Home/Guides
Guides
Step-by-step help for every part of ScoreCastr, from your first match to the Data Hub.
7 guides
Getting started
Your account, your first match and your first broadcast.
Create your ScoreCastr account
Sign up with a username, email and password, pick a plan and verify your email. You can be on your match list in a couple of minutes.
Read the guide →Free · 4 min readCreate your first match
Pick the sport, name the teams and choose a look. Your match, its control dashboard and its overlay links are ready in about two minutes.
Read the guide →Free · 4 min readYour first broadcast, start to finish
Create the match, put the overlay in OBS, test it, run the game and end it cleanly. Each step links to the guide with the detail.
Read the guide →Free · 4 min readA tour of the match dashboard
Every match has its own Control Dashboard. Here's what each part does, from the status dot and scorebug preview to the three tabs and the sidebar.
Read the guide →Free · 3 min readWhat you need: browsers, OBS and devices
A browser to run the dashboard, streaming software that takes a browser source, and a steady internet connection. Nothing to install from ScoreCastr.
Read the guide →Free · 4 min readFree, Starter, Pro and Enterprise: what each plan includes
Scorebugs are free for every sport. Starter adds the full graphics set, Pro adds data feeds and commercial breaks, and Enterprise removes the match limit.
Read the guide →Free · 3 min readYour account, profile and password
Update your name and time zone, change your password, reset a forgotten one and sign out. Plus fixes for the sign-in problems people hit most.
Read the guide →15 guides
Matches and the dashboard
Running a match: the clock, the score, stats and graphics.
Keep score live
Every score change on the dashboard reaches your overlay in a moment. Here's how scoring works across sports, how to fix a wrong score, and what the big-moment buttons do.
Read the guide →Free · 4 min readRun the clock and change periods
Start and stop the game clock, fix the time, and move to the next quarter, half, period or round. Every timed sport works the same way, with a few differences.
Read the guide →Starter · 4 min readShow and hide graphics, and go to break
The Overlay Visibility panel puts every graphic one click away. Show the title card before the game, go to break at halftime, and line the buttons up in the order you use them.
Read the guide →Starter · 4 min readRecord stats and game events
Count shots, fouls, aces and more as the game goes, and put any team stat on the scorebug with one click. Stat tracking comes with the Starter plan.
Read the guide →Free · 3 min readSubstitutions and lineups during the match
Swap players on and off in basketball and ice hockey, put a soccer substitution on screen, and keep batters, pitchers and quarterbacks current in the sports that track them.
Read the guide →Free · 3 min readThe status dot: Live, Slow and Offline
The dot at the top of the dashboard tells you whether your changes are reaching the broadcast. Here's what each color means, what happens to your changes, and what to do.
Read the guide →Free · 4 min readUse and pop out the live preview
See what your overlay is putting on air without looking at OBS. The dashboard has a full-frame preview, a pop-out window you can park beside it, and a scorebug preview at the top.
Read the guide →Free · 3 min readEnd a match and show the final
Show FINAL on the scorebug, put the final scoreboard on screen, then end the match so the score is locked and nobody changes it by accident.
Read the guide →Starter · 4 min readEdit match details after you create it
Fix a scorebug name, swap a logo or add the venue after the match is made. Every detail lives in the Customization tab, in the section for the graphic that shows it.
Read the guide →Free · 4 min readMatch settings for each sport
Quarter length, clock direction, sets, points to win and rounds: which ones you choose when you create a match, which ones you can change on the dashboard, and which ones are fixed.
Read the guide →Free · 4 min readReset or delete a match
Reset Match puts the score, clock and stats back to the start and keeps the teams. Deleting removes the match and its links for good.
Read the guide →Free · 4 min readRun several matches at once
Every match has its own control dashboard and its own overlay links, so you can run games on different fields or courts side by side. Here's how to keep them apart and how plan limits work.
Read the guide →Free · 4 min readShare the public match page
Every match has a public page that anyone can open to follow the score live, no account needed. Share Match on the dashboard copies the link for you.
Read the guide →Free · 3 min readDownload a box score PDF
Soccer, football and field hockey matches can save a one-page box score as a PDF, straight from the dashboard. Here's what's in it and how to get it.
Read the guide →Free · 4 min readRun the dashboard from a phone or tablet
The control dashboard works in the browser on any phone or tablet. Here's how the layout changes on a small screen and how to keep a phone scorekeeper running all game.
