Stream to YouTube from your phone

YouTube is where most schools and clubs stream. The ScoreCastr app sends the streaming phone's video straight to your YouTube channel, with your scorebug on it. You don't sign in to YouTube in the app: you copy a stream key from YouTube Studio and paste it in. This guide walks through the YouTube side, then going live.

Turn on live streaming, a day ahead

YouTube has to enable live streaming on a channel before you can use it. The first time, that can take up to 24 hours. Do it well before game day.

YouTube sets its own rules for who can stream and how. Streaming from the YouTube app on a phone has a subscriber minimum. Streaming with a stream key from an app like ScoreCastr is the usual way to stream from a phone without it. Check YouTube's own help for the current eligibility rules for your channel.

Get your stream key

1. On a computer, open YouTube Studio for your channel.
2. Choose Go live, then Stream.
3. Set the stream's title and who can see it.
4. Copy the stream URL (the server) and the stream key.

The easiest way to get the key onto the streaming phone is to open YouTube Studio on that phone's browser and copy it there, or send it to yourself in a private note.

Set up the streaming phone

1. Pair the streaming phone with the scoring phone. See Pair the streaming phone.
2. Turn the phone to landscape and mount it on the tripod.
3. In the app's stream destination, paste the server URL and the stream key from YouTube.

The app needs only those two things. Video goes straight from the phone to YouTube. ScoreCastr never hosts it.

Go live

1. Frame the shot. See Phone camera controls.
2. Tap Go Live.
3. In YouTube Studio, check the preview shows your video with the scorebug on it.
4. Score a play on the scoring phone and watch it change on YouTube. There's a short delay on YouTube's side; that's normal.

The app streams 1080p at 30 frames a second, at about 6 Mbps. If your upload can't keep up, the quality steps down on its own and comes back when the connection improves.

Test before game day

Run a short test stream a day or two before the game, from the spot where you'll film:

• Set the test stream so only you can see it, then go live.
• Check the scorebug position, the sound and the picture on YouTube.
• Make a score change and check it reaches the stream.
• End the test when you're done.

Fix common problems

• YouTube won't let me go live. Live streaming may not be enabled yet, or it's still in the 24-hour wait. Check YouTube Studio and YouTube's help.
• The stream doesn't start. Check the server URL and stream key were pasted in full, with no extra spaces.
• The video looks soft or blocky. The connection is weak and the app has stepped the quality down. See Phone streaming troubleshooting.

Streaming to Facebook, Twitch, Restream or the NFHS Network instead? See Other stream destinations.

Checklist

• Live streaming enabled on the channel, at least a day ahead
• Stream URL and stream key copied from YouTube Studio, kept private
• Streaming phone paired, in landscape, on a tripod with power
• Server URL and key pasted into the app
• Test stream done from the filming spot
• Streaming rights confirmed for school games