How to Go Live on Instagram From PC.
Instagram is on par with most Live apps where you can connect with your fans and friends. However, you cannot stream to PC or broadcast your desktop to Instagram Live, which is a big disappointment. So if you’re a writer like me who likes to show others step-by-step instructions on their projects in Premiere Pro, or even give Instagram giveaways, you’ll have to settle for an impromptu setup. But don’t worry, here’s an easy way to stream your desktop to Instagram Live easily. Try it now!
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How to broadcast live to Instagram from computer
To stream Instagram live from your PC or Mac, we will follow 4 easy steps.
- Download Yellow Duck and login to your Instagram account.
- Get Instagram stream key and RTMP URL.
- Download and configure OBS.
- Copy the stream key and RTMP URL to OBS
Step 1. Log in to Instagram with Yellow Duck.
To stream to Instagram from your computer, you need to download a software called Yellow duck. This will give you the keys you need to live. Install Yellow Duck for Mac or Windows and open it. It may take a few minutes for the program to install additional packages. Once that’s done, click “Get Started” to get started. Now enter your Instagram login details with your username, email or phone number and enter your password. It uses the Instagram API, so your credentials are safe.
If you want to enable the commenting function, check the box. You can also check the box to save Instagram live in Stories to share later. Please note that these settings cannot be changed once the stream has started.
Step 2. Get Instagram Stream Key and RTMP URL
After you click “Login and Get Started”, the download will take some time. The most important piece of information will now be displayed, namely your RTMP URL and Stream Key. I recommend that you copy the url and key into your notepad. We will use both of these to copy over to our broadcast software, which I will cover in the next step.
Both of these codes will expire in a few minutes. So, either generate them again or login after setting up the broadcast program.
3. Install and configure OBS.
Then you need to download any streaming software that supports RTMP like OBS, SLOBS, Wirecast, etc. In this case, we will download the popular free open source software – OBS. Not only does it support Instagram, it also lets you stream YouTube, Twitter, Vimeo, and many other platforms. Download OBS for Windows and Mac, follow the installation instructions and launch OBS Studio.
If this is your first time using it, you will be presented with an automatic configuration wizard. Answer “No”, we will manually set it up for Instagram.
Next, we will create a profile with all the settings for Instagram. So, if you also stream games, including YouTube, you can create multiple profiles to switch between settings with a single click.
To install a new profile, click on the profile in the toolbar at the top. Pick a new one, give it a name, in our case Instagram, and click OK.
Now let’s make the video settings unique to this profile (Instagram). You can find the settings in the lower right corner of the screen. Just click on the option which will open a new settings tab. In the sidebar, click Videos to open the video settings.
Since the default profile is landscape (1920 × 1080), unlike the Instagram story, we will need to change the resolution. To do this, click on the first option, that is, the base (canvas) resolution. Now change the value from 1920 × 1080 to 1080 × 1920 and click OK.
This will change the screen orientation and you will see an Instagram Story similar to the layout. You don’t need to mess with other settings.
The next step is to add the scene collection. Scenes are, in simple terms, like layers in Photoshop. These are the layers of video and audio that make the composition of each scene unique. You can have multiple scenes and sources (video / audio). This way you can bring your desktop and webcam composition to life on the screen.
You can create a collection of scenes from the top toolbar. Click a scene collection and select a new one. Then give it a name, in our case Instagram, and hit OK.
When you’re done, it’s time to add some meat to the recipe, which is the video and audio layers, which is the most important part.
In our case, the most important thing is a custom desktop. To do this, click the add icon at the bottom, select the screenshot, give it a name (desktop) and click OK.
I’m sure you’ll want to shoot with the camera too, as it’s great for interacting with users. To enable the webcam, click the add icon again and select a video capture device. You can choose a different webcam if you have an external option, otherwise just click OK to use the default camera.
More than halfway along the way, the most important interaction function, sound, is still missing. As I said, we are working in a layer style like in Photoshop, we need to add an audio input. This can be done in the same way by clicking the add icon at the bottom and choosing to capture audio input. Name this input / microphone whatever you like and click OK.
Before you start streaming, you can drag and drop both frames, resize, overlap, and more. When you’re satisfied with the composition, check the sound on the audio mixer below. As you speak, you will notice a jump in the microphone level. This means everything is going according to plan and you can start streaming.
Step 4. Copy and paste the stream key and RTMP URL into OBS.
On a yellow duck
Enter Instagram details Create RTMP URL and Stream Key
In OBS Studio
Open settings click on stream copy RTML url (server) and stream key from Yellow Duck OK
This is it. All you have to do is click on the start of streaming in the lower right corner. Whenever you want to end your broadcast, click Stop Broadcast in the same option. After you stop streaming here, select Save & End on Yellow Duck to save Instagram Live to your Stories.
Knows problems and solutions
Desktop black screen
You may encounter a blank screen when trying to broadcast your desktop and windows. This issue is quite common on systems with more than one graphics adapter, where one GPU is used for high performance applications such as games, while the other can be used to handle windows and desktop to save power. To solve this problem, we have to get OBS to run on the same GPU as the screen. To do this, just follow the instructions below. Right Click on Desktop Display Settings Scroll down to Graphics Settings Browse C: Program Files obs-studio bin 64bit Options Power Saving Mode
Endless desktops
If you are just starting to use OBS Studio for the first time, this may seem like a problem, but in reality it is not. Since you are using OBS Studio to capture the monitor, it in turn captures OBS Studio on the screen. This leads to an endless cycle of mirrors. You can fix this problem by minimizing the screen, which solves the problem and you can stream normally, or crop the image so that the preview area on the desktop is not what you are shooting. Alternatively, if your workflow is about capturing the browser or other applications, you can also add a window capture and cast multiple windows at once.
Concluding remarks
So this was the easiest way to broadcast your desktop on Instagram. Just follow the instructions as is and you should be able to stream smoothly. Also, some may notice the infinity screen when you start streaming in the OBS studio. This is because it is mirrored, which gives it a continuous mirroring effect. This will disappear as soon as you minimize the screen. If you have any questions, please leave a comment below.
Also read the best Instagram hashtags apps for iOS and Android