Read the guide →20 guides
Sports
Every control on each sport's dashboard.
Run a football game from the dashboard
Score touchdowns with one tap, move the down and distance, run the quarter clock, call penalties and show the quarterback's passing line.
Read the guide →Free · 5 min readRun a basketball game from the dashboard
Score shot by shot, run the game clock and shot clock, track timeouts and possession, and show team fouls and the bonus on Apex and Primetime.
Read the guide →Free · 4 min readRun a volleyball match from the dashboard
Score rally by rally, let the serve follow side outs, close out each set with one click and show set point and match point.
Read the guide →Free · 4 min readRun a soccer match from the dashboard
Run the clock up or down, add stoppage time, score goals with the scorer's name, and move through the halves to full time.
Read the guide →Free · 3 min readRun a soccer penalty shootout
Show the shootout bar, mark every kick as a make or a miss, and keep going into sudden death on Apex and Primetime.
Read the guide →Free · 3 min readShow yellow and red cards
Put a yellow or red card on the scorebug with the player's number, count it for the team, and clear cards from the screen early.
Read the guide →Free · 2 min readShow soccer substitutions
Type the numbers of the player coming on and the player going off, and a SUB strip shows under the scorebug for a few seconds.
Read the guide →Free · 5 min readRun an ice hockey game from the dashboard
Run the period clock, put players in the box with running penalty clocks, show the power play, empty net and delayed penalty, and count shots on goal.
Read the guide →Free · 5 min readRun a field hockey game from the dashboard
Run the quarter clock, show penalty corners and strokes, issue green, yellow and red cards with suspension clocks, and keep score through a shootout.
Read the guide →Free · 5 min readRun a baseball game pitch by pitch
Ball, strike, foul, out. The baseball dashboard keeps the count, the outs, the runners and the line score, and flips the inning on the third out.
Read the guide →Starter · 4 min readBaseball and softball pitcher stats
ScoreCastr counts every pitch from the count buttons, keeps each pitcher's line through a pitching change, and puts the pitch count on the scorebug.
Read the guide →Starter · 4 min readDefense on the diamond
Put the team in the field on screen, each player at their position on a diamond. Fill it in once from your roster and show it between half-innings.
Read the guide →Free · 4 min readRun a softball game, including the FLEX spot
Softball uses the same pitch-by-pitch dashboard as baseball, set for seven innings. On Apex and Primetime, the lineup gets a 10th spot for the FLEX.
Read the guide →Free · 5 min readRun an MMA fight
Run the round clock, score each round on the 10-point must system, keep three judges' cards and put the result on screen, all from one dashboard.
Read the guide →Free · 4 min readRun a tennis match
Score point by point. Points roll into games and games into sets, the tiebreak starts itself at 6-6, and the serve switches after every game.
Read the guide →Free · 4 min readTennis scoring: games, sets and the tiebreak
How ScoreCastr counts a tennis match: points to games with deuce and advantage, games to sets, the tiebreak at 6-6 and the end of the match.
Read the guide →Free · 3 min readTennis serve tracking
Mark the first server and ScoreCastr does the rest: the serve switches after every game, follows the tiebreak rotation, and shows on the scorebug.
Read the guide →Free · 4 min readRun a pickleball match
One click per point. Games close at your target score and win-by rule, the match ends itself, and doubles has a serve button for each of the four players.
Read the guide →Free · 4 min readPickleball scoring and the doubles server call
How ScoreCastr ends a pickleball game at 11, 15 or 21 with a win-by rule, how the match ends, and how the doubles score call like 4-2-1 is built.
Read the guide →Starter · 4 min readStats each sport tracks
A sport-by-sport list of the stats you can record on the ScoreCastr dashboard, which plan each one needs, and which ones fill in the stats graphics by themselves.
Read the guide →6 guides
Swimming
Meets, lane boards, meet programs and lane names.
Create a swim meet
A swim meet is one match in ScoreCastr that runs every event and heat. Set up the teams, the meet details and the pool once, then run the heats from the Scoring tab.
Read the guide →Free · 4 min readRun a swim meet from the Scoring tab
Set the event and heat, fill in the lanes, put the start list on air, then type the times. Places fill in from the times, and nothing half-typed reaches the broadcast.
