Live streaming from alfaview

alfaview can broadcast a room or subroom as a live video stream. You can stream to your own streaming server or to YouTube and Twitch.

• How it works
• Requirements
• Enabling live streaming
• Starting a live stream
• What participants see
• Stream settings
• Streaming to your own server
• YouTube
• Twitch
• Other platforms
• Bandwidth and performance
• Latency
• If a stream stops
• Troubleshooting
• Privacy and legal notes
• Good to know
• FAQ

How it works

The stream is produced on the computer of the person who starts it and sent from there to the streaming service.

Video: alfaview creates a separate layout for the stream. It is not a recording of your screen, so your dialogs, notifications and sidebar are never visible to viewers. You can see the exact output in the Recording and streaming monitor.

Audio: The stream carries the sound of the alfaview room, which is your microphone, all other participants and the audio of shared content. Sound from other programs on your computer is not included.

Delivery: alfaview sends the stream to the streaming service. Everything after that, such as transcoding, recording and playback for viewers, is handled by that service.

Requirements

Item	Requirement
Application	alfaview desktop app for Windows, macOS or Linux
Not supported	alfaview in the browser, iOS, Android
Permission	Live streaming has to be enabled for the room, and you need the moderator right to stream
Upload bandwidth	At least 6 Mbit/s free upload, on top of what the meeting itself uses
Network	The streaming server has to be reachable from your network, normally on port 1935
Hardware	A current desktop or laptop. Hardware video acceleration is used automatically when your system offers it

On Linux please note two additional points:

• Hardware video encoding is required. It is standard on current Intel, AMD and NVIDIA graphics. Without it, the stream may use a video format that streaming services do not accept.
• The MP3 system library has to be installed. On Debian and Ubuntu this is the package libmp3lame0.

Enabling live streaming

Live streaming is switched off by default and has to be enabled in two places.

1. For the room: A person with administrator rights enables Allow live streaming in the host tools of the room. The option is described there as: “Moderators can stream the room content live to external platforms.” Host tools are not available in meeting rooms.
2. For the person streaming: They need the corresponding moderator right in the room.

If either is missing, the streaming options are not shown.

If the permission is withdrawn during a stream, the stream ends immediately and the person streaming sees the message “Streaming permission has been revoked by the administrator.”

Starting a live stream

1. In the alfaview room, click Recording & Streaming in the toolbar.
2. Open Start Live Stream.
3. Choose the target: Stream to YouTube, Stream to Twitch or Stream to Custom Server.
4. For your own server, enter the Server URL.
5. Enter the Stream key. The field is hidden as soon as you click elsewhere.
6. Click Start Live Stream and confirm the Recording Legal Notice.

To stop, open the same menu and choose Stop Live Stream. Switching to another room or subroom, leaving, closing the app or losing the streaming permission also ends the stream.

The stream key is not saved. You have to enter it again for every stream. This keeps keys off shared computers and prevents a stream from being started by accident. The server address for your own server is saved.

What participants see

• Everyone in the same subroom gets the message “Live stream started” with the name of the person who started it, and “Live stream ended” when it stops. A short signal tone is played with each message.
• A red Live badge is shown next to that person for as long as the stream runs, wherever they appear, including the participant list. Unlike the message, the badge is visible throughout the room.
• The person streaming has to confirm the Recording Legal Notice first.

Stream settings

All settings are in the Recording & Streaming menu and are shared between live streaming and local recording. Layout changes take effect immediately, including during a stream.

Capture Quality

Preset	Resolution	Frame rate
720p 30 FPS	1280 x 720	30
1080p 30 FPS	1920 x 1080	30
1080p 60 FPS	1920 x 1080	60

The default is 720p at 30 FPS. Resolution and frame rate cannot be changed while a stream is running.

All three presets are sent at the same video bitrate, so 720p at 30 FPS gives the most consistent picture quality. Choose 1080p at 60 FPS only for content that needs it, such as fast movement, and expect more compression artifacts.

Layout

• Gallery, Speaker or Automatic. Gallery and Speaker are independent of the view you use yourself, Automatic follows your own view.
• Thumbnail bar on or off in speaker view
• VIP Videos Only, which limits the stream to the videos of selected people
• VIP Name Labels and Participant Name Labels, separately switchable
• Hide My Video, which removes your own camera from the stream
• Show Shared Media on or off. Under Speaker Settings you can also switch
  PiP on shared content and choose its size and corner. The inset is available in
  speaker view.
• Pause, which replaces the picture with a neutral alfaview screen and fades the sound
  out. Viewers see the pause screen and hear nothing while the meeting carries on as normal.
  Use it for breaks. The same screen appears whenever there is nothing to show, for example
  when all cameras are off and nothing is shared.
• Layout Animations on or off

Streaming to your own server

Use your own server if you want the stream to stay inside your own infrastructure, for example on an internal media server, in a company CDN, or with a streaming provider other than YouTube and Twitch.

