FAQ
Does Beam work with YouTube and Twitch?
Section titled “Does Beam work with YouTube and Twitch?”Yes. Beam delivers your stream to any RTMP-compatible destination, including YouTube Live, Twitch, Facebook Live, and custom RTMP endpoints. You configure your destination in the Beam dashboard, and Beam handles the delivery — OBS still shows your stream as going to your normal destination.
What happens if my internet connection drops during a stream?
Section titled “What happens if my internet connection drops during a stream?”Beam buffers segments locally and automatically catches up when your connection is restored. Recovery is limited by the shorter of your selected reliability delay and the video still retained in the plugin’s memory. Keep OBS running during an outage; quitting or crashing OBS clears pending recovery data.
How much Mac memory does the reliability buffer use?
Section titled “How much Mac memory does the reliability buffer use?”Memory use grows with both bitrate and cache duration. At 10 Mbps, cached video uses roughly 75 MB per minute, so five minutes is about 375 MB, plus OBS and plugin overhead. Leave additional free RAM for scenes, browser sources, and other production software. If the plugin cannot retain the full window, actual outage coverage will be shorter than the selected delay.
Do I need to change my OBS settings?
Section titled “Do I need to change my OBS settings?”Yes — Beam recommends configuring OBS to 1920×1080 at 60 fps with 6000 kbps CBR as the default target. The plugin reads what OBS produces and never writes to your OBS profile, so these settings live in OBS Settings itself. See the OBS Plugin Install (macOS) guide for the full table and rationale. Your scenes, sources, and destination configuration are unchanged — destinations are managed in the Beam dashboard.
Is the OBS plugin available for Windows or Linux?
Section titled “Is the OBS plugin available for Windows or Linux?”The current beta is macOS (Apple Silicon) only. Windows and Linux support is planned. Sign up for updates at beamnetworks.stream.
How many live broadcasts can run at once?
Section titled “How many live broadcasts can run at once?”The controlled beta is currently provisioned for one live broadcast at a time across the service. Beam coordinates beta tests to prevent overlap. A second go-live attempt is rejected safely until the active broadcast ends.
What internet speed do I need?
Section titled “What internet speed do I need?”Beam requires stable enough upload bandwidth to deliver stream segments within a few seconds of them being created. For a 1080p/60fps stream at the Beam-recommended 6 Mbps bitrate, you need at least 10 Mbps reliable upload. Beam is designed to handle brief interruptions — it is not designed to work on connections that are consistently too slow for the stream bitrate. If your upload is closer to ~6–8 Mbps, fall back to 1080p30 at ~4.5 Mbps or 720p60 at ~4 Mbps.
Where can I get help?
Section titled “Where can I get help?”Start with the Troubleshooting guide. If you can’t find an answer, contact support through your Beam account at app.beamnetworks.stream.