Read the guide →Starter · 5 min readImport a meet program
Load the heat sheet from your meet software so the lanes fill themselves in. ScoreCastr reads SDIF, Hy-Tek HY3, Lenex and its own spreadsheet template.
Read the guide →Starter · 4 min readDraw lane names in the pool
Put each swimmer's name in their lane on your start camera, the way big meets do on TV. Line up the pool's four corners once, and the names follow every start list.
Read the guide →Starter · 4 min readSwimming graphics and colors
A swim meet has its own graphics: the event bug, the lane board for start lists and results, team standings, lane names and a winner lower third. Here's what each shows and where to set it up.
Read the guide →Free · 4 min readFix common swim meet problems
Lane changes that don't reach the broadcast, places that won't fill in, lane numbers that don't match the pool: the usual swim meet problems and how to fix each one.
Read the guide →14 guides
Graphics and templates
Every graphic, the Classic, Apex and Primetime templates, and your colors.
Every graphic ScoreCastr has
The scorebug is on every plan. Starter adds the rest of the broadcast: scoreboards, title cards, lineups, player graphics, lower thirds and more. Here's each one, which sports have it and where its guide is.
Read the guide →Starter · 3 min readSwitch templates and set your colors
Every match can use Classic, Apex or Primetime. Pick one when you create the match or change it from the dashboard, then set one color scheme for every graphic.
Read the guide →Starter · 4 min readCustomize Classic graphics
On the Classic template, every graphic has its own Color Customization panel. Pull in your team colors with one click, fine-tune any part, or reset it.
Read the guide →Free · 5 min readThe scorebug
The scorebug is the score, clock and game state on screen all game. It's on every plan. Here's what it shows, how to set its names, logos, title and sponsor, and how to hide parts of it.
Read the guide →Starter · 4 min readScoreboards for breaks and the final
The scoreboard puts the score, period and both teams on screen in a bigger graphic. Use it at halftime, between periods and for the final, with one click from Go to Break.
Read the guide →Starter · 4 min readTitle cards with team records
The title card sets up the game before it starts: both teams with logos, mascots and records, and where it's being played. Fill it in once and show it before kickoff or tip-off.
Read the guide →Starter · 4 min readLineups and starters
Show each team's starting lineup before the game: five for basketball, eleven for football, the batting order for baseball. Here's how many players each sport has, the fields, and how each template draws them.
Read the guide →Starter · 5 min readPlayer stats and player bios
Put one player on screen: a bio with a headline and a line about them, or their numbers from the game. Pick the player from your roster, add the details and show it in one click.
Read the guide →Starter · 4 min readLower thirds and talent graphics
Put a player's name and a line of detail on screen with a lower third, and introduce your announcers with the Talent and Talent Bar graphics.
Read the guide →Starter · 4 min readKeys to the match and halftime stats
Set up the pregame keys for each team, then show a side-by-side stat comparison at the break that fills in from your scoring.
Read the guide →Starter · 4 min readAdd a scrolling ticker
Run one scrolling message along the top or bottom of your stream: other scores, sponsor thanks, a schedule. Set its speed and style, and save the style for next time.
Read the guide →Starter · 4 min readLogo watermark and the scorebug sponsor spot
Keep your station or school logo in a corner of the stream, and give a sponsor a spot on the scorebug that you can show or hide during the game.
Read the guide →Free · 4 min readBig moments: touchdown, goal and home run takeovers
The buttons that put a touchdown, goal or home run across the scorebug, plus the flags for aces, blocks, knockdowns and more on Apex and Primetime.
Read the guide →Starter · 4 min readApex and Primetime extras by sport
Apex and Primetime can show things Classic can't, like team fouls and the bonus, set scores, shots on goal and the line score. Here's every extra control, sport by sport.
Read the guide →5 guides
OBS and output
Getting your graphics into OBS, a hardware switcher or a website.
Add your overlay to OBS
Copy your match's Channel 1 link from the dashboard and add it to OBS as a browser source. Your live graphics sit on top of the game, with a transparent background.
Read the guide →Starter · 5 min readUse two output channels
Each match has two overlay links, Channel 1 and Channel 2. Send each graphic to one, the other or both, and build OBS scenes around them.
Read the guide →Free · 4 min readGreen-screen HDMI output for hardware switchers
If your show runs through a hardware video switcher instead of OBS, send ScoreCastr's graphics to it over HDMI on a green background and key the green out.
