Multistreaming is one of the methods to not only increase engagement but widen your podcast audience as well. But what is the best tool for your podcast? In this episode, Sales Associate and Podetize’s Business Development Strategist Cody Hanify takes over as guest host to review a new multistreaming software tool, Restream.IO. Originally founded by Andrew Surzhynskyi and Alexander Khuda in 2015 to help streamers widen their reach, they soon saw the potential of Restream for professional keynote broadcasting. Cody breaks down the software’s features and discusses the benefits of free versus paid plans using the product. He also shows you a demonstration on how to get started on Restream. Tune in to find out whether this product is the one for you!

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Restream.IO Review: Will It Be Helpful To Widen Your Podcast Audience?

Part of what Podetize and Tracy are working on is getting more voices on the Feed Your Brand platform to bring new and exciting topics from inside Podetize. For those who are meeting me for the first time, what’s up? How’s it going? It’s nice to meet you. It’s nice to be here to hopefully provide some value for you. I hope you get anything that you’re looking for out of this.

I work internally with the company. I’m a Sales Associate and Podetize’s Business Development Strategist, and now a guest host podcaster. The last time I was on the show, we talked about Clubhouse’s third-party companion desktop app called Clubdeck. The task of taking time to review and make aware software you didn’t know was available is something I’m happy to be at the helm of. I’m very grateful to be here and happy to be on this platform to share some more insight with you all. Without further ado, let’s get to the topic.

I’ll be going over a multistreaming software called Restream. It’s the perfect time to introduce the title of this episode, Restream.io Review: Will It Be Helpful to Widen Your Podcast Audience? Before we get into my pretty straightforward review, I would like to take time to talk about multistreaming and why this is something that could be suited for you and your podcast.

What is Multistreaming?

What is multistream? I’m sure you can guess what that could be based on its name, but all it means is simultaneously livestreaming to multiple channels. It’s that simple. Even though it’s been around for years, livestreaming has become mainstream and almost every social media platform comes with a livestream option between YouTube, Twitch, Facebook, and even LinkedIn has live. There are so many options for livestreaming and getting your message across to multiple different platforms.

An article I read by Streamlabs helped me conjure up some talking points for you. The article shows that creators struggled to grow an engaging audience equally across these platforms due to one limitation, they can’t stream to multiple destinations at the same time natively. If they can only stream live video to one network at a time, they only have two options here. One is to focus on the platform over another to host the live session and publish a recording on every other platform they use. Two is to host a separate livestream for each platform. It’s a choice between sacrificing a huge amount of time and energy or failing to reach their audience that’s the most engaging way possible, but the solution to this specific problem is multistreaming.

 

It begs the question though, “Is multistreaming even worth it?” I follow and subscribe to some YouTubers. I’m a big huge nerd. It’s a lot of movie reviews, theories, and some gaming as well. Take, for example, a YouTuber that I follow, his name is Star Wars Theory. This show is dedicated to providing insight and thoughts on theories throughout the universe and it’s something I’m heavily invested in. You will have livestreams in more than one place, not just his YouTube. He’s mainly a YouTuber, but he streams on multiple different platforms all at once.

What he understands is that multistreaming helps create engagement and flexibility for your audience. If you want to reach all those who would value your message, multistreaming is a route you can take if you have listeners who like to operate on very specific channels, not just YouTube. If you have a following on LinkedIn, Twitch, or all these other platforms using multistreaming can bring all of your different listeners to the same message without uploading it after the fact. Going onto a recording and then uploading it to these different factions.

The point of livestreaming is for audience engagement, being able to answer questions in real-time and show that you can provide value to all those that tune in. It’s our main function for these episodes on this show. Lots of gamers will have streaming setup for their Facebook pages, groups, Twitch channel, and YouTube channels across the board, so people can chat and chime in and it creates an almost unstoppable approach to spreading your message to multiple different platforms.

Multistreaming is worth it. It is a great way to extend your reach to multiple livestreaming platforms and engage your chances of not only engaging with the people that already follow you but your chances of being discovered every single time you go live. People have a notification set up when every time someone goes live, they’re going to be scrolling right to the top and seeing you there.

