I’m hearing murmurs of YouTube blocking browsers that support ad blockers.
You know where you don’t have to worry about such things? Host your videos on a #PeerTube instance and use #Owncast for your live video streaming needs.
Because it's part of the Fediverse, you can follow OwnCast accounts from Mastodon etc, and when they go live you will see a post in your timeline to let you know.
For example, the RetroStrangeTV livestream can be viewed at:
Toward our goal of celebrating each other we're scheduling a 24 hour distributed stream parade for new years day.
This one is not just music, there will be watch parties, premieres, hangouts, performances, discussions, djs, gaming and whatever else anyone wants to bring to the table.
Let's hang and drum up some interest for our casting friends and self powered streaming.
Do you broadcast on #owncast or #peertube ? Private mention if you want to get in on the parade.
We're after a few more streamers/performers/broadcasters.
We need some volunteers also.
We are working on an event URL, in the interim please refer up this thread and the linked blog post for where we are at, the hows and what we need for the New Years Day 24 Global Stream Parade. RFF will be the lobby and info desk for the day.
DM or join the matrix if you want to participate or help in any way.
I was going to wait to talk about this until I could actually release it, but it’s becoming unlikely that will happen.
A few months ago I built an #iOS and #tvOS app for watching #Owncast streams natively on your phone and tv. You could browse the directory, or add your own private servers that aren’t listed publicly. It would send you push notifications when your favorite streams went live and it all worked pretty well.
Apple has been unable to understand how the “rights” work in this case. I can’t get them to understand that people opt into the directory, and the Owncast project owns and runs the directory. Instead they see it as me “using content without rights” and “accessing a catalog without proper rights”. They asked me to provide the paperwork detailing the agreement I have with every Owncast server. Clearly that’s impossible. The number of servers that want to be public on the directory change every day, I couldn’t send them new documentation every day. I tried to explain that the directory is kind of like a search engine and the application is like a browser. A browser doesn’t have explicit rights to every webpage ever made, as that would be ridiculous. I also tried to compare it to a podcast client. A podcast client can play back any podcast without asking for permission, and there are tons of podcast directories.
They’ll approve the application if I don’t use the directory and don’t have any Owncast servers directly available from the application, however. But I’m not willing to do that as that kind of defeats the point of the convenience.
I contacted a handful of attorneys, and I was willing to fight this. I hoped if I could get an attorney to draft a document that explains, in legal terms, something that Apple’s legal team would understand it could be cleared up. But I haven’t been able to have a meaningful conversation with any of them, as none of them understand what I’m doing or aren’t interested in working with a non-corporate entity.
So I think this is dead, killed by Apple. I tried to build something cool for you all, as a side project, to make viewing Owncast streams more convenient. It’s just not going to happen and I feel bad about it.
Gabe Kangas, creator of the fediverse-connected streaming software Owncast, has announced the release of an iOS and tvOS app for Owncast. This comes some months after Kangas said that the development of the app had been halted due to Apple’s App Store policies. Getting the app approved has been a challenge, and Kangas details the wide variety of ‘reasons’ that Apple has given to reject the app. It took help of a legal firm and persistence from Kangas to get the app in the App Store.
The fact that Owncast did manage to publish an app to the App Store is good news for PeerTube, who are in a process of their own to create their own mobile apps for PeerTube. In PeerTube’s roadmap Framasoft said that publishing a PeerTube app might be tricky, citing Owncast’s experiences.
In the blog Kangas also talks about the identity of the platform, coming right out of the gate by reiterating that Owncast is simply server software to run ‘independent, decentralized, completely standalone video streams’. Building social features such as chat, helping with discovery with the Owncast Directory and now building an app, all help with the awareness of the project. But in the end, Kangas sees Owncast as ‘server software. That’s it’.
I’m writing a brief guide for how to set up OBS to livestream with #Owncast and #PeerTube. What questions do y’all have? What do you want to know about?
A number of people have asked recently if there is livestreaming on the Fediverse.
Yes, there is!
The Fediverse has a dedicated livestreaming platform called @owncast. You can follow #OwnCast accounts from Mastodon etc and you will see posts from the accounts in your timeline when they start streaming.
Owncast has a built-in Twitch-style chat system which you can use either anonymously without logging in, or with an account from Mastodon etc.
Introducing Fediverse 201, a new series in which I take a deeper dive in all the other cool products and services on the fediverse that go beyond microblogging, and talk to the creators about their product.
In this first edition: Owncast!
#owncast is a free and open source live video streaming server, that can also connect to the rest of the #fediverse in a variety of ways.
pspsps fedi
if anybody here wants to try out owncast but is on the fence about actually doing it from the effort of setting up and paying for a server
from today until june 1st i'm willing to host an owncast instance for anybody at no cost
the only catch is just that this is just temporary, a trial offer to make it easy for people to give it a try basically, its open from now until june 2nd, after which everyone will be provided with the full backup to continue with on another host if desired
why? i'm doing this because i setup a server for myself to try owncast, but my internet isn't good enough to use it myself, however the server is fine and its not going to cost me anything to keep it running for the next month
so instead of letting the server go unused i figure i could use it to give others who are on the fence about it the opportunity to try owncast
you can either bring your own domain (which i recommend, because that will let you continue hosting with little effort)
or i can provide a subdomain (<name>.cast.tela.moe) just be aware that you can't change the domain after the fact, and i don't have the setup to allow you to keep the subdomain
i'm not putting up any strict rules on what you could stream, i'm not twitch or youtube i'm not going to bonk you for swearing too much, just no illegal content or hate content, and because the server would be shared no 24/7 streams
if anyone is interested send me a DM and we'll sort it out
Sad to hear about #Firefish, but it's something to keep in mind.
If one person is keeping a project alive and is unable to build a long term, sustainable team around the project, relying only on that individual, that project is fragile.
Apropos of nothing, I'd love if I could build a long term, sustainable team around #owncast, if this sparks your interest at all! If I get hit by a bus tonight, Owncast is dead tomorrow.
My #faircamp , #owncast setup: A fanless industrial PC (Advantech ARK-2250) which also heats up (a small fraction) of this year's chilli and aubergine seedlings.
So every time I stream or you listen and download on faircamp the seedlings get a little bit of dissipated energy!
Super excited that with a handful of minor maintenance releases behind us, #owncast can start looking towards big features again. Lots of preparation work is going on now for all of that. Check out the roadmap, and say hi if you'd like to be involved! https://owncast.online/roadmap/
Starting off 2024 with yis gorgeous new Fedi friends 🥰 All day tomorrow: comfy hanging out, music & chats 🫡
Bonus: no Zucks, Bezoses, Dorseys, Eks, Alphabets or Musks will be stinking up the joint with their zero-craic little grasping claws. I am a mod so any of them showing up to party aka pick our pockets will get BANNED
Please join again as we cut the RFF #owncast video simulcast channel over to live in a few hours Wed 2100 US EST, Thur 0200 UTC for a live acoustic stream from @SabiLewSounds
We are going to have more chat hangouts and hopefully more live performances, busking, listening parties or whatever else in line with our ethos you'd like to use your community station platform to share. DM if you are keen.
Comfy tzag all. We've just fired up the chat machine. Join us on the RFF #owncast video channel for a hangout and live acoustic performance with @SabiLewSounds
You can chat with your fedi handle if you like, or with a random anonymous name, or just enjoy listening.