Getting started with hoopcast.tv
Streaming a live basketball match with hoopcast takes three steps: set up your matchup, check your destination, slide to go live. This guide walks the two screens you’ll use: the Home console and the Studio.
The Home console
- READY strip: the line under the header tells you at a glance whether you’re ready to stream: destination, resolution and frame rate. Green means go.
- The matchup card: your two teams, side by side. Tap a crest to upload a club logo (until you do, hoopcast shows a default crest — on the home screen and on air). Tap COLOR to set each team’s color; it’s used on the scoreboard’s side panels and foul indicators. Type the team names directly on the card.
- International mode: streaming national teams? In Settings → Competition settings, switch from Club to International. The matchup card now shows country flags: tap a flag to open the country browser (250+ countries, searchable by name or code). Team names become official three-letter codes, and team colors are picked automatically from each flag — you can still override them.
- Scoreboard card: toggle the live scoreboard overlay on or off, and set the quarter length.
- Broadcast card: tap Destination to enter your RTMP(S) URL, and Stream key for your key from YouTube or any streaming service.
- TEST: checks that your destination is reachable. Honest note: RTMP servers only verify the stream key when you actually go live — no app can test a key in advance. TEST proves the address; going live proves the key.
- Channel & video card: your channel logo (shown as a small badge on your broadcast; hoopcast’s own badge is used until you upload one, and you can switch it off entirely) plus video quality, frame rate and bitrate.
- Slide to go live: when everything’s set, slide the dock. The studio opens.
The Studio
- Go-live button: the red button on the right edge starts and stops your broadcast.
- Status messages: when you go live, hoopcast narrates the connection in the center of the screen: Connecting → Host reachable — starting stream → Live — sending video (which fades out once you’re rolling). If anything needs your attention — a wrong stream key, a struggling connection — the message comes back and stays until it’s resolved.
- FPS & KBPS indicators: top corner, live performance numbers. Green: healthy. Orange: the stream is adapting — usually a network dip; viewers may notice softer image, not buffering. Red: sustained problem — check your connection. During timeouts and calm scenes the number naturally drops; the color, not the number, is the health verdict.
- Score controls: bottom corners, one cluster per team. Tap + and choose +1, +2 or +3; the points land on the scoreboard with an on-air animation. − corrects mistakes one point at a time.
- Team fouls: F+ and F− buttons count team fouls; the scoreboard shows foul indicators that turn red when a team reaches the bonus (5 fouls FIBA/NBA or 7 US college — choose in Settings). Fouls reset automatically each quarter.
- Clock & quarter: tap the timer to set time and quarter; the stopwatch button starts and pauses the clock. You control the clock — the app never assumes.
- Camera & sound: switch front/back camera, mute the microphone, and watch the VU meter to confirm audio is flowing.
- Zoom: pinch the preview, or use the slider.
- Leaving: the ✕ asks for confirmation if you’re still live.
If something goes wrong
- “Can’t reach host”: check the RTMP URL (typos, or venue Wi-Fi blocking streaming ports).
- “Stream rejected – check your stream key”: the key is wrong or expired; copy a fresh one from your streaming service.
- “Host reachable, but the stream isn’t starting”: usually the stream key. Note: some services (YouTube among them) accept any key silently; if in doubt, verify in your service’s dashboard that it’s receiving data.
- “Connection lost – reconnecting”: the app retries automatically up to 5 times. If the venue network is hopeless, switch to cellular and go again.
- Camera or microphone blocked: hoopcast will point you to Settings; broadcasting needs both.