How Restream Works

Now, here comes this big question, “How do I do all of this? How do I take my livestream and put it on multiple platforms at once?” A good thing about our current day and age is there’s plenty of software out there to get this task taken care of with ease. Podetize clients know that we operate out of Zoom and we livestream the podcast recording into our Brandcasters Facebook group. In that way, we can have it open and available for all clients that have the opportunity to chime in and be a part of the message we are delivering on their preferred platform to operate at. I’m going to bring to light some software I mentioned at the beginning of this episode and what you saw on the title before clicking, Restream.io.

 

Andrew Surzhynskyi and Alexander Khuda founded Restream in 2015 with this obsession to help streamers get a wider audience. Focusing first on the gaming community and building initially a free product, they soon saw the potential of how Restream could help all kinds of circumstances, from everyday real-life streaming to professional keynote broadcasting. That’s where podcasters with live shows, you come in and utilize this opportunity for you and your show.

Here are some great reviews that I’ve found between users. One user said, “The ability to unify people across many platforms and give them a chance to experience the stream service you provide and being able to reach a larger demographic is fantastic for brand-building.” If you’re looking at building your brand, this is helping out this client. Another testimonial is, “Restream pricing is pretty fair and you get lots of features. They have lots of discounts on different occasions.” You have different types of streaming that you can do.

Another person says, “The top of the chart technical support relatively easy to set up through OBS and well-known streaming platforms like Twitch and Mixer.” It seems like it’s got a lot of technical support. There’s someone who helps you out. There are lots of ways. If you visit the Restream.io interface or their website, it’s almost uncanny how easy it is to set up. I got it set up in a few moments and that’s why I wanted to touch upon this specific software.

This software gets tied to a price that hasn’t ever been planned for or budgeted for, but that’s the best thing about Restream. There’s a completely free version for you to get started with multistreaming. You can connect through OBS, Zoom, or Restream Studio in the web browser. I found this the coolest. You can use it right in the web browser and utilize it as your home hub for all of your multistreaming capabilities. You can multistream two channels and have a multi-channel chat. Another cool thing about this multistreaming platform is it enables you to have one place where all of your chats are coming through it and you’re able to communicate with everybody all at once. It’s neat.

You have six on-screen participants with the free version. It means you can have guests and participants within the video for you as well but there is a little bit of a catch with the video. In the free version, there’s a little watermark on the video, so if you don’t mind having the little Restream tag at the top, you can utilize the services for free, but there are other different options out there for you to get that watermark taken out by purchasing different packages.

 

Free Restream Features

Which tools and features can I use for free? That might be a question you’re asking and I have the answers. Restream has free and paid options. You can choose which feature works best for you and your livestream. Multistreaming Livestream simultaneously to more than one third-party platform, including YouTube, Facebook personal page, Twitter, LinkedIn, Twitch, etc.

Livestreaming directly from the web browser, which I was talking about with Restream Studio, its own little studio platform. You don’t need any livestreaming software. You can stream directly from your web browser. There’s no software that you have to download at all. It’s directly through the web browser. You can invite 2 up to 5 guests on your livestream. Guests can quickly and easily join your livestream on Restream Studio without the use of any third-party apps or tools. You can direct them all through the Restream Studio that you have set up in your web browser.

Another cool thing about this thing is that there are no time limits. Your live sessions could last as long as you want. You can stream for 24 hours if you feel like it. It’s something else to keep in mind with the type of show and message that you’re broadcasting. Sometimes, livestreaming for your message works very well for your audience engagement. Having a platform that doesn’t limit your time limit is pretty useful.

Another cool thing is that there’s real-time channel toggling. Channel toggling allows you to end your stream on one platform, but keep it going on another. Let’s say we’re doing a Q&A afterwards and that’s not something I want to livestream necessarily because we record an episode for this show, and then talk about what we’ve gone through and talk to our Podetize clients afterwards, too. It enables you to cut it off on certain platforms and you can continue on the ones that you want to keep going through without any interruption or interference with the quality of your stream. Restream is all about their quality.

