.

Ex1) srt://192.168.1.54:20100?mode=listener

Ex2) srt://192.168.1.54:20200?mode=listener



Now, the OBS Studio is ready. Let's go to the Settings in CameraFi Live!




3. Connect CameraFi Live with OBS Studio



1) Install CameraFi Live and open it.



2) Select the SRT platform.






3) Write the IP address & port number.



4) Click the START button at the bottom.




5) With the GO button, you can start to transmit the video to the OBS Studio.






Then, the video from CameraFi Live is shown to the OBS Sutdio preview screen.







4. Record or broadcast with OBS Studio




You can see OBS Studio has the recording and streaming option on the right side.






[Recording]

1) Click Start Recording.

2) You can check your recording Path by Settings - Output - Recording Path.







[Streaming]

1) Click Settings - Stream.

2) After selecting the broadcasting service(platform), enter the Stream Key.






3) Adjust the media sources and click the Start Streaming button.


5. Connect multiple smartphones




If you just change the port number, you can connect more smartphones.

1) Add the media source by clicking the + button.

2) Write the different port number in the input box.



3) Adjust the size and location of each media source.




With the method above, you can broadcast more like a professional.

Ex1) Streaming with three smartphones





Ex2) Mobile game streaming with two smartphones:

- Smartphone1: Mobile game streaming & Smartphone2: Mobile camera streaming






6. Broadcast to OBS Studio using LTE/5G




If your PC has a public IP address, you can use the SRT streaming as mentioned above.

However, if your PC has a private IP, port forwarding is required.

For how to manual of the port forwarding, please click here.




After the port forwarding, write the private IP address in OBS and write the public IP of your PC in CameraFi Live.




Please keep in mind that you need to use the port number which is port forwarded. The image below will explain the process of streaming video from CameraFi Live to OBS using SRT.






7. Resolution / Encoder Format Settings




In the Settings option on the right top, you can set the IP address, resolution, encoder format, etc.

 




[Resolution]

As the supported resolution option might vary depending on your smartphone model. The explanation below is based on the Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G.



• Free users: 480p, 720p, 1080p
• Premium users: Including the free user options, 60fps or 1440p and 2160p is available.

According to the test from the CameraFi Live team, the delay time was about 1 to 2 seconds, and there was no difference between the delay time when set to 1080p resolution.




[Encode Format]


How about the encoder formats?


CameraFi Live supports the encoder format of H.264 and HEVC.





We compare H.264 and HEVC encoder formats at 1080p/60fps.


The delay time was about 1 second longer in the HEVC encoder format. However, with the HEVC encoder format supports the higher quality in the poor wireless environment.


We recommend HEVC rather than H.264 for the users who use high-performance smartphones and are okay with a 1-second delay.




If you have any questions about the SRT streaming, please leave us the comment below.


Thank you.