There are many options available to DJ’s for getting exposure online and once you have various social outposts set up, your focus is not only mixing, but it’s self promotion too. Most people have Facebook and therefore I wanted to show you how to stream a live video DJ Mix directly to your Facebook Page.

What Equipment is Required in Connecting UStream to Facebook?

It doesn’t matter what equipment you are using, but it is likely that the specific requirements will change depending on your set up. Each controller, or set-up can differ so much that it may mean you will require different cables or extra computers or something other than what you currently have. I used a Traktor Kontrol S4 for my broadcast, but you are able to use anything really, so long as a few criteria are met. Aside from the obvious requirements of a Computer, Traktor and Internet; in order for a Stream to work you need the following minimal requirements:

• Facebook Page (Not Profile)
• Ustream Account
• a computer with a built in camera and an ‘audio in’ port
• Depending on your set up, you may need a second computer?

Facebook Page

Ustream does not allow you to stream to your personal Facebook profile as yet and therefore you will need a Page of some sort. Obviously not everyone has a fan page, but if you want to promote yourself as a DJ, then it’s not a bad thing to have.  If you’re unsure how to set up a Facebook Page, then take a look at this How To.

Ustream Account

Once you have your Facebook Page Set up, you will need a Ustream Account. Its’ very easy and simple to set up – Head to Ustream.tv and sign up.
Once your account is set up you will need to install the Ustream Facebook App.

• Go to ustream.tv/facebook
• Click the ‘Get it now’ Button
• You will be diverted to Facebook where you must log in.
• You then have the option to pick the page you would like the App to be installed on – Select your DJ Page

Once you have agreed to the conditions and have activated the Ustream Facebook App you should see the Ustream Tab appear on your Page:

If like in the image above, you don’t see the Ustream App – then click the small drop down arrow to the right of the tabs:

When you see the blue Ustream Tab appear, you can hover over it with the mouse and switch positions with something in the top row, so that it always appears in prime location on your Facebook Page:

When the page is all set up you can go ahead and click the Ustream Tab – this will take you to the Ustream page where you can then connect it to your Ustream account. If you have set up more than one Ustream channel you can chose which one you would like displayed in this tab. As you can see from the image below, I have 2 channels – I selected the Traktor Tips Channel to Appear in the Traktor Tips Facebook Page Ustream Tab.

Once you have your Facebook Ustream App all set up and ready to go, your Ustream Tab will look like the screen below. You are able to go live right from within the tab, or if you prefer, you can go live from inside Ustream itself. When you are streaming live, the video area inside the Facebook Tab will display a play button and anyone directed to this facebook Tab, will be abe to press play. You are also able to share this stream live on your Facebook Wall, to notify your friends that you are live. Once live, you can chose between facebook comments or a chat window that integrates in real time with the chat window inside Ustream.

How to DJ on Ustream

So now you have your Ustream and Facebook all set up, the important part is getting video and audio into the stream so you can invite all your friends to come and watch the show!

Ustream uses flash technology, open up your Ustream account on your web browser and click the ‘Go Live’ button. You will then be presented with your options for connecting various audio and video outputs. See which options are best for your set up.

First you need to ‘Allow‘ Flash to access your camera and audio. Then I would recommend you select Built in Input for your Audio. Selecting microphone will give you poor quality and will also pick up everything you say and do in your room.

What’s your set up?

You need to decide what set up you are going to use? For my broadcast I used the following:

• Kontrol S4
• MacBook Pro with built in Camera and an Audio In port

The S4 has 2 audio outputs which is great for this task. One output will go directly to my speakers and the other output will go to the audio input on my computer. You obviously need the right cables to perform this operation. As many laptop ‘audio in’ ports are a small 1/8″ jack in (3.5mm), you will need either a split mono RCA or split mono 1/4″ (8mm) jack on one end; to a single stereo 1/8″ (3.5mm) jack on the other.

 

Click the images above to be directed to Amazon for your cables

If your mixer does not have 2 Outputs, then you can use a splitter cable to split the audio between your Speakers and the ‘audio in‘ port on your Computer.

If your computer does not have an ‘Audio in‘ port, then you may want to research the use of ‘Jack Router‘ – this is a complex application that will require quite a bit of set up and a lot of figuring out. I definitely recommend that you try and find a computer with an ‘Audio in’ port for the easiest set up.

You said I might need two computers?

Yes, using one computer to DJ off and to film from, can either create for a rather dull camera angle, or make it difficult for you to see the screen. This is why having two computers can make things a little better for both the viewer and yourself. If you don’t have that luxury though, you can try setting the computer as far way from you as possible, so the camera captures your skills on the decks whilst you are still able to see the screen.

Alternatively you can simply turn off the camera and simply broadcast the audio.

I managed to find a decent location for the laptop up high and to one side, with the screen folded down looking at my hands on the controller. I was still able to see the screen and able to toggle between Traktor and Ustream incase I needed to talk to anyone else in the chat room.

Broadcasting

Once you have everything connected and all the settings correct, you can adjust the levels to make sure the sound is coming through – You will want to mute the sound on the computer before you go live, or you will be forced to listen to yourself with a 5 to 10 second delay or so. Very Annoying.

When you are up and running – you can head back over to facebook and use the share function we covered earlier in this article.

Ustream also has an option to connect Twitter and Facebook, so you can spread your messages right from within the Ustream App.

Share your Mixes on Ustream

You can record your mixes as you stream, doing so will then place all your mixes on rotation, so that when anybody visits your Ustream Facebook App, or Ustream page, they will see these mixes playing on rotation. The free version limits you to 10GB of storage. Alternatively, you can set the player, like I have, to cycle through a slideshow whilst you are off air.

Post your streams in the comments below along with any questions you may have….

Happy Streaming…..