You can customize Wirecast to your needs through Wirecast preferences.
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You can select most preferences directly from a Wirecast document or from the Shot Editor. You can also manage your licenses, update your software, and select advanced video preferences through the Preferences window.
To start Wirecast, double-click the Wirecast icon that was placed on your desktop during installation.
Note: You can determine whether Wirecast displays the landing page, and whether Wirecast opens the last document you worked on, at startup.
See Show landing page on startup and Open last document on startup.
Before customizing the Wirecast layout, familiarize yourself with the default layout, and with the main Wirecast windows, controls, and menus.
See The Default Layout.
You can customize Wirecast to meet your particular production needs, and types of equipment, by choosing preferences.
See The Preferences Dialog Box.
To customize Wirecast, do the following:
1.Select File > Preferences.
2.In the Preferences dialog, click one of these headings to view and change its associated preferences:
–General
–Canvas
–Shot Display
–Licenses
–Update
–Shortcuts
–Controllers
–Advanced
Wirecast applies your preferences immediately, and saves them automatically, every time you change a preference.
To reset your preferences, use Support Assistant.
See Send Support Information and Preferences.
You can choose the language for the Wirecast user interface from among any of the languages supported. To set the language for Wirecast, do the following:
1.Select File > Preferences.
Wirecast opens the Preferences dialog.
2.In the Preferences dialog, click Advanced.
3.To open the Language drop-down menu, click the downward-pointing arrow next to the Language field.
Wirecast opens the Language drop-down menu.
4.Select the desired language from the drop-down menu.
Wirecast displays a Shutdown dialog.
5.Click the Shutdown button.
6.Re-launch Wirecast.
Wirecast displays the selected language in the user interface.
See Language.
You can control most of the standard Wirecast commands with pre-set application keyboard shortcuts. Also, you can create document hotkeys for document commands you use often.
Creating a Keyboard Shortcut Set
You can create new keyboard shortcut sets, including both application keyboard shortcuts and document hotkeys, through the Shortcuts tab on the Preferences dialog. You create a new keyboard shortcut set by copying an existing keyboard shortcut set and modifying it.
To create a keyboard shortcut set, do the following:
1.Select File > Preferences > Shortcuts.
2.Select the keyboard shortcut set you want to copy from the Keyboard Shortcut Set drop-down menu.
3.Click Configure > Duplicate Set.
Wirecast copies the selected keyboard shortcut set and adds it to the Keyboard Shortcut Set drop-down menu.
4.Select the new keyboard shortcut set from the Keyboard Shortcut Set drop-down menu.
5.Click Configure > Rename.
Wirecast opens a renaming dialog box.
6.Enter a name for the keyboard shortcut set in the field under Please enter a new name for the Set, and click OK.
Wirecast renames the keyboard shortcut set, and closes the Preferences dialog box.
See also Shortcuts Preferences.
You can’t change any of the default application shortcuts in the Default keyboard shortcut set. However, you can copy the Default keyboard shortcut set, and edit the application shortcuts in the copied keyboard shortcut set. Also, you can change the document hotkeys.
To change a keyboard shortcut (either an application shortcut or a document hotkey), do the following:
1.Create a keyboard shortcut set by copying the Default keyboard shortcut set.
See Creating a Keyboard Shortcut Set.
2.Select the keyboard shortcut you want to change.
See Finding an Application Shortcut and Finding a Document Hotkey.
Wirecast opens the Click to record shortcut field towards the bottom of the Preferences dialog.
3.Enter the key desired in the Click to record shortcut field.
Wirecast saves the new keyboard shortcut.
To create a document hotkey, do the following:
1.Select File > Preferences > Shortcuts > Document Hotkeys.
2.Select a hotkey in the list.
Wirecast opens the Click to record shortcut field.
3.Enter a key in the Click to record shortcut field.
Wirecast binds the key to the command.
4.(Optional) To make your hotkey active even when the Wirecast window is not in focus, check Global. If Global is not checked, you must select the Wirecast window for the document hotkey to work.
See also Shortcuts Preferences.
Note: If your hotkey combination already is assigned to a command, Wirecast displays a warning icon in the Conflict column. The Conflicted sub-tab of the Application Shortcuts tab displays conflicted application shortcuts.