Read the guide →Free · 3 min readEmbed the scorebug on your website
Put a live scorebug on your school or club website with a copy-and-paste iframe from the public match page. It keeps itself up to date during the game.
Read the guide →Free · 4 min readOverlay not showing or not updating
A blank browser source or a score that won't change almost always comes down to a handful of causes. Work through them in this order.
Read the guide →4 guides
Stream Deck and shortcuts
Run the game from buttons with 4-digit codes.
Set up a Stream Deck
Turn on Listening Mode, import a ready-made profile for your sport, and run the score and graphics from physical buttons.
Read the guide →Starter · 4 min readUse a numpad or X-Keys with 4-digit codes
You don't need a Stream Deck to run ScoreCastr from buttons. Any keypad that types digits can fire the 4-digit codes, as long as Listening Mode is on.
Read the guide →Starter · 4 min readShortcut codes: graphics and universal scoring
Every 4-digit code that shows and hides a graphic, plus the universal scoring codes used by tennis and pickleball, in one place.
Read the guide →Starter · 6 min readShortcut codes by sport
The most useful 4-digit codes for each sport, from soccer's 2100s to field hockey's 2800s, with the quirks worth knowing before you build your buttons.
Read the guide →16 guides
Data Hub
Fill your graphics from a webhook, an XML file or Google Sheets. Pro.
What the Data Hub does, and which method to use
The Data Hub lets a scoreboard reader, a data file, a Google Sheet or StatsCastr fill in your graphics so nobody has to type every point. Here's what each method does and how to pick one.
Read the guide →Pro · 4 min readSend live data by webhook (ScoreCastr Server)
Turn on ScoreCastr Server for a match to get a private webhook address. Anything that can send a web request, like Scoreboard OCR, can then update your scorebug.
Read the guide →Pro · 4 min readConnect Scoreboard OCR
Scoreboard OCR reads the numbers off the venue scoreboard. Point its output at your ScoreCastr webhook and the scorebug follows the real scoreboard on its own.
Read the guide →Pro · 4 min readBaseball and softball webhook field names
The field names ScoreCastr reads from a baseball or softball webhook or Scoreboard OCR feed, the value formats it accepts, and what each one changes on the dashboard and scorebug.
Read the guide →Pro · 3 min readBasketball webhook field names
The field names ScoreCastr reads from a basketball webhook or Scoreboard OCR feed, the value formats it accepts, and what each one changes on the dashboard and scorebug.
Read the guide →Pro · 4 min readFootball webhook field names
The field names ScoreCastr reads from a football webhook or Scoreboard OCR feed, the value formats it accepts, and what each one changes on the dashboard and scorebug.
Read the guide →Pro · 4 min readIce hockey webhook field names
The field names ScoreCastr reads from an ice hockey webhook or Scoreboard OCR feed, the value formats it accepts, and what each one changes. Field hockey is at the end.
Read the guide →Pro · 3 min readSoccer webhook field names
The field names ScoreCastr reads from a soccer webhook or Scoreboard OCR feed, the value formats it accepts, and what each one changes on the dashboard and scorebug.
Read the guide →Pro · 3 min readTennis and pickleball webhook field names
The field names ScoreCastr reads from a tennis or pickleball webhook or Scoreboard OCR feed, the value formats it accepts, and what each one changes on the dashboard and scorebug.
Read the guide →Pro · 3 min readVolleyball webhook field names
The field names ScoreCastr reads from a volleyball webhook or Scoreboard OCR feed, the value formats it accepts, and what each one changes on the dashboard and scorebug.
Read the guide →Pro · 4 min readWebhook API reference
The technical details for sending live data to a ScoreCastr match: the request, the JSON body, field name rules, the replies and every error you can get back.
Read the guide →Pro · 5 min readRead an XML file or URL
If your scoring software writes an XML file, ScoreCastr can watch it and update the scorebug whenever it changes, from a file on your computer or a file online.
Read the guide →Pro · 4 min readGoogle Sheets in the Data Hub
Keep team info, rosters and lineups in a Google Sheet and push them into your graphics with a click. Here's how to share the sheet, lay it out, connect it and keep it in sync.
Read the guide →Pro · 5 min readGoogle Sheets modes
Each tab of your Google Sheet is read in one of three modes. Key-Value fills show info, Roster pushes player bios and stats, and Lineups pushes starters and defense to your graphics.
