How to Set Up a Live Stream with MEDIAL and OBS
A great live stream starts before the live broadcast begins. The holding screen, branding, event information and recording settings all help create a polished experience from start to finish.
With MEDIAL and OBS, you can bring those pieces together in a straightforward workflow. MEDIAL controls the event page and what your audience sees at each stage, while OBS sends your live stream into MEDIAL. Once you have configured your channel, customised its appearance and entered the connection details, you are ready to start streaming.
Here is the complete setup process, including scene previews, scheduled transitions, production access and automatic archiving.
1. Open Your Live Streaming Channel
Start in your MEDIAL dashboard and select the Live Streaming icon. This takes you to your live streaming channels, where you can create a new channel or work with one you have already set up.
If you already have an OBS channel, select Edit beside that channel. You will arrive in the Director View, the area used to manage the different stages of your event.
Think of the Director View as your event control area. Rather than treating the event as one continuous playback screen, MEDIAL lets you prepare what appears before the broadcast, during the live stream and after it finishes.
This is the place to start shaping the full event experience before connecting OBS.
2. Preview Scenes and Plan Your Event Timing
At the top of the Director View, you will find the Preview button. This lets you move between scenes and check their content without changing the actual live stream.
That distinction is important: checking a page should not mean sending it live. Use Preview to review the different stages of the event safely, especially when you are preparing holding content or checking your branding.
MEDIAL also includes a Based on Time option. Instead of switching each scene manually, you can schedule transitions for specific times.
For example, an event could follow this schedule:
- 4:00 p.m.:
Display a pre-event holding slide.
- 5:00 p.m.:
Switch to the live stream.
- 6:00 p.m.:
Display the interval scene.
This gives you a clear structure for the event and allows MEDIAL to automate those scene changes. If your event has a defined running order, preparing the transitions ahead of time means fewer manual changes during production.
Keep the two controls distinct: Preview is for checking content; Based on Time is for scheduling what appears during the event.
3. Assign the Person Managing Production
You do not have to manage every part of the live stream yourself. The Assign User option lets you give a specific user access to log in and control the stream.
This is particularly useful when someone else is responsible for production on the day. You can prepare the channel, then assign the person who will operate it during the event.
Before moving on, decide who will handle the live controls. Setting that responsibility early keeps the setup process clear and ensures the person managing the event has the access they need.
4. Customise What Appears at Each Stage
Next, open Appearances. This is where you configure the content displayed at the different stages of your event.
You can choose the format that best suits each stage:
- Pre-recorded video
for a welcome message or holding content.
- A static image
for a simple branded screen.
- Custom HTML
for tailored content, including links to your website.
- MEDIAL default videos
for ready-made event messages.
- Your own uploaded content
for an experience aligned with your brand.
The useful part is that you can make these choices separately for each stage. Your pre-event content does not need to look the same as your interval or post-event content.
A holding message can reassure your audience that the event will begin shortly. An interval screen can give the broadcast a clear pause, while post-event content can explain that the live session has finished.
Choose the content for each stage, then return to Preview to check how it appears. That gives you an opportunity to review the event experience before you start sending the OBS feed.
5. Add Branding, Messaging and Helpful Links
Once the stage content is in place, open Page Modules to configure the surrounding page elements.
These modules help turn the stream into a complete event page. You can enable messaging, create branded headers, display text during selected parts of the event and add hyperlinks.
Each element has a practical role:
- Messaging
adds a communication option to the event experience.
- Branded headers
help the page feel consistent with your organisation.
- Text modules
provide information at the relevant stage of the event.
- Hyperlinks
give your audience access to related destinations.
You can also control when elements appear. Information intended for the pre-event stage may not be needed during the live broadcast, so configure the modules around the event’s flow.
The aim is a page that feels polished and useful, with the right information available at the right time.
6. Enable Archiving for On-Demand Playback
Before connecting OBS, go to Settings and open Destination. This is where you decide what happens to the content after the live stream ends.
If you enable archiving, MEDIAL automatically records the event and saves it to your library, ready for on-demand playback.
This makes the recording part of your live streaming setup rather than a separate task to remember afterwards. If you want the event available beyond the live session, configure archiving before you begin.
For a broader look at the workflow, including automatic archiving and event presentation, our guide to live streaming with OBS and MEDIAL covers the wider setup.
7. Connect OBS to MEDIAL
Now return to the Director View and check that you have selected the playback page you want your audience to see when streaming begins. With the event page prepared, you can connect OBS.
Open OBS, select Settings, then go to Stream. Set the service to Custom.
The MEDIAL connection details map to the OBS fields as follows:
Copy the server name from MEDIAL.
Paste it into the OBS server URL field and ensure the address begins with
rtmp://
.
- Copy the application name from MEDIAL.
Append it to the server URL as the application path.
Copy the file name from MEDIAL.
Paste it into the
Stream Key
field in OBS.
- Enter the authentication details.
MEDIAL support can provide the username and password.
The key distinction is simple: the server name and application name form the destination URL, while the file name becomes the stream key. Keep those values in their corresponding fields.
Once the details are entered, return to the main OBS interface and select Start Streaming. OBS will now send your live stream into MEDIAL.
Your Final Pre-Stream Check
Before starting, confirm that your scenes have been previewed, your transitions are configured, the production user is assigned and the correct playback page is selected. Check archiving if you need an on-demand recording, then verify the OBS connection fields.
With those pieces in place, you have more than a connected video feed. You have a prepared event experience, with branded content, clear stages and a plan for what happens when the broadcast ends.
Ready to take your live streaming to the next level? See what MEDIAL can do for you.
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