Getting started with Sermons.io Livestream
Livestream Checklist:
Hardware Requirements:
1: An iOS Device running iOS 9.2 or higher.
Any iOS device is fine. An iPhone, an iPad, or an iPod Touch should all work just as well as any other. We will probably be recommending that people purchase a dedicated iPod Touch if they are able. The iPod Touch starts at $199, and you can get a refurbished model directly from Apple for $169. If you already have an iOS device, that will be just fine.
2: An audio interface to get your sound feed into the iPod/iPhone/iPad.
If you have a soundboard and you can get an audio feed right from the board:
Right now we're officially supporting the PreSonus AudioBox iOne, which you can get from Amazon for $89. http://amzn.to/2032I44
If you'd like to try something simpler, you might give this adapter a go: http://amzn.to/1STB4Hj
Feel free to give a similar device a try and let us know your results. We have not had time to try a wide variety of hardware at this point. Also, we cannot guarantee that we'll be able to support every piece of audio hardware, so please purchase from somewhere that offers a good return policy.
If, on the other hand, you don't have the ability to get a feed from the soundboard:
You could try getting a dedicated lapel mic for this device, like this one: http://amzn.to/1nzWKv4
If you use this type of setup, the preacher will keep the device in their pocket for the entire stream.
Software Requirments:
You'll need the Sermons.io Livestream Broadcaster app installed on your device. It is only available on iOS.
Note: While you will need an iOS device to broadcast, the listener can use any platform they want. The stream format is MP3 and is supported on Mac, Windows, Android, iOS, Windows Phone, etc.
Once you have the software installed, going live is as simple as can be. You'll add your livestream code the first time you launch the app, and then from there it's a simple matter of tapping "Go Live" when you're ready! Your livestream will appear on a special page on your Sermons.io site. You'll be able to see this link in the Management interface of your Sermons.io account, or your visitors will see it in the navigation bar when you are broadcasting live.
Other Notes:
If possible you will want to test this process before Sunday. At this time we aren't able to provide real-time support on Sunday Mornings, so any debugging you can do before Sunday, the better.
Livestream is still in beta. Things may occasionally have problems or not work correctly. We recommend that if you invite people to listen to your livestream during the beta that you let them know that the entire system is in beta, and there may be some hiccups. We're working as hard as we can to provide a rock-solid and stable platform and we've made a lot of progress toward that goal. We need your help to complete the process.
