This is a somewhat advanced concept. If you are new to video streaming, please consider using MAS' tools instead.
The MAS video ingest server is capable of receiving video feed directly from a third party source. If you have a piece of software or hardware that can produce an RTMP stream (i.e. H.264/AAC in FLV) then you do not have to use the opinionated MAS tooling for streaming and can instead use tools you are already familiar with.
You may wish to do this if:
- You are already familiar with using OBS/vMix/XSplit, and/or;
- You are doing a sophisticated local production (e.g. multiple cameras, other professional hardware, and things like instant-replay), and/or;
- You want to output to destinations not supported by MAS (e.g. Twitch ), and/or;
- You don't like the way MAS does its video compression (the "best-case" MAS will do is 1080P @ 30FPS in a 6000k bitrate - making for a "flat" looking Full HD picture).
Otherwise, the recommended way to send MAS video is to stream through a laptop using desktop Chrome web browser.
You have two options to consider when streaming this way:
- Use MAS to relay video and (optionally) print the overlay to your video, or;
- Just use MAS to create the overlay, you will need to send directly to YouTube/Twitch/Facebook/whatever yourself.
Continue Using MAS for Video Processing
MAS may still provide some utility if you are new to these third party tools, or you want us to handle printing overlays, creating replays, and dispatching out to YouTube/Facebook/Twitch for you.
You may wish to consider this if you're just getting started, but bare in mind MAS resamples video to 1080P/30FPS, and has strict rules about dropping frames/not sending a continuous reliable video stream (you will be timed out after 10 minutes of inactivity for example). It is strongly recommended to instead consider using MAS to just create the overlay and you handle the rest of the broadcast yourself.
Configuring the Video Server (optional)
By default the MAS video server will draw the overlay to the video you send it. If you are using a third party, turn this off when you are setting up your match in the "Advanced Settings" section so the server does not ruin your production by re-drawing this unnecessarily.
RTMP
The default way of receiving video on the MAS server is RTMP. If you have a software product that can send an RTMP stream to our server, MAS should be able to ingest it.
Of important note: video is restricted to 1920x1080 @ 30FPS (1080P30) maximum - resolutions lower than this (e.g. 720P) will be upscaled to 1080P. If you need to stream in a lower resolution without this upscaling, you will need to print the overlay locally and send directly to your receiver and MAS (and just ignore the MAS version).
The video server will resize anything not in a 16:9 resolution.
Finding the Video Server
When a match is started (and not beforehand), a video ingest server is dynamically allocated to your match - it will take up to two minutes for the server to be "ready" (during this time it will report as being Not available - don't worry it is spinning up!), and you then have a following 10 minutes to start sending it video.
To find the RTMP endpoint:
- Open the match settings dialog
- Scroll down to Advanced Settings
- Copy the RTMP URL taking the structure
rtmp://{server_address}/live/{game_id} - Paste this into your software's RTMP destination
Sending the Result to MAS
If you decide to draw the overlay locally and/or stream directly to your YouTube, Facebook or elsewhere you must still send MAS a video feed to keep the overlay server alive and must do this within 10 minutes of a match beginning.
This has the added benefit that MAS will continue to create highlights for you on your platform backend - even if you don't make your video public elsewhere inside MAS (i.e. on Watch).
Only Using MAS for Overlays
If you're already using a third party tool for video production, you may as well just skip the MAS video rendering pipeline and instead consume the overlay and control your own outputs.
In this case, you aren't bound by MAS' opinions for the video (1080P/30FPS), or the rules for attaching video (must be done within 10 minutes, dropped frames could result in an "error" message to users etc.).
You need to opt-in to this process by:
- Disabling MAS as a video consumer in your account settings dialog, then;
- Disabling MAS video when creating each match and setting up to just receive the overlay
Note: by not sending a video feed to MAS, platform features such as post-match replays will not be available. Streams/matches do not automatically end - you will need to hit "end stream"/"end game" in you match to clean these up.
There is no penalty for not doing so, and allows you to continue using old games in the future for whatever reason, but will eventually cause your scoring dashboard to become quite messy.
Finding the Overlay Server
In either case, when a match is started (and not beforehand), the MAS overlay server will start drawing an HTML graphic to a webpage. This is how MAS creates and works with overlays behind the scenes - generating HTML graphics and printing these over the top of the video you send us. When using a third party video production tool like OBS, vMix, or XSplit (amongst anything that can take in a web browser/HTML source) you can read this HTML graphic directly and draw it to your video broadcast.
Unlike the video server, the overlay is available immediately so you can (in theory):
- Start a game in MAS
- Attach video and overlay graphics to your OBS/vMix/XSplit/whatever
- Send MAS video server the result (optional)
In that order so you're not just waiting for the MAS video server to become ready.
To find the Overlay endpoint:
- Open the match settings dialog
- Scroll down to Overlay Settings
- Copy the Overlay URL taking the structure
https://overlays.myactionsport.com/{scoring_keyboard}?game={game_id} - Paste this into your software's HTML/web browser input source