Pre-Stream Runbook

Purpose: Standardized operational procedure for live broadcasts.

Duration: ~30–45 minutes before stream start

Owner: Person managing technical setup

Phase 1: Network & Dante (10 min)

Checklist

  • Ethernet cable plugged in (Mac → Dante switch dedicated port)
  • No WiFi enabled (System Preferences → Network → disable WiFi)
  • Dante Controller open, all devices visible
    • MOTU 8PRE-ES: Green light, synced
    • Dante AVIO USB nodes (×2): Green, synced
    • Any other Dante devices: Green
  • Network latency test: 
    ping -c 5 8.8.8.8
# Should show <10ms average
  • Dante clock status: MOTU = Primary Clock 
    Dante Controller → View → Network Status
→ Primary Clock Source should be: MOTU 8PRE-ES (Dante Connector 1)

Troubleshooting

Issue Fix
Dante devices showing red (not synced) Restart MOTU: Power off 10 sec, power on, wait 30 sec
Network latency >30ms Check for background uploads, switch network if available
WiFi still enabled Disable in System Preferences → Network (WiFi → Turn Off)

Phase 2: Audio System (10 min)

Checklist

  • MOTU 8PRE-ES powered on (front panel lights on)
  • MOTU display shows Dante inputs active (green lights for channels 1–4)
  • System audio output set to MOTU: 
    # macOS System Settings → Sound → Output Device
# Select: MOTU 8PRE-ES (not Built-in Speaker)
  • Test Dante audio from camera 1: 
    Dante Controller → Routing → Camera 1 audio → MOTU In 1
MOTU front panel → Ch 1 Input: XLR (or USB)
MOTU console → Meter 1 should show green (signal detected)
  • Ableton Live opened, project loaded:
    • File: configs/ableton/streaming-template.als
    • Audio Preferences: Device = MOTU 8PRE-ES
    • Sample Rate = 48 kHz
    • I/O Buffer = 256 samples
  • Test Ableton output: 
    Ableton → Create audio track → Set input to MOTU In 1
Ableton → Play a click track (top menu: Metronome)
Listen in studio monitors (should hear click from Ableton)
  • Studio monitor levels: Dial at -6 dB (not maxed out)

Troubleshooting

Issue Fix
No audio from camera Check Dante routing (did you assign camera audio to MOTU input?)
Ableton plays but OBS doesn’t hear it Set OBS audio input to MOTU channels 1–2 (next phase)
Feedback/noise in speakers Mute monitor output in Ableton, use headphones instead

Phase 3: Video Capture (10 min)

Checklist

  • DeckLink Quad HDMI powered on (Echo Express SE I lights on)
  • Cameras powered on, HDMI cables connected to DeckLink
    • Camera 1 → HDMI port 1
    • Camera 2 → HDMI port 2
    • Camera 3 → HDMI port 3
    • Camera 4 → HDMI port 4
  • OBS Studio opened, main scene loaded
    • File: configs/obs/studio-scene.json (or re-create scene)
  • OBS sources visible in preview:
    • Video: DeckLink Quad HDMI (4K mosaic visible)
    • Audio: MOTU 8PRE-ES channels 1–2
    • Both should show in preview pane
  • OBS resolution confirmed (Settings → Video Output):
    • Base Canvas: 4096×2160 (4K) or 3840×2160 (UHD)
    • FPS: 30 or 60 (your choice)
    • Render at: GPU (not CPU)
  • GPU encoding enabled: 
    OBS → Settings → Output → Streaming
→ Encoder: H.264 (Apple Hardware)
→ Bitrate: 12,000 kbps (12 Mbps)

Troubleshooting

Issue Fix
DeckLink not detected in OBS Restart OBS, check Echo Express firmware in System Report
Video at 1080p (not 4K) HDMI handshake issue—unplug camera 1, wait 10 sec, plug back in
GPU encoder not available Restart OBS, verify M1 Mac (not emulated on Intel)

Phase 4: Streaming Configuration (5 min)

Checklist

  • Streaming service credentials ready:
    • YouTube: RTMP key copied (YouTube Studio → Go Live → Stream Settings)
    • OR Twitch: RTMP key copied (Dashboard → Settings → Stream Key)
  • OBS streaming settings configured: 
    OBS → Settings → Stream
→ Service: YouTube / Twitch (select one)
→ RTMP Server: [auto-filled based on service]
→ Stream Key: [paste your key]
  • Test stream (without going live): 
    OBS → File → Settings → Output
→ Recording Path: /tmp/test-recording.mp4
→ Hit "Start Recording"
→ Record for 10 seconds
→ "Stop Recording"
→ Verify file created: ls -lh /tmp/test-recording.mp4
  • Network connection stable: 
    # In terminal, monitor upload speed
while true; do
  date
  ifstat -i en0 1 1 | tail -1
  sleep 5
done
# Look for stable ≥25 Mbps upload

