Look great at your virtual session!
OBS (Open Broadcast System) is a free and open source software for video recording and live streaming and available for iOS, Windows and Linux.
With this tool, you can set up the layout of your presentation in advance. That means that you will be able arrange your video and presentation slides on the SMX background that we will send to you - days before going live on the virtual stage in Hopin. When you enter your session in Hopin, you just select the virtual OBS camera with the layout and you're ready to go!
In this briefing, you can find a step by step guide with short video instructions. You can either set up OBS in advance or together with us during the test run.
Please download OBS here: https://obsproject.com/ and open the application on your computer.
General set up of OBS
Explanation
Canvas: This is your preview window where you will add and arrange your presentation elements like your camera, a background and your slides. Everything you see on this canvas will be streamed into Hopin.
Scene: A scene is like a "set up" - you need to create a scene in order to set up your streaming layout
Source: The sources describe the elements you add such as camera, slides and background
Output: Here you can activate the virtual camera in order to stream into Hopin
Step by Step video tutorial of how to set up and use OBS
Click on the PLAY button to watch each instruction!
Step 1 - Create a scene
On the left hand side, you can set up different scenes. This is very useful if you are using OBS on a regular basis. Don't forget to name it accordingly, e.g. "SMX Session" so you can easily identify it again on the day of your presentation.
Step 2 - Add sources (background slide, your camera and your presentation) and arrange the layout
Next to “Scenes” you find “Sources". Here you add the different elements you want to display, such as the SMX background, your camera and your presentation slides.
Just click on “+” to add an element and select the item you want to upload / add.
- To add the SMX background slide, click on "Image" and browse for the file
- To add your presentation slides, open your presentation first (ppt / pdf) and click on "Window Capture" to add the slides
- To add your camera, click on "Video Capture Device" and select your usual webcam device
To make sure you don't change the layout by mistake, just click on the small lock next to the individual elements.
Please download our virtual SMX background here!
Step 3 - Start the virtual camera and choose "OBS virtual camera" in Hopin
To be able to use OBS for your presentation, you have to activate the "virtual camera" feature first on the right hand side under "Output".
When you enter your session in Hopin, you'll be able to select "OBS virtual camera" instead of your usual webcam camera. The layout you set up in advance will then be displayed right away. In Hopin the image is mirrored but for participants everything looks normal.
If you can’t select OBS as your virtual camera in Hopin, please restart your computer. This usually solves the problem!
Step 4 - Switch from your presentation layout to the Q&A layout
For the Q&A part after the session it will look best to only have you as the speaker on screen, without your presentation slides. You can also set this up beforehand and determine how the Q&A layout should look like.
Just create a second Scene and name it "Q&A". After you finished your presentation you click on the second scene in order to switch the streaming layout.
FAQ
1. Do we have to use OBS? We want to achieve a consistent and professional look and feel of the conference, thererfore we highly recommend to OBS as your virtual broadcasting software. It also guarantees that we can help you in case of any technical problems during the conference. We cannot guarantee that other software works smoothly in our virtual platform Hopin.
2. Did we forget to add an audio source? No. It is possible to add your microphone to the scene BUT when you enter Hopin you also have to select your audio source. To avoid any confusion and technical problems, we will only set up the virtual part of your presentation.
3. OBS doesn't appear as a camera option in Hopin. What did I do wrong? Please restart your computer, this usually solves the problem.
4. Can I display my webcam image in portrait format, for example, because I would like to give the presentation standing up? Generally, a presentation that is held standing up looks more dynamic than one that is held sitting down. To adjust your webcam image to portrait format, you can crop the window with your camera image. To do this, first select your image in the preview window (a red frame must be visible). Next, click on the right mouse button and select the field "Edit transformation" under "Transform". In a pop-up window you can crop your camera image on the right and left side. On both sides we recommend to crop "350".
5. Who do I contact in case I have any further questions regarding OBS? We are happy to help you with any questions related to the setup in OBS. Please send an email to Christina (cberger@risingmedia.com) and Lisa (lschoen@risingmedia.com)