Last Updated: May 21st, 2019
BREAKING UPDATES: unannounced changes by Facebook are preventing legacy Teradek encoders from streaming with the built-in API integration. At this time, you must use manual RTMP configuration to stream to a Facebook Page. See the May 16th section of the Timeline for additional details, and the Manual RTMP Streaming section under Workarounds to continue streaming with RTMP.
- As of May 21st, Facebook has confirmed that this is a bug on their platform and is working on a fix.
Table of Contents
Manual RTMP Streaming to a Facebook Page
Live:Air Solo / Live:Air Action
Upgrade Paths to Current Teradek Encoders
Overview
Facebook Live was supposed to only accept RTMPS connections (RTMP over a TLS/SSL connection) as of May 1st, 2019 and indicated it would no longer accept the original RTMP streaming method.
Since that date, Facebook has made several changes to that stance, see the Timeline for additional details.
To help make the switch as seamless as possible for you, this article indicates which products have native RTMPS support, and provides options for products which are unable to support the RTMPS protocol.
Timeline
- April 30th, 2019 and earlier : Facebook states that as of May 1st, 2019, no RTMP streams would be allowed on their platform and only RTMPS streams would be accepted for streaming to a personal Timeline, Pages, or Groups.
- May 1st, 2019 : Facebook makes a last minute, unannounced change and officially provides support for RTMP streams to Pages and Workplace until November 1st, 2019 per their developer documentation. Streaming with RTMP to a Page is confirmed as working using both the built-in API integration as well as manual RTMP configuration.
- May 1st through May 3rd, 2019 : despite documentation saying that RTMP streams are not permitted, Facebook continues to allow RTMP streams (both integration / API-based and manual RTMP configuration) to personal Timeline and to Groups. On the afternoon of May 3rd (Pacific Time), RTMP streams to Timeline and Groups are finally shut off and only RTMPS is allowed to those destinations.
- May 16th, 2019 : Facebook makes another unannounced change and stops returning RTMP streaming destinations through its API.
- Prior to this change, Facebook's streaming platform returned both an RTMP and an RTMPS streaming destination when a device tried to stream to a Page, allowing older products like the Cube and the original VidiU to continue streaming with the RTMP protocol using the built-in API integration.
- Facebook's developer documentation states that their servers should be returning both an RTMP and an RTMPS destination through their API until November 1st, 2019.
- This sudden change appears to either be a bug on Facebook's side, or it could be another rapid change to their streaming platform.
- As a result of this change by Facebook, customers can no longer use the API integration and must now use manual RTMP to stream to a Page. See the Manual RTMP Streaming section under Workarounds for additional information.
- Teradek has reached out to Facebook for clarification on this sudden change. This article will be updated when we have additional details.
- May 21st, 2019 : Facebook has confirmed that the behavior starting May 16th is a bug. RTMP streaming destinations for Pages or Workplace should still be available through the API until the November 1st, 2019 deadline. Facebook is working on a fix for their platform.
RTMPS Support
Full RTMPS support
The following devices and apps support streaming with the RTMPS protocol directly -- no workarounds are required.
- 600 series : supported as of firmware version 8.2.5
- includes Cube 605 and Cube 655 encoder; Slice 656 encoder; Bond 657 and Bond Backpack 659
- 700 series : supported as of firmware version 8.2.5
- includes Cube 705 and Cube 755 encoder; Slice 756 encoder; Bond 757 and Bond Backpack 759; 2nd generation T-RAX HEVC encoder card (serial number starting with 786)
- VidiU Go : supported as of firmware version 3.1.2
- Live:Air Action : supported as of version 2.1.3
- Sputnik : supported as of version 2.13.0
- Live:Air Solo : supported as of version 2.2.0
Sharelink : supported as of April 18, 2019
- NOTE: if you are unable to stream to manual RTMPS destinations, you can do either of the following:
- power off the VidiU Pro / VidiU Go for at least 25 minutes, then power on and reconnect to Sharelink on the same Sharelink region. This does not require a settings change on the VidiU Pro / Go unit.
- change the VidiU Pro / VidiU Go to use a different Sharelink region to broadcast immediately. You must wait at least 25 minutes before switching back to the original Sharelink region.
Core : supported as of April 18, 2019
- NOTE: this requires an update to most recent Sputnik version for Cloud-hosted and Self-hosted Sputnik servers
- if you are using On Demand Sputnik servers and are having trouble streaming RTMPS, you can do either of the following:
- power off the encoder for at least 25 minutes, then power on and reconnect to the same On Demand Sputnik region. This does not require a settings change on the encoder.
