Wikimedia Research/Design Research/Remote Usability Session Recording Process

Prior to September 12, 2016, Design Researchers at the Wikimedia Foundation used Google Hangouts On Air to record remote user research/usability sessions. This article outlines the new process.

Note: To record sessions, you must have admin credentials for the Wikimedia Foundation Design Research | YouTube Live account.

One-Time Only: Set Up Encoding Software
Before you can start streaming on YouTube, you need to download encoding software. You can find open source streaming software here: https://obsproject.com ; these instructions assume that you will be using this software, but there are plenty of other options out there.

Encoding software allows you to capture content, including your desktop, camera, microphone, and more, and send it to YouTube Live to be streamed.

Once you have downloaded the encoder, you will need to do the following:
 * 1) Under Preferences —> Stream —> Stream Type, select “Streaming Services"
 * 2) ”Under Preferences —> Stream —> Service, select “YouTube/YouTube Gaming”
 * 3) Under Preferences —> Stream —> Stream key, type the key provided at https://www.youtube.com/live_dashboard —> Encoder Setup (a card at the bottom of the page) —> Stream name/key.
 * 4) Under Preferences —> Output —> Recording Path, change the local path to a folder named “Research Sessions” or something else that you’d like to name your local copies of recorded sessions.
 * 5) Under Preferences —> Output —> Recording Format, change the format to mp4.
 * 6) Click “OK”. You’re now set up to both broadcast and record streaming sessions! Read on for instructions on recording and broadcasting.