Entering the address

Two fields are used:

Field	Example	Notes
Server URL	rtmp://stream.example.com/live	Address of your server including the application path. Saved for next time.
Stream key	townhall-2026	Stream name or token. Not saved.

alfaview combines the two into the final address:

Server URL	Stream key	Result
rtmp://stream.example.com/live	townhall	rtmp://stream.example.com/live/townhall
rtmp://stream.example.com/live/	townhall	rtmp://stream.example.com/live/townhall
rtmps://stream.example.com:443/live	townhall	rtmps://stream.example.com:443/live/townhall
rtmp://stream.example.com/live?token=abc	townhall	rtmp://stream.example.com/live?token=abc/townhall

What your server has to support

Any streaming server that accepts a standard stream from common broadcasting software will accept the alfaview stream. If you run your own server, check it against this list.

Property	Value
Protocol	RTMP or RTMPS, depending on the address you enter
Default port	1935 for rtmp://, usually 443 for rtmps://
Publishing	One stream per session
Video	H.264, Main profile, no B-frames, 4:2:0, BT.709
Video bitrate	Approximately 4 Mbit/s, constant
Keyframe interval	2 seconds
Resolution and frame rate	1280×720 at 30, 1920×1080 at 30, or 1920×1080 at 60
Audio	AAC on Windows and macOS, MP3 on Linux
Audio bitrate	128 kbit/s
Audio sample rate	48 kHz for AAC, 44.1 kHz for MP3
Audio channels	Stereo

Important for mixed teams: The audio format depends on the operating system of the person streaming. Windows and macOS send AAC, Linux sends MP3. If your server only accepts AAC, streams from Linux will arrive without usable sound. Make sure your server and any transcoding accept both.

Checklist for your server

• [ ] Accepts H.264 video over RTMP or RTMPS
• [ ] Accepts both AAC and MP3 audio
• [ ] Has capacity for roughly 4.5 Mbit/s per incoming stream
• [ ] Works with a keyframe interval of 2 seconds, which is what most players and packagers expect
• [ ] Needs no login beyond what fits into the address and stream key
• [ ] Is reachable from the network of the person streaming, on the port you use
• [ ] Has a valid certificate if you use rtmps://

Example configuration

This is a minimal setup with nginx and its RTMP module. Other servers such as MediaMTX or a hosted streaming provider work in the same way.

rtmp {
    server {
        listen 1935;
        chunk_size 4096;

        application live {
            live on;
            record off;

            # Limit publishing to your own network
            allow publish 10.0.0.0/8;
            deny publish all;
            allow play all;

            # Optional: provide the stream as HLS for playback in a browser
            hls on;
            hls_path /var/www/hls;
            hls_fragment 2s;
            hls_playlist_length 60s;
        }
    }
}

With this setup you enter rtmp://your-server/live as the server URL and a stream name of your choice as the stream key. The HLS fragment length of 2 seconds matches the keyframe interval alfaview sends.

Testing before an event

1. Send a test stream from the network the presenter will actually use.
2. Confirm your server receives both picture and sound. If anyone in the team uses Linux, test from a Linux computer as well.
3. Watch the result through the normal playback path, not only on the server.
4. Check after a few minutes that picture and sound are still in sync.
5. Let the test run at least as long as the planned event. Problems with storage, transcoding or session limits often appear late.
6. Try a short network interruption so you know what viewers would see.

YouTube

1. Open YouTube Studio, go to Go Live and create a stream.
2. Copy the stream key. You do not need the address, alfaview selects a YouTube server automatically.
3. In alfaview choose Stream to YouTube, paste the key and start.

Latency settings, DVR options, chat, visibility (public, unlisted, private) and any recording of the broadcast are configured in YouTube Studio, not in alfaview. YouTube also shows a stream health indicator, which is the quickest way to confirm your stream is arriving.

Twitch

1. Open the Twitch Creator Dashboard, go to Settings, then Stream.
2. Copy the primary stream key.
3. In alfaview choose Stream to Twitch, paste the key and start.

alfaview picks a Twitch server for you. Starting a Twitch stream can take a few seconds longer than the other targets because of this.

Other platforms

Any other service that accepts a standard RTMP stream works through Stream to Custom Server. Take the address and stream key from that service and enter them as described in Streaming to your own server. This covers Facebook Live, LinkedIn Live, Vimeo, Restream, Castr and comparable providers.

Bandwidth and performance

Upload: Plan for about 4.5 Mbit/s for the stream. This is on top of what the meeting already uses and stays constant for the whole stream. We recommend at least 6 Mbit/s of free upload capacity, and more if other people share the same connection.

Computer: The stream is rendered and encoded continuously. On older computers, 720p at 30 FPS is noticeably easier to handle than 1080p at 60 FPS. If your computer cannot keep up, alfaview ends the stream with the message “The live stream was stopped due to low system performance.”

Latency

Expect a delay of several seconds between the meeting and the viewers. Most of it comes from the streaming service and the viewer’s player, not from alfaview. Depending on the service and its latency settings, ten to thirty seconds is normal.

