# How to Go Live from Your Mac > EventLive for Mac streams from a MacBook, iMac or Mac mini with its built-in camera, a USB or HDMI camera, or your iPhone. Switch cameras and microphones while you're live, share your screen and keep a backup copy on your Mac. Source: https://www.eventlive.pro/help/how-to-go-live-from-your-mac Section: EventLive Help Center › Using EventLive › Going Live Updated: 2026-10-08 EventLive for Mac lets you go live from a MacBook, iMac or Mac mini without OBS or stream keys. Use the Mac's built-in camera, a USB webcam, a professional camera through an HDMI capture device, or your iPhone, and switch between cameras and microphones while you're live. The app is free; you pay for events the same way as in the EventLive phone app. ## Download and install 1. On your Mac, go to [eventlive.pro/mac](https://www.eventlive.pro/mac) and click **Download for Mac**. 2. Open the downloaded file and drag **EventLive for Mac** to the **Applications** folder. 3. Open EventLive for Mac from Applications. If macOS asks whether to open an app downloaded from the internet, click **Open**. 4. Sign in with the same account you use in the EventLive app or on the website. Your events are all there. EventLive for Mac needs macOS 14 Sonoma or later, on a Mac with Apple silicon or an Intel Mac from 2018 or later. See the full [system requirements](https://www.eventlive.pro/mac#requirements). ## Go live 1. Open your event and choose **How to Go Live**. 2. Choose **This Mac (Recommended)** and click **Go Live**, or **Start free test** for a free test. The Studio window opens with your camera and microphone. 3. The first time, click **Allow** when macOS asks whether EventLive may use the camera and microphone. 4. Check the picture and the microphone level meter, then click **Start Test** (for a test event) or **Start** at the top right of the Studio. 5. When the event is over, click **Stop**. If you haven't paid for the event yet, **Unlock event** opens checkout in your web browser. When you've paid, go back to EventLive for Mac to go live. ![How to Go Live in EventLive for Mac, with