Troubleshooting

Issue Fix
“Invalid stream key” error Regenerate key in YouTube/Twitch dashboard, paste fresh copy
OBS can’t connect to RTMP Check internet connection, try ping google.com
Upload speed <25 Mbps Switch to wired Ethernet (not WiFi), reduce bitrate in OBS to 8 Mbps

Phase 5: Caller Setup (5 min, if applicable)

Checklist

  • Callers notified (email with setup instructions at least 1 hour before)
    • Template: examples/caller-onboarding-example.md
  • First caller’s OBS NDI stream confirmed active: 
    # On caller's machine, OBS running
# In your OBS, check:
OBS → Sources → [NDI Source] → right-click → Refresh
# Should see caller's stream in list, click to connect
  • Caller video visible in OBS preview:
    • Scene: “Caller 1” (or whichever scene has caller PiP)
    • Caller video should appear in preview
  • Audio return path tested (caller hears you):
    • Dante: Caller machine has Dante interface, hearing your Ableton output
    • OR Zoom: Caller joins Zoom call (separate from OBS/NDI video)
    • Test: Say “testing 1-2-3” → Caller confirms heard

Troubleshooting

Issue Fix
Caller’s NDI not appearing in OBS Ensure caller’s OBS is streaming NDI (not to Twitch/YouTube)
Caller audio lag >1 sec Use Dante (preferred), not Zoom audio + NDI video combo
Caller can’t hear you Verify Dante return path or Zoom audio channel

Phase 6: Final Verification (5 min)

Checklist

  • All systems green (run health check script): 
    bash software/scripts/health-check.sh
# Should output: ✓ Dante synced, ✓ DeckLink detected, ✓ OBS audio input recognized
  • CPU/GPU load reasonable: 
    # Open Activity Monitor
# CPU tab: <60% sustained load (should be green)
# Restart Activity Monitor if needed: top -l 1 | grep "PhysMem"
  • Record 10-second test clip (local storage, not streaming): 
    OBS → File → Start Recording
Wait 10 seconds
OBS → File → Stop Recording
Verify file in ~/Videos/OBS/ (check file size >5 MB)
  • Disk space confirmed: 
    df -h / | awk 'NR==2 {print $4}'  # Should show >50 GB available
  • Broadcast time: Set a timer for stream start
  • Notify team: “Ready to go live in 5 minutes”

Troubleshooting

Issue Fix
Health check shows ✗ on any item See TROUBLESHOOTING.md for detailed remediation
CPU load >70% before stream Close background apps (browser, email, etc.)
Disk space <20 GB Delete old recordings, restart OBS cache

Phase 7: Go Live (2 min)

Sequence

  1. T-2 min: All systems verified green
  2. T-1 min: Notify callers “Streaming in 60 seconds”
  3. T-0 sec: Click “Start Streaming” in OBS
  4. T+10 sec: Refresh YouTube/Twitch to confirm broadcast appears
  5. T+30 sec: Announce on social media (if applicable)

Monitoring During Stream

Every 10 minutes:

  • OBS stats: Dropped frames should be 0
  • Activity Monitor: CPU/GPU stable (not spiking)
  • MOTU console: Audio levels in range (not clipping)
  • Dante Controller: All devices green (clock not drifting)

If problem detected:

  • See TROUBLESHOOTING.md for real-time fixes
  • Worst case: Stop streaming, restart from Phase 1

Phase 8: Shutdown (5 min)

Graceful Shutdown Sequence

DO NOT power off abruptly. Follow this order:

  1. OBS: Click “Stop Streaming”
  2. Wait 10 seconds (allow platform to finalize)
  3. Ableton: File → Save, then quit
  4. OBS: File → Exit
  5. MOTU: Power off (let it shut down cleanly)
  6. DeckLink: Power off (Echo Express)
  7. Dante switch: Power off
  8. Cameras: Power off
  9. Mac: Shut down normally (Apple menu → Shut Down)

Post-Broadcast

  • Download broadcast archive from YouTube/Twitch (for backup)
  • Save OBS logs (Help → View Log File)
  • Save Dante network stats (Dante Controller → Export)
  • Fill out incident report (if any issues occurred): 
    templates/incident-report.md
  • Commit logs to GitHub: 
    cd live-streaming-pipeline
git add tests/logs/broadcast-N.log
git commit -m "broadcast: date, duration, issues & resolutions"

Appendix: Quick Reference

Emergency Stop

If system crashes or goes wrong:

# Force-quit all applications
killall OBS
killall "Ableton Live"
# Restart Dante network
sudo killall -9 Dante*
# Power-cycle MOTU
# (physically power off for 30 sec)

Revert to Last Known Good Configuration

cd live-streaming-pipeline
git checkout HEAD -- software/configs/

# Restart OBS with previous config
bash software/scripts/launch-studio.sh

Escalation Contacts

  • DeckLink issues: Blackmagic support (support@blackmagicdesign.com)
  • Dante issues: Audinate support (support@audinate.com)
  • MOTU issues: MOTU support (support@motu.com)

Last Updated: 2025-01-22 Author: Your Name Version: 1.0