Tumblr Goes Live!

Tumblr Live

Recently I shared on twitter after my own discovery that Tumblr now has a go live feature on their app and website. I'm not sure when they have initially rolled this update out but I can tell you that it is still very new. Check it out Tumblr Live.

One of my favorite topics to share with fellow content creators is how game changing it can be if you branch out and scatter your content on multiple platforms. Each social platform has its pros and cons and I know it can be overwhelming at times to balance distributing your content to multiple platforms but if you want to grow your brand it is a very helpful skill to add to your creative arsenal. 

I don't want to drag this conversation out, after all I only wanted to share how you can go live on tumblr using OBS Studio.

How to use OBS via Tumblr?

The first thing you'd want to do is download OBS Studio if you haven't already. I'm familiar with a few other broadcasting software's but OBS Studio is the most versatile in offering options such as unique features and plugins that ultimately aids in making your content unique to your communities.

Next, Make sure you have your game scenes properly set up. I recommend having the following display as Tumblr's live feature has limitations.

• Game Capture (PC/Console)
• Video Capture (Camera/Vtuber)
• Main Sources (Media, Lower thirds & etc.)

When you're scenes are ready just assume whatever is on your preview screen is what everyone else will see.

Tumblr's Recommended Settings

Currently, Tumblr Live stated on their site that the best user experience for video with Full HD resolutions at (1920x1080) is best performed with the framerate of 30 FPS. I have used 60 FPS and it worked just fine for reference.

Using Virtual Camera

After all of your scenes and settings are prepared it is almost time to go live. You will need to use OBS as a virtual camera by clicking the Start Virtual Camera button. If this feature is unavailable to you make sure that OBS is updated as this should be a built in feature. 

Preparing Tumblr Live

Finally, you can go live via Tumblr once you finish these last few steps. Navigate to Tumblr Live and click on the GO LIVE button. In the stream preview, you should notice a button for the manual selection of your camera and audio settings. This is located to the left of the START button. Change your camera option to the OBS Virtual Camera and you will should see the video from the OBS output (make sure you started the virtual camera via obs).

Also make sure to check Use Landscape Streaming if you want your entire screen captured.

Please Note: I use an audio mixer (GoXLR) so I use my "Broadcast Stream Mix for my mic so they can hear all audio being broadcasted.

If everything looks straight for you, add a description, select your tags and start the stream by clicking the START.