How to Live Stream to YouTube, Facebook Using an Amcrest IP Camera

This article will provide insight on how you can live stream your Amcrest camera to streaming platforms such as Youtube, Facebook, Twitch, etc, using castr.io. This article is applicable to all Amcrest cameras with a functioning IP address and RTSP capabilities.

Step 1: Visit the castr.io website and sign up for an account. To signup for an account, go to https://castr.io/pricing/

On the castr.io website you will notice multiple plan options, some of which offer free trials. Choose a plan and complete the signup portion. 

Step 2: Once you have finished signing up for your castr.io account, click on Create New. 

Select New Multistream if you will be streaming to multiple sites, or select New All in One Stream if you would like to live stream to a single player or site. In this example, we will be streaming to a single site. If you have chosen a plan which features a free trial, click on Activate Trial to continue. 

Step 3: Enter a name for your stream and select a hosting region from the Hosting Region dropdown menu. Click Save.

Step 4: The status will currently say, offline. To continue we need to add the platform you will be streaming on. Click on the Add Platform button. 

Step 4: Select the platform you would like to publish your stream to from the provided list. 

Step 5: You can connect with your platform's account directly or with a stream key from the server. As a recommendation, it is advised to use a dedicated stream key. Click on, Setup With Server/Key. 

For more information on how to access your YouTube stream key, click here.

Step 6: In the castr.io dashboard, paste the server URL (streaming server) and the stream name/key (stream key) into their appropriate fields. Click Create Platform.

Step 7: Next, you will need the RTSP information from your camera that castr.io is going to pull from to stream your video. The format of the RTSP information will be as follows: "rtsp://UserName:Password@IPAddress/cam/realmonitor?channel=1&subtype=0 be sure to change "UserName:Password@IPAddress". 

Note: To find your external (Public) IP, go to Google and type in What's My IP? Please note, the public IP will change if the router or device has been reset unless a static IP is set. Additionally, subtype=0 is for substream (lower end resolution and subtype=1 will be the mainstream of your camera feed. 

Step 8: Next, you will need access to your router so you can port forward the Amcrest camera's TCP and UDP ports to 554. This will make the feed accessible from the internet. Since every router is different, please consult your particular router's manufacturer or Google on how to port forward on your particular model router. Be sure to add the camera to your router and set the TCP and UDP ports to 554 and save.

Step 9: Navigate back to the castr.io dashboard and change the stream from Publish to Pull. Then, in the Pull Source field, enter the RTSP IP Information described in step 7 and click Save.

Allow the stream to pull and the URL to save. Once the media has loaded, your stream will be active and will appear in the stream window to the right. 

Step 10. Click on the restream toggle switch, next to the add platform button, to allow the stream to stream to your selected platform. 

To view the stream, navigate back to your platform to preview the stream. For instance, on YouTube, click on Live Control Room, click on Preview, and then click on Start Streaming. Click Ok and click on View on Watch Page to view the stream. 

For a detailed video on how to perform this task as well, click here.