They also give you insightful data. Restream Analytics provides data on your peak viewing time, max viewers, which platform had the most viewers, your stream duration, and a bunch of analytics. It’s pretty neat. You have access to the Restream chat that I was talking about which combines your live chats from all across the streaming platforms into one centralized chat hub. You have stream monitoring. Restream monitors livestream to detect any possible issues and ensure your viewers have the best experience.

If you want to reach all those who would value your message, multistreaming is a route you can take if you have listeners who like to operate on very specific channels, not just YouTube. Click To Tweet

You can upload background music too, so when you go live with Restream Studio, you have access to a library of copy-free background music available in several different genres. Some that’s fit for you and your message at infinite length too. You can choose the perfect music for your stream without worrying about changing tracks which is super unique.

Benefits Of Restream Paid Plans

You can host powerful livestreams with available free tools and features, but the paid features not only up the Restream experience, but the livestreaming experience altogether with the various tools included, you can create a professionally organized livestream. Some of their most useful paid features include none of the brandings, the watermark I was talking about that’s included with the basic free plan. You can turn that Restream watermark off over your screen. You’ll be able to add your own logos and watermarks too. It’s perfect for branding, topics, and showing off your fantastic cover. You can upload that right into the livestream video.

You can have customized background images and overlays. When you pay for the standard plan, you can upload your own background images, stream overlays, and other custom visual effects in Restream Studio to personalize your stream to your brand, which is super unique. You have RTMP pull links which lets you pull a Restream broadcast and use it in different streaming software as a source. It’s like adding another webcam to your stream. The pull is useful for real-time translations and commentary. If you do, e-sports casting, or any type of commentary that you have. You can have different things streaming all at once.

You can stream recordings too. With the standard plan or the paid plans, you’ll be able to record your livestreams whenever you broadcast with Restream. Recording a livestream lets you upload it to a video platform as on-demand content after your livestream is over, or it gives you a raw version of your stream that you can edit into smaller videos for social media, and all of those different types of assets.

 

You have a custom destination. The free plan lets you choose multistream, but some platforms require a paid plan. I’m going to go over a couple for the readers out there to showcase what that looks like. You can easily stream live to a personal Facebook group or public page that comes with the cost. With the free plan, you can stream to your regular Facebook that you have associated with whatever you do publicly, but if you wanted to stream into a specific Facebook group like what we do for our clients, you’ll have to have that paid subscription. You can read a guide to free and paid platforms. That’s included with the Restream plan for more info. It’s pretty seamless how much info they have out there.

What’s cool too, is video storage. With a professional plan, you have access to Restream’s cloud storage where you can keep between 10 and 50 videos. It’s all depending on your plan though. You can stream pre-recorded videos if you want to upload and stream a video that you’ve already recorded. You can do so with a professional plan. You can add more guests too.

You’re limited to five guests with the regular free plan, but with other plans, you can add up to a total of nine guests. You can have ten people in a discussion all at once through this. I’ve tried to paint all the things that you could get out of this software to the readers as much as possible. I want to take some time to show how you can accomplish some of the specs I’ve been talking about. We’ll continue to provide as much context as I can for the readers.

Getting Started On Restream

We’re going to go to the dashboard. This is our setup. I am on the App.Restream.io channel. What I’ve done is I signed up for a Restream account. When you log in, it’s super simple and easy to use. All of your planning, different storages, analytics, and different storages are going to the side. They have cool donation spots and such. You can invite simply at a click of a button to people who want to be included with these different Restream capabilities.

You can start in the studio, which is super cool. Let’s say you don’t have a streaming platform that you utilize like Zoom. Skype is outdated too. This is why I’m taking us on a tour. It’s pretty simple. You click to Start With The Studio. It starts streaming professionally from this browser. It takes a second to load. I’m in the central hub. I haven’t gone live yet. You can hit the go-live button. I have the free plan. They have a little Restream watermark that is embedded in the video.  When I go to take it off, it prompts me to upgrade my account.