On a shot in the layers pane, click the gear icon, select Assign Hotkey, and select a hotkey from the menu.
Wirecast assigns the hotkey to the shot, and displays the keyboard shortcut in the shot icon.
See Layers, Creating a Document Hotkey, and Shortcuts Preferences.
You can assign the same document hotkey to multiple shots. This is useful when you want to activate different shots on different layers at the same time, using a single hotkey. To create a document hotkey for multiple shots, do the following:
1.Assign a keyboard shortcut to one shot.
See Creating a Document Hotkey for a Shot.
2.Assign the same keyboard shortcut to a second shot on another layer.
Wirecast displays the keyboard shortcut in both shot icons.
See also Shortcuts Preferences.
To determine whether Wirecast displays the hotkey name or the key combination itself on shots, do the following:
1.Open Preferences, and select the Shot Display tab.
See Customizing Wirecast with Preferences.
2.Click the arrows for the Display hotkeys using drop-down menu.
Wirecast displays the options Key Combination and Hotkey Name.
3.Select the type of hotkey display desired.
See also Shot Display Preferences and Shortcuts Preferences.
To select the device Wirecast uses for audio monitoring, do the following:
1.In Windows, right-click the speaker icon in the task bar . Then, select Open Sound settings > Sound.
2.Under Choose your output device, select the desired default audio-monitoring device from the drop-down menu.
Wirecast uses the device chosen as the device for audio-monitoring. You can select a different device through the Audio Playback preference.
See Audio Playback.
If your computer has multiple video adapters, such as NVIDIA, AMD, or Intel graphics cards, you can determine which video adapter Wirecast uses. Generally, use this option only for troubleshooting.
To select a video adapter, do the following:
1.Select File > Preferences > Advanced.
2.From the Video Adapter drop-down menu, select the video adapter desired. Choose Select a video adapter.
3.To close the Preferences dialog box, click the “x.”
See The Preferences Dialog Box.
Wirecast does not prevent your computer from entering sleep mode. To ensure uninterrupted streaming, disable sleep mode on your computer while using Wirecast.
To avoid a decrease in video quality, don’t set Wirecast CPU usage above 80%. See the Telestream Website for suggested configurations.
To keep the Wirecast window active as the topmost open window on your system, select File > Always On Top.
See File Menu.
To select one of the default encoder presets, or to customize encoder presets for your outputs, do the following:
1.Select Window > Encoder Presets.
2.Select an encoder preset from the Encoder Preset drop-down menu, and click Close.
3.(Optional) Alternatively, check Video Encoding, Audio Encoding, or both. Choose the video and audio settings desired. Click Save As, give the custom preset a name, and click OK.
See The Encoder Presets Window.
You can use either the Secondary Display Monitor output or the Multiviewer output for external output. Secondary Display lets you send a frame-accurate program feed out via the software. You can feed this into a recorder or use it as a source for another program, such as Zoom. There is 1/4-second of latency in the Secondary Display output. This latency improves A/V sync and reduces dropped frames.
The Multiviewer output, on the other hand, lets you monitor up to 17 sources or windows, including the Preview Area, the Live Broadcast Area, or any source you have in your document. Because the Multiviewer output is meant for monitoring rather than for frame-accurate recording, Multiviewer has no intrinsic latency. Multiviewer outputs usually have less latency than Secondary Display outputs.
See Multi-Viewer Output and Secondary Display Live Output.
To add VST plugins to the plugins available to the Wirecast audio mixer, do the following:
1.Select Window > Audio Plugin Explorer.
See Window Menu.
Wirecast opens the Audio Plugin Explorer dialog box, listing the Telestream plugins installed by default.
2.Click the “+” button.
Wirecast opens a file browser.
3.Browse to a folder of VST plugins, select a VST file, and click Open.
Wirecast adds the VST plugin to the list of audio plugins.
You can add custom LUT (Look Up Table) filters to the set provided by default. To add a custom LUT filters to Wirecast, do the following:
1.Save your LUTS filter file to this folder:
\<User>\Library\Preferences\Wirecast\LUTS
2.Launch Wirecast.
Wirecast displays the custom LUTS filter in the list of video filters in the Video Filters tab and in the Source Properties pane of the Shot Editor.
See Video Filters Tab.