Read the guide →Pro · 3 min readUse more than one data source
A feed, a Google Sheet, StatsCastr and the operator can all work on the same match. Here's which ones can run together, and what wins when two of them touch the same thing.
Read the guide →Pro · 5 min readData Hub troubleshooting
The feed isn't moving the scorebug, the webhook returns an error, or the XML pill turned red. Here's what each problem means and how to fix it.
Read the guide →2 guides
StatsCastr and commercials
Live stats from StatsCastr and commercial breaks from Dropbox. Pro.
Link StatsCastr to your match
Your stat keeper logs plays in StatsCastr and the numbers land in your ScoreCastr player stats graphics. Link the two with a QR code or an 8-character code, then pick a player or tap Last play.
Read the guide →Pro · 4 min readPlay commercials during breaks
Put your sponsors' video ads in Dropbox, sync them into My Commercials and play them out to OBS from two commercial channels at halftime and timeouts.
Read the guide →4 guides
Teams and rosters
Saved teams with colors, logos and players. Starter.
Create a team with colors and a logo
Save each team once, with its name, scorebug name, colors and logo. Every new match against them then fills in from a dropdown.
Read the guide →Starter · 4 min readAdd players and import a roster
Type players into a saved team's roster, or fill a spreadsheet and upload it as a CSV. The roster then feeds your player graphics and dashboard lists.
Read the guide →Starter · 3 min readPlayer bios from your roster
Your saved roster fills in each player's name, number and position on the Player Bio graphic. Here's what carries over, how positions get shortened and what you still type per game.
Read the guide →Starter · 3 min readSame team twice in the list
If a team shows up twice when you set up a match, or a player list shows last season's roster, you have two saved teams with the same name. Delete the one you don't use.
Read the guide →3 guides
Account and billing
Plans, billing and who can see your matches.
Upgrade or change your plan
Move up a plan and it starts straight away. Move down and it starts at your next billing date. Here's every step, what you're charged, and what happens to your matches.
Read the guide →Free · 4 min readCancel, refunds and billing questions
How to cancel or restart your subscription, ask for a refund, fix a failed payment, update your card and find your receipts. Plus which currencies you can pay in.
Read the guide →Free · 4 min readWho can see and change your matches
Your matches belong to your account. Anyone with an overlay link or the public page can watch, but only someone signed in to your account can change anything.
Read the guide →7 guides
iPhone app
Score on one phone and stream from another. Public beta.
Join the iPhone app beta
Score on one iPhone and stream the game from another, with your scorebug on the picture. Here's how to join the free beta through TestFlight and get ready for your first stream.
Read the guide →Free · 3 min readScore a game from your phone
Keep score on an iPhone with the ScoreCastr app. Every tap updates the streaming phone, your OBS overlays and the web dashboard at the same time.
Read the guide →Free · 2 min readPair the streaming phone
The second phone joins your match by scanning a pairing code from the scoring phone. It doesn't need a ScoreCastr account.
Read the guide →Free · 3 min readStream to YouTube from your phone
Turn on live streaming for your channel, copy the stream key from YouTube Studio, paste it into the ScoreCastr app and go live with your scorebug on the video.
Read the guide →Free · 3 min readOther stream destinations
The iPhone app streams anywhere that gives you a server URL and a stream key. Here's where to find them on Facebook, Twitch, Restream, the NFHS Network and custom servers.
Read the guide →Free · 3 min readPhone camera controls
On the streaming phone you can zoom from 0.5x to 3x, set the mic level, mute the mic and turn the scorebug on or off. Here's how to use them during a game.
Read the guide →Free · 3 min readPhone streaming troubleshooting
What to expect from data use, quality and reconnects when you stream from the ScoreCastr iPhone app, and what to do about heat and weak signal.
Read the guide →3 guides
Help
Questions, troubleshooting and support.
Frequently asked questions
Short answers to the questions people ask most about ScoreCastr, each with a link to the guide that covers it in full.
Read the guide →Free · 5 min readSlow dashboard or overlay
Most slowness comes from the computer doing too much at once or a weak connection, not from ScoreCastr itself. Here's what's normal, what to close and which OBS settings to check.
Read the guide →Free · 3 min readContact support
Email the ScoreCastr team from the Support button, ask other streamers on Discord, or find the answer in the guides. Here's what to send so we can help fast.
Read the guide →