- change the encoder to use a different On Demand Sputnik region to broadcast immediately. You must wait at least 25 minutes before switching back to the original On Demand Sputnik region.
Limited RTMPS support
- VidiU Pro (serial number starting with 219)
- The VidiU Pro has limited RTMPS support -- due to hardware limitations, the device is not able to encode RTMPS smoothly under all conditions.
- Firmware version 3.1.6 incorporates changes to help improve performance while streaming RTMPS, but RTMPS is still disabled by default. Please see this article for full details.
No RTMPS support
Due to hardware limitations, the following products are unable to have RTMPS support added directly into the device firmware:
- 1st and 2nd generation Cube encoders (serial number starting with 1xx, 2xx, and 5xx)
- 1st generation Slice encoders (serial number starting with 166)
- 1st generation T-RAX encoders (serial number starting with 107)
- Bond II (serial number starting with 118, 218)
- Bond Pro (serial number starting with 058 or 059)
- Sphere : the current Sphere app does not have RTMPS support and no updates are planned at this time; if you currently own a Sphere, please contact sales@teradek.com regarding possible app updates to include RTMPS.
- VidiU (original model from 2013, serial number starting with 245)
- VidiU Mini (serial number starting with 247)
If you have a legacy product, a number of workarounds are listed below.
Workarounds
Click the heading to expand that section.
Step 1: using a web browser and a computer, log in to the Facebook account which has Admin access to the Facebook Page. Step 2: in a new browser tab, access https://www.facebook.com/live/create and click Create Live Stream. Select the Facebook Page under the Post section at top right, then make sure that the "Use a secure connection (SSL)" option is not selected. Facebook has full documentation for using this method to generate a stream key -- including a Persistent Stream Key which may simplify future broadcasts -- at the following link: https://www.facebook.com/help/587160588142067. Step 3: configure your encoder to use the manual RTMP settings received in step 2. Below are sample articles showing this process. Step 4: configure your encoder to meet Facebook's requirements on video resolution (1280x720 or lower), video bitrate (4 Mbps or less), video frame rate (30 fps), and audio bitrate (128 kbps). Facebook has full documentation on their requirements for encoded video at the following link: https://www.facebook.com/facebookmedia/get-started/live#live-video-specs Step 5: start the broadcast of the RTMP stream from the Teradek encoder. Step 6: once Facebook has recognized the incoming RTMP video stream and is showing it in the preview area, the Go Live button at the bottom right of the Facebook stream creation page will allow you take the broadcast live to the Facebook destination. Step 7: when the stream is finished, use the End Live Video button at the bottom right of the Facebook stream creation page, and stop the broadcast of the RTMP stream from the encoder. Manual RTMP streaming to a Facebook Page
There are many online video platforms or streaming services that can convert from one protocol supported that is supported by the device (e.g. RTMP or MPEG-TS) to an RTMPS-wrapped stream that is sent out to the destination. For legacy devices that do not support Teradek's cloud streaming platforms, one option is using streaming services such as castr.io ( instructions on how to setup your Teradek device with castr.io). Other platforms such as Vimeo can receive a stream over RTMP and simulcast to Facebook Live. Many older Teradek products do not support RTMPS streaming directly, but can be used with Core or Sharelink. Core can be used with the following products: Sharelink can be used with the following products: Use Cloud Services
If you have a supported iPhone or iPad, you can run the free Live:Air Solo app and use the legacy encoder as a stream source. For details on how to set this up, please refer to this article: https://support.teradek.com/hc/en-us/articles/217446487-Live-Air-Quickstart-with-VidiU If you have a supported iPad, you can also run the Live:Air Action app. Live:Air Action is free to download and use but offers in-app purchases; however, there are no purchases required to allow streaming to Facebook Live from a single legacy encoder. Use Live:Air Solo or Live:Air Action
Upgrade Paths to Current Teradek Encoders
Upgrading to a current Teradek encoder will ensure support of RTMPS as well as many newer protocols such as SRT.
If you have a VidiU, VidiU Mini or VidiU Pro, please fill out this form to apply for a discount on a VidiU Go: https://forms.gle/dQoajayWhvmUtNxGA
If you have another legacy encoder product, or have multiple VidiUs, please email the Sales Team at sales@teradek.com
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