Video game streaming is as popular as the playthroughs you see on YouTube, and I'd even say it's a bit more. While Twitch remains the most used platform for this kind of broadcast, the truth is that Facebook also has live video support. If you're interested in sharing your gaming sessions or similar content with friends and followers, you'll need a copy of OBS Studio and to follow a few instructions.
For a while now, Facebook has allowed live video broadcasts through its Facebook Live system. If this surprises some of our readers, I honestly can't blame them, because it's not a feature the social network promotes with full force. To that we must add that the whole process isn't very intuitive, and the service itself has certain limitations. According to available information, streams can last a maximum of 90 minutes, their resolution shouldn't go beyond 720p at 30 frames per second, and the bitrate limit is 2,500 kilobits per second. Of course, nothing prevents you from streaming at a lower resolution (say, 480p), but the key to a good stream is choosing the right bitrate. This depends on the resolution you want to stream at, the content itself, and the upload speed of your connection. Also, live video streams require a Facebook Page, since a personal profile apparently isn't enough.
Setting Up OBS Studio
That said, the most important step is to download and install a copy of OBS Studio. Once installed, open OBS Studio, go to its settings section, click on "Stream", and leave the "Streaming service" option intact, but change the service to Facebook Live. In the "Video" section we modify the resolution for the stream, while in "Output" we find the bitrate. The bitrate detail requires some experimentation, though I'd start with 50 percent of your upload speed (1,024 kilobits on a 2,048 upload, for example).
Now, go to your Facebook Page, click on "Videos", then "Video Library", then "Live Videos", and finally "Create". This will give you the stream key that you should copy and paste into OBS Studio, in the "Stream" section. Once the key is copied, apply the changes, create a new scene in OBS Studio, and choose the source of your stream (game, application, etc.). Click "Start Streaming", and back on Facebook, click "Preview". If everything goes well, you'll see that Facebook picks up the stream from OBS Studio without issues. Add a title, a description, and click "Go Live".
A Few Final Tips
No, I'm afraid it's not the most comfortable thing in the world, but that's not due to the tools, but to the social network itself. The live video option isn't available for all pages, and the user is forced to create a new key each time they want to stream, since there's no option to reuse them (not even in Preview cases, and they also have a 24-hour expiration). Any additional details can be found in the OBS Studio tutorials, but I think we've covered the basics here. Good luck!
