Stream Live Audio
Awdio and Mixlr are software that allow you to stream audio live to the internet. Awdio uses the Adobe Flash plugin to stream directly from your web browser - all you need to do is download the plugin and setup an account. To get started with Mixlr, install the software, create an account, connect a microphone (if using a desktop), and start streaming! Don’t forget, broadcasting is live and public!
Contents
Steps
Using Awdio (Browser)
- Download and install the Adobe Flash plugin. This is required to use the voice broadcasting features of Awdio.
- Google Chrome comes with Adobe Flash preinstalled.
- Connect a microphone to your computer. If you plan to live stream voice, then a microphone is necessary. Most modern laptops have an internal microphone, but desktops will need to connect one externally.
- Sign up for an Awdio account. Enter a username, password, email, and press “Sign Up”.
- Click “Broadcast”. This button appears in the top menu bar on the left and will take you to you to the “My Channel” page.
- Complete your channel profile. You will need to fill every field when creating an account including: channel description, channel tags (genres), channel location, personal URL, and profile photo.
- You won’t be able to create events (and thus broadcast) without a completed profile.
- Click “Broadcast Now”. This will create an event page for you to begin broadcasting.
- Click “Upload Music”. An upload interface will appear below.
- Click “Upload”. A window will open to browse for music files. Select music files and click “Open” to add them to the stream.
- Click “Awdio Soft”. This button will open a window with controls for your Awdio stream.
- You may be prompted to allow adobe flash player to
- Select your microphone from the “Awdio Source” dropdown menu. This menu appears at the top of the Awdio popup.
- If your microphone does not appear, try reconnecting it and reloading the window.
- Choose an option from the “Awdio Quality” dropdown. Audio quality is measured by bitrate (kilobytes per second). A higher bitrate will be better quality, but use more bandwidth.
- If you have a slower internet connection, choose a lower bitrate.
- Click “Start Broadcast”. Your microphone will activate and you will begin streaming live audio!
- You stream can be shared using your personalized URL in your profile. (e.g. www.awdio.com/[name])
Using Mixlr (Mobile)
- Download and open the Mixlr app from the App Store or Play Store. Tap “Install” then “Open” once the installation completes.
- Tap “Continue” if this is your first time launching the app. This will bypass the app introduction and take you to the main app screen.
- Tap “Me”. This button is located at the bottom of the screen and will prompt you to login or create an account.
- You can also access the login options by tapping “Settings” (gear icon) in the upper left of the screen.
- Sign in or create an account. Enter your username and password and tap “Submit” in the upper right corner.
- If you have a Facebook account, you can use it to sign in without creating a new account
- Tap “Broadcast”.
- You may be prompted to allow Mixlr to access your microphone. Tap “Allow” or you will be unable to broadcast.
- Enter a title and category for your broadcast (optional). This information will let others identify your stream more easily.
- If you are not prompted to enter this information, you can set it later by going to “Settings > Broadcast Settings > Broadcast Title”.
- Tap the center button to begin streaming live. Your device’s microphone will begin recording and uploading all audio to the Mixlr broadcast page.
- A timer will display showing your broadcast time. Free accounts are limited to 1 hour per day.
- Press “Stop” to stop the stream. You will be prompted to save or delete the recording of your broadcast.
- You can enable or disable stream recording in “Settings > Broadcast Settings > Broadcast Recording”. Recording is enabled by default.
Using Mixlr (Desktop)
- Connect a microphone to your computer (optional). If you plan to live stream voice, then a microphone is necessary. Most modern laptops have an internal microphone, but desktops will need to connect one externally.
- Streaming audio files or playlists can be done without an attached microphone.
- Download and open the Mixlr application.
- Sign in or create an account. Enter your username and password and click “Log in”. The main application window will load with 3 channels: Playlist, External Source, and Microphone.
- If you have a Facebook account, you can use it to sign in without creating a new account
- Use the sliders to control the volume of each channel. Dragging upwards will increase the channel volume, downwards will decrease. Dragging the slider all the way down will turn the channel off.
- Any combination of the 3 channels can be used simultaneously throughout a broadcast.
- You can also click a channel icon to quickly toggle a channel on and off.
- Open the “Monitoring” menu and select a listening device. A monitor allows you to hear the sound that is playing through your stream.
- It is highly recommended to use headphones as a monitoring device if you plan to use a microphone during your stream.
- Click “Add Sounds” to add sound files to the playlist. This button is in the bottom left corner of the window. A browse dialog will open to select sound and music files from your computer. Selected files will display in a list below your channels.
- You can add any number of files to a playlist.
- Drag and drop to rearrange tracks in the playlist.
- You can toggle the playlist display by clicking the “Show/Hide” button at the bottom of the Playlist channel.
- Click “Select Source” to pull audio from other hardware connected to your computer. This button is at the bottom of the External Source channel and will open a menu displaying the available audio hardware you can use.
- Audio mixers or speakers are some examples of external sources that can be used.
- You can select “Reload devices…” from the menu if you have a device connected but do not see it listed.
- Select a microphone from the menu at the bottom of the Microphone channel. This button will either be labeled “Select Source” or display the name or the microphone currently selected. The menu will display all microphones available for use.
- You can select “No Input” from the menu or turn the channel off if you do not want to use microphone input.
- Open the “Settings” menu. This is indicated by the gear icon in the upper left corner of the window. Here you can enter a name/category for your stream, toggle recording, or test mode.
- A stream name/category will help other identify your stream on the mixlr website.
- All streams are recorded by default. You can toggle the feature by selecting the radio button.
- Test mode allows you to check sound levels and playback without streaming live.
- Close the Settings menu by clicking the gear icon a second time.
- Click the Mixlr icon to start your live stream. This is the large button on the left side of the window. Audio from any of the 3 channels will begin broadcasting live to the Mixlr broadcast page.
- You can also start and stop streaming from the Settings menu.
- Use the playback controls to manipulate the playlist while you stream. You can play, pause, skip, and repeat tracks in the playlist.
- Press “Stop” to stop the live stream. If you have recording turned on, you will be prompted to listen to or save the recorded stream.
Tips
- Share your stream using the social media icons next to the Mixlr icon. These include Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Google+, and email.
- Use Test mode to make sure your sound levels sound okay before you start broadcasting.
- You can embed a mixlr stream into your blog or website with an upgraded paid account.
- The mobile app does not yet support streaming audio files or playlists.
Warnings
- Remember, broadcasting live means you cannot correct mistakes!
Sources and Citations
awdio Picture, name, location, tag, description
