When a destination keeps reconnecting, the other side does not accept the stream or ends it again right away. In most cases the stream key is no longer right, or another encoder is already sending with the same key.
Your other destinations are not affected. If one destination is stuck, the studio tries it again by itself, and the remaining destinations go on sending undisturbed.
What the desk shows
Every destination has a state on the desk:
| State | Meaning |
|---|---|
| “Aus” (off) | The destination is switched off. |
| “Bereit” (ready) | Switched on, but you are not on air. |
| “Verbindet” (connecting) | The connection is being set up. |
| “Sendet” (sending) | The connection is up, the stream is running. |
| “Verbindet neu” (reconnecting) | The connection broke off, the studio is trying again. |
In addition the desk counts how often a destination was reconnected, and shows an error message if the other side supplied one. A lot can be read from that already:
- Never “Sendet”, only “Verbindet” and “Verbindet neu”. The other side refuses from the start. That points to a wrong address or a wrong key.
- Briefly “Sendet”, then “Verbindet neu” again. The connection comes about and is ended. That points to a key that is already in use, or to a limit of the platform.
- “Sendet” for a long time, then a single reconnect. A dropout on the way or at the platform. If it stays at one, you do not have to do anything.
1. The stream key is wrong or was renewed
A stream key that lost a character when it was copied is refused. The same goes for a key you reset at the platform: the old one is invalid then, even if it is still entered in the studio.
Get the current key from the platform and enter it anew on the “Kanäle” (channels) page. Check the server address there too. The channel that belongs to your Twitch or Google login is set up by signing in; there is no key to type there.
If you send to a channel somebody shared with you, the sharing applies for a time window. If in doubt, ask the person who shared the channel.
2. The same key is already in use
As a rule a platform accepts one stream per key. If another encoder is already sending with the same key, the two push each other out, or the second one is turned away. The classic: OBS on the computer at home is still streaming straight to the platform, because it was set up that way earlier, and your studio is sending at the same time.
Look for everything that knows this key:
- OBS or another program that still sends straight to the platform,
- a streaming app on the phone that was set up with RTMP,
- a second destination in your studio with the same key,
- another service you used to stream through.
End the other stream. If OBS is to keep taking part, it sends to an input of your studio over SRT and no longer to the platform.
3. Limits of, or a disruption at, the platform
Platforms set limits, on the bitrate for example, and they change them. Look at the platform's current requirements if a destination accepts the stream and ends it again right away. A channel that is suspended or not yet enabled for live streams refuses as well.
Sometimes it is simply the platform. With a disruption there, you can do nothing but wait. The studio keeps trying and sends as soon as the platform accepts again. The platform's status page tells you whether others have the same problem.
4. An RTMP server of your own refuses
With an RTMP(S) server of your own the cause is usually in its settings:
- The path or the name of the application in the address is wrong.
- The server allows publishing only to certain senders or requires a login.
- The address begins with
rtmp://but the server expectsrtmps://, or the other way round. - A firewall in front of the server does not let the port through.
Your server's log shows as a rule why it turned a connection away.
5. The RTMP pulldown reconnects
The RTMP pulldown is in the same list as “RTMP Pulldown”. Behind this destination there is no stream key and no platform, but our own server. If it keeps reconnecting, there is nothing you can repair in your settings: that is our part. Your channels go on sending meanwhile. Write us an e-mail if it does not say “Sendet” again after a short time.
A single reconnect right after “Neue Adresse erzeugen” (create new address), on the other hand, is normal: the studio ends the connection to the old address and sets up the one to the new address.
What happens to your stream meanwhile
The other destinations notice nothing. All destinations get the same program, but each has its own connection. So you do not have to end the broadcast to repair one destination. You switch destinations on and off on the “Ausgabe” (output) tab.