Introduction

This guide will help you set up a 24/7 live stream using FFmpeg and PyLivestream, a Python package that facilitates streaming to multiple platforms.

Prerequisites

• Python 3.9 or higher
• FFmpeg 4.2 or higher (required for Facebook Live)

Installation

Install FFmpeg

FFmpeg is a complete, cross-platform solution to record, convert, and stream audio and video.

# Windows
winget install ffmpeg

# Linux
sudo apt install ffmpeg

# MacOS
brew install ffmpeg

Install PyLivestream

PyLivestream can be installed via pip. For the latest release:

python3 -m pip install PyLivestream

For the development version:

git clone https://github.com/scivision/PyLivestream
cd PyLivestream
python3 -m pip install -e .

Configuration

Create and configure the pylivestream.json file with parameters relevant to your live stream.

{
  "screencap_origin": [0, 0],
  "screencap_size": [1920, 1080],
  "screencap_fps": 30,
  "video_kbps": 2500,
  "audio_rate": 44100,
  "audio_bps": 128,
  "preset": "veryfast",
  "exe": "/path/to/ffmpeg"
}

Running the Stream

Once configured, you can start streaming using one of the following commands:

python -m pylivestream.screen youtube ./pylivestream.json
python -m pylivestream.screen facebook ./pylivestream.json
python -m pylivestream.screen twitch ./pylivestream.json

Authentication

Ensure you have the stream URL and stream key from your streaming service and include them in your pylivestream.json file.

YouTube Live

1. Configure your YouTube Live stream.
2. Edit pylivestream.json to include your YouTube stream ID.
3. Run the following command:

python -m pylivestream.screen youtube ./pylivestream.json

Facebook Live

1. Configure your Facebook Live stream.
2. Edit pylivestream.json to include your Facebook stream ID.
3. Run the following command:

python -m pylivestream.screen facebook ./pylivestream.json

Twitch

1. Configure your Twitch stream.
2. Edit pylivestream.json to include your Twitch stream URL and stream ID.
3. Run the following command:

python -m pylivestream.screen twitch ./pylivestream.json

Additional Information

For detailed information on configuration, troubleshooting, and advanced usage, visit the PyLivestream GitHub repository.