All this IRL streaming stuff (driven by desire to share machine builds, networking, running, long-boarding, reading a good book, camping, interviewing interesting people, capturing art shows, and making coffee on stream) warped my brain into thinking that I had to use StreamLabs OBS to really be a serious streamer. Also, OBS continues to crash or require a reboot when making a new RTMP Media Source. But the change was mostly prompted by the fact that StreamLabs has a fully synchronized interface across all devices, including mobile, which is what I was exploring. The SL mobile app is really the only significant offering in the space. It allows (almost like a Linux app) customization of everything and allows multiple streaming to different targets as well as local LAN. Let’s just say that the GoPro app does not allow that.
Having a powerful, portable live-streaming “lab” on your mobile device is really a must for IRL streaming. It allows setting up interviews and putting your “camera” on a tripod and all the normal things you would require a camera specialist to focus. Plus, if I am doing anything where I move intensely it is the only way to add a camera with motion stability (like GoPro or Sony). The SL app is pretty much exactly what I would create if I wanted an app on my phone.
Thankfully JalopyJones and others reminded me that creating a rig with just a 4/5G router is just a matter of adding a webcam to a Rasperry Pi (or equivalent). The rest is just the same as any local LAN setup. (I’ll write about that separately.) During the conversation, however, the most important realization hit me.
What do I do on the road if my OBS on my home/cloud server needs restarting?
This one reality check was all I needed so say me from realizing that Windows is never the answer for this kind of stuff. After all, most of the devices that are front-and-center in the competition for live-streamers dollars are built on Linux internally (LiveU, x.265 encoder, etc.). Windows is trying its hardest to become Linux and Mac has been UNIX based for the last two decades or so. UNIX/Linux has won, so why would I invest time in learning something else?
Plus when something goes wrong in Linux (as does happen) I can actually do something about it to fix it. Most of the time this is completely impossible in Mac or Windows. There are FOSS offerings, but they are usually shrouded. I really like that SL OBS is fundamentally built on a FOSS application (OBS) and their plugins are available for those who want to use their own OBS. It is true, however, that the Linux OBS is woefully behind the OBS Studio applications for Mac and Windows. But, for me, that’s not complete a problem.
What is a problem is OBS Media Sources hanging when the RTMP/SRT stream stops. I have to cobble together something to watch for and correct that or even find or write my own plugin to manage it. Such a task would be virtually impossible on Windows (but not completely because, after all, it is also just OBS). Worst case, I could ssh into my home OBS system and correct the problem remotely. The idea of attempting the same on Windows is terrifying.
Then there is the whole issue of uptime. I’ve never had a Windows system stay up more than a few days. Inevitably, something breaks. But my Linux workstations regularly go a month or more without a reboot. This allows things like my fishies and radio to be all the time. It allows me to ssh into workstation from laptop and attach to TMUX. Windows never will allow for that in as seamless a fashion. No application would every overshadow that value.
It is very rare for a Linux application to force the entire OS to be rebooted. So even if OBS hangs or crashes, the supporting OS to which I would need to ssh into from the road, is rock solid and really unlikely to require a reboot ever. This is a serious fucking consideration for people managing their own OBS workstations for their streaming (which greatly reduces the cost because there are no cloud fees involved). In fact, it’s really the only viable way to do any serious IRL streaming from the road in a digital nomad style.
💬I wish they would make an OBS that you can run headless from the cloud, but that’s unlikely. It would still be expensive, however, to send a 1080p stream to (and from) it constantly.
Windows fails for uptime because of the fundamental flaw in Windows OS design that ties the desktop (windows) code to the OS itself. The UNIX philosophy is what keeps Linux so robust and sustainable despite the frequent quirks.
So I’ll be staying on PopOS even though I really detest the changes they made to the window manager that force you to pick between zooming in and out on all windows or searching for an app. These were combined before and have been broken out. That was a huge design mistake made by people who don’t use it.
Tags:
#lessonslearned #tips #irl #windows #linux