Live Streaming with Flow Capture Connect

Flow Capture Connect is a multi-purpose standalone app that you can use for live streaming from a macOS- or Windows-based computer that's connected to the internet. It can be used in combination with our Rooms to create live editorial reviews or color grading sessions (with HDR support).

This article will walk you through the steps necessary to get your computer connected to Flow Capture via Connect so you can get to work.

Click the video below for a quick tour of the interface, and you can then jump to each of the sections below:

Contents

• Adding a Stream Location / Creating a Live Asset
• Adding a Stream Source
• Stream Settings and Specifications

Adding a Stream Location / Creating a Live Asset

Open the Flow Capture Connect window and click Add Stream Location (+)

This will show a New Connection Code. Click the icon to Copy the code to the clipboard.

There are two possible destinations for a live stream from Flow Capture Connect: Streaming to a Room, or streaming to a Folder. 

Video Walkthrough:

Streaming to a Room

With Flow Capture Connect, you can now stream a Live asset directly into a Room. To do so, once inside the Room, click the "Live" pane icon ((●)), then click "Add Live Stream," and lastly, enter the code that you copied to the clipboard above.

Streaming to a Folder

You can also stream an asset into a folder, which can then viewed inside that folder, or brought into a Room. In the destination folder within Flow Capture, open the Connections tab in the folder settings and then click Create Stream

That will bring up a window where you'll need to enter some information to make the connection.

Source - choose Flow Capture Connect

Name - This will be the title of the asset when viewed in Flow Capture (eg. Live from Editorial)

Description - This is additional info for context within the Production (eg. Streaming from John's AVID machine)

Connection Code - This is where you'll paste in the code you generated in Flow Capture Connect.

Once that's done, click Create and head back into Connect to see the new link that you established.

Congrats! 🎉

You've just set up a new Live connection between Flow Capture Connect and your Flow Capture production. This is reflected in the Flow Capture Connect application with either the name of the Room you've connected it to, or the Name you defined when creating the stream in the folder. 

Adding a Stream Source

Now that we have a Live connection established we can choose what content we want to stream to the platform. Click the name of the stream we want to adjust to open the Stream Source menu.

Select Stream Source

Displays: Share a full-screen capture of your Desktop (Screen Sharing)

Windows: Share a capture of a specific window on your Desktop (Screen Sharing)

NDI: Share an available NDI source on your network (click here for more info on configuring NDI)

DeckLink: Share the input of a BlackMagic DeckLink capture device (including SDI/HDMI models)

Once we select a source it will be the default source for this Live Asset, to Go Live and Start/Stop the stream click the Stream button next to the name (All Streams Live) or Individual Inputs (Ad Hoc stream activation)

Multiple Streams are supported from Multiple Inputs and can all be activated/deactivated individually

These all output to Flow Capture into the designated folder as individual/unique Live Assets that can be managed around Flow Capture in the same way as traditional/static assets. For more information on Working With Live Assets check our Live Streaming Guide.

Video Walkthrough:

Stream Settings & Specifications

Once a stream is set up and available within Flow Capture Connect we can click the preview to open the Settings for this stream:

• Resolution - Choose from the Original resolution of your Source or scale your Output to various HD/SD resolutions in 16:9 aspect ratio. Maximum resolution that is supported is 1080p.
• Bitrate - Choose from Low (3000 kbps), Medium (5000 kbps), High (8000 kbps) and Very High (10000 kbps)
• Audio Reference Level (NDI-only) - The headroom that we apply when receiving the audio from the NDI source. This is applied when we convert the audio coming out of the NDI source (usually a floating point sample format) into a 16 bit interleaved format that we can transmit through Flow Capture in the final live stream.
• Stream Audio Offset - If your viewers are noticing a delay between Audio/Video we can adjust the audio offset in increments of +/- 50ms
• Local Audio Device - If your Audio is outputted entirely through NDi we can select a local Monitoring device to receive the audio.
• Color Profile - Choose from an available Color Profile. For more information see Color Profiles and HDR Live Streaming with Flow Capture Connect
• Delete Source - This removes the Source from Flow Capture Connect. This does NOT delete the connection with Flow Capture - a new source can be configured to stream to the same asset/location.

Live Stream Specifications

Playback Resolution

• The playback resolution for a stream using Connect can be set under your settings as per above.
• The maximum supported resolution is 1080p, and "Original" will honour the resolution of the stream source

Framerate

• The framerate of the stream will be the same as the framerate of the source.
• For NDI or Decklink as a source, Flow Capture Connect will not limit or restrict, but it is recommended 30fps as a limit
• For Window or Display as a source, framerate will be capped at 30fps
• Streaming with a Blackmagic device with Flow Capture Connect can support both interlaced and progressive frame types

Audio

• When using NDI or Decklink as a source, the audio format will be the same as the source.
• Mono, stereo, and 5.1 channel layouts are all supported
• It is recommended to stream using 44.1/48khz sample rate.
• Note: Window or Display as a source do not transmit audio
• For streams using Decklink, the Opus audio codec is strongly recommended

Dynamic Range

• HDR and HDR10 live stream is supported, using a color profile assigned to either a Decklink or NDI source
• When using HDR, the source should be transmitting to Flow Capture Connect at a high bit depth.
• When streaming HDR via Decklink device, please ensure your output is set to YUV and not RGB

Video Format

• Flow Capture Connect will use H264 for any SDR stream sources
• Flow Capture Connect will use VP9 profile 2 for any HDR stream source

Other Notes

• When using Decklink/Blackmagic, only one app can use a device at a time. If experiencing issues generating a stream, ensure any other apps that may be using the device are closed.

  
  

• When streaming using a Decklink/Blackmagic device, note that Flow Capture Connect only supports 10-bit streams in "YUV" format. Please ensure your output is set to YUV, as setting your output to 10-bit RGB will result in discoloration of live assets.

  
  

• Thumbnails may not appear in Flow Capture Connect for devices that aren't actively streaming into Flow Capture.

  
  

• If you are using a firewall that is performing SSL inspections, you will need to exempt these inspections from the Flow Capture servers in order for the live streaming assets to reach the platform.