Multistreaming helps create engagement and flexibility for your audience. Click To Tweet

You can type your theme names and change that theme. It will change from a square to something that looks a little bit more newscast-y to rounded and there are different colors you can choose based on your cover art or branding materials. There are a couple of free little overlays that you can throw to. That’s neat and fun. If you have more professional-looking overlays, I recommend you to utilize those and upload them. As I said, it takes different packages to unlock those capabilities. There are different backgrounds here and there. There’s music that’s playing around with it and different little cool unique little things that you can do with this.

Let me show you how you can utilize it if you don’t want to use Restream as your central hub. You can utilize another piece of software with this as well too. When we use Zoom for Podetize, we’re going to click a button called Setup for OBS, Zoom, etc. It shows everything that I need. I can add the channels that I want to stream by clicking Add Channel. It pulls up all the platforms that I’m able to pull up. There are a bunch of different platforms that you’re able to Restream. You have Steam for gamers, Telegram, Facebook Live, Twitch, YouTube, Twitter, and all of that stuff, which is neat.

What’s cool is you can see all of the platforms that I have triggered. I have it set up that if I started streaming, it would go straight to my YouTube and my Facebook as well. If I wanted to add another one, let’s say a LinkedIn profile, it will give me a notification that I need to upgrade my account to paid account. I’ll go over those plans and show you what it looks like on their platform. That way you get a better understanding.

Another cool thing is when you’re live and you’re going live, I recommend doing this right before you hit the live button as clicking on update titles. What this does is it takes all the titles of every video that you have streaming and it uploads them all to every platform. Let’s take the title of the episode that I have going on and throw it there. Now, the title of the video is Restream.io Review.

If you’re going to be utilizing it for Zoom, there are a couple of things that you need to understand as well. When you want to set this up for Zoom, you’ll need to do a couple of things. Let’s say that I’m in Zoom and into my account. It’s going to log me in here too. We go to our settings and then into meetings. What you’ll want to do is you’ll want to scroll all the way down so that we can enable you to go live through Zoom if you like to utilize that.

 

The first thing you have to do is go into Zoom and change the settings. I have someone who is an administrator for my account. They’ve been able to add the different things for me, but since you’re in charge of your own account, you’ll be able to add it. You’ll want to add a custom livestreaming service and turn that off.

If you know how to utilize Zoom’s capabilities and go live, there’s a way for you to set your settings and go live on different platforms. It’s right at the bottom. You can go live on Facebook or anything. What you’ll want to click on is that custom field setting and what that will do is prompt you to type in the RTMP url into that and the stream key code as well too. You’ll need to take the code, copy it, and paste it into the correct fields when it prompts on Zoom.

Let me share with you the plans. These are the different plans. With the monthly pricing, you have basic, which is free forever, $19 a month for the other different benefits, and $49 a month for professionals. They have recommendations for people who utilize different services for different things. They recommend the basic plan for chats and hobbies. Sports and entertainment or gaming are good for the streaming standard plan. Small businesses or houses of worship and such should be utilizing professional capabilities. Be sure to visit their website so that you can gauge all of this on your own as well.

That’s basically all that I had for Restream and sharing how to utilize its capabilities, and get started at least with it because I do only have that basic plan. If you want to figure out which plan is right for you, go ahead and visit the website, take a look at their specs, and see what’s all there for you. That’s the insight that I have for you. The goal was to bring awareness to the product, how you can use it, and how you can get started with it.

If you would like a more in-depth look at the product and what they provide, I highly encourage you to check out the Restream blog post titled How to Use Restream. I wanted to the take time to say thank you to Tom and Tracy Hazzard for having me on once again. I hope that you all have a wonderful day. Take care and happy podcasting.

 

Important Links

• Podetize
• Clubdeck – Previous Episode
• Restream.io
• Streamlabs
• Brandcasters – Facebook Group
• App.Restream.io
• How to Use Restream – Restream Blog Post