Ask the funeral home first
Many funeral homes already offer livestreaming, often with a recording afterwards. In Australia it's commonly a few hundred dollars as an add-on, and more if a separate company has to bring equipment to a church or graveside. If they offer it, it's usually the least stressful option: someone else handles the camera, sound and internet. Finder
Ask: will there be a recording, how long does it stay online, and is the link private?
Doing it yourself: which option
| Option | Good for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| YouTube (unlisted) | Large audiences, a recording that stays up, and it plays inside a Fondly page. | Set it up at least a day ahead: a new channel must be verified, and the first stream can take up to 24 hours to switch on. Going live from the YouTube phone app needs 50 subscribers, so use a webcam or a streaming app instead. YouTube Help |
| Zoom | A small group who want to see each other and speak. | Free Zoom meetings end at 40 minutes, so use a paid account for a full service. Zoom |
| Facebook Live | Quick and familiar. | Harder to keep private, and music often gets muted. |
YouTube, step by step
- Two or more days before: create or use a Google account, open YouTube Studio, and verify the channel with a phone number. Turn on live streaming, which can take up to 24 hours.
- Schedule the stream in YouTube Studio for the service time, set it to Unlisted (only people with the link can find it), and copy the link.
- Paste the link into your page in Fondly under Livestream, and name a helper guests can contact if it drops out.
- On the day, stream from a laptop with a webcam, or from a phone using a free streaming app (such as Larix Broadcaster) with the stream key from YouTube Studio.
- Afterwards, the recording appears at the same link. Add it to the page as the recording so people can watch later.
What you need on the day
- A tripod or stand. A shaky handheld phone is tiring to watch.
- Power. Plug the phone or laptop in; streaming drains batteries fast.
- Good internet. Ask the venue for its wi-fi password, or use a phone hotspot with strong 4G or 5G. Test it in the room beforehand.
- Sound. A small clip-on or wireless microphone near the lectern makes the biggest difference.
- A test run. Do a short private test the day before, at the venue if you can.
- One person in charge who isn't a chief mourner, so the family can be present.
Music and muted streams
YouTube and Facebook automatically detect recorded music and may mute or interrupt a stream, even when the venue is licensed to play it. The simplest fix is to pause or mute the stream during recorded songs, or show a still image saying the music is playing in the chapel. Live music and hymns sung by the congregation usually aren't a problem. OneMusic Australia
Sharing the link
Put the link in the same message as the funeral details, and give the start time with the city, such as "11 am Sydney time", so relatives overseas can work out their own time. A Fondly page does that conversion for them automatically. For the message itself, see how to tell people someone has died.
Put the livestream where everyone can find it
Paste the link into a free family page. YouTube and Vimeo streams play right on the page, and relatives overseas see the start time in their own timezone.
Make a free page