Viewers cannot take part in the meeting through the stream. For questions from the audience, use a separate channel such as the chat of the platform, and keep the delay in mind.

If a stream stops

alfaview does not reconnect automatically. If the connection to the streaming server is lost, the stream ends and has to be started again by hand. Keep an eye on the toolbar button: if the red state and the timer disappear, the stream is no longer live.

A stream also ends when:

• the person streaming stops it
• the person streaming switches to another room or subroom, leaves, or closes the app
• the streaming permission is withdrawn
• the computer cannot keep up
• the streaming service closes the connection

Messages you may see:

Message	Meaning
Live stream ended due to an error. Please check network connection.	The connection was lost during the stream.
The live stream was stopped due to low system performance.	The computer could not keep up. Choose a lower quality preset.
Streaming permission has been revoked by the administrator.	The right or the room setting was switched off. This message can also appear when you switch to another room.
Live stream could not be started. Please check network connection.	The stream could not be prepared. Wait a moment and try again.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	What to check
The streaming option is not shown	Live streaming is not enabled for the room, or you do not have the moderator right. The browser and mobile versions of alfaview do not support streaming.
Start button stays inactive	The stream key field is empty, or your system does not support the video processing required for streaming.
Nothing happens after starting and no message appears	The streaming server could not be reached. Check the address, the stream key, whether the port is open in your network, and whether the server is running.
Stream does not start, YouTube or Twitch	The stream key has expired or belongs to a different channel. Create a new key and paste it again.
Stream does not start, Linux only	Check that your graphics hardware supports video encoding and that the package libmp3lame0 is installed.
Picture stutters or freezes	Not enough upload bandwidth, or the computer is overloaded. Switch to 720p at 30 FPS and use a cable connection.
No sound in the stream	The meeting itself is silent, for example everyone is muted. The stream carries the meeting audio only, not the sound of other programs.
No sound on your own server, Linux only	Linux sends MP3 audio. Make sure your server accepts it.
Picture and sound drift apart	Usually caused by the service or the player. Restart the stream and check with a different player.
The stream ended on its own	See If a stream stops. There is no automatic reconnect.
The wrong people are visible	Check the layout settings: VIP Videos Only, Gallery, Speaker or Automatic, and Hide My Video.

Privacy and legal notes

Before a stream starts, alfaview shows the Recording Legal Notice, which has to be confirmed. In short: responsibility for the lawfulness of recording or publishing a video communication in picture and sound lies with the person who starts it. As a rule the explicit and voluntary consent of everyone affected is required beforehand, and those people have to be informed about the circumstances, such as who is responsible, the purpose, who can access the material and how long it is kept. In case of doubt you have to be able to demonstrate that these conditions are met.

Further points:

• Streaming a meeting means the picture and sound of participants leave alfaview and reach the streaming service and its viewers. Inform participants beforehand and obtain the consent you need.
• alfaview makes a stream visible: everyone in the same subroom gets a message and a signal tone, and the red Live badge is shown throughout the room for as long as the stream runs.
• Once the stream reaches an external service, that service’s terms and privacy policy apply to it, including any recording, storage and further distribution. Please check this before streaming meetings with personal or confidential content.
• Stream keys are credentials. Anyone who has one can broadcast on your channel. alfaview does not store them, and the field is hidden while you are not editing it.
• Streams to YouTube and Twitch are not encrypted in transit. For your own server on the internet, use an rtmps:// address.

Good to know

• Live streaming is available in the desktop app for Windows, macOS and Linux, not in the browser or on mobile devices.
• Streaming and local recording cannot run at the same time on the same computer.
• Each person streams individually. If several people in a room have the right, each of them can run their own stream to their own target, and each gets their own Live badge.
• The video bitrate is the same for all quality presets and cannot be changed.
• There is no automatic reconnect after a lost connection.
• Resolution and frame rate cannot be changed during a stream.
• Stream keys have to be entered for every stream.
• A stream ends when the person streaming switches room or subroom, leaves, or closes the app.

FAQ

Can I record and stream at the same time?
No. While a stream is running, Start Local Recording is not offered, and while a recording is running, Start Live Stream is not offered. Stop one to start the other.

Do participants have to do anything?
No. Only the person starting the stream needs the permission and the stream key.

Can participants watch the stream?
Yes, through the streaming service like any other viewer. Keep the delay in mind, and watch out for audio feedback if someone watches the stream in the same room.

Can I stream to two platforms at once?
Not directly. Use a restreaming service or your own server as the target and let it forward the stream.

Is my own video part of the stream?
Yes, unless you switch on Hide My Video in the stream settings.

Is the stream a recording of my screen?
No. alfaview creates a separate layout for the stream. Your dialogs, notifications and sidebar are never visible to viewers.

What do I do during a break?
Use Pause in the stream settings. Viewers see a neutral alfaview screen and hear nothing, while the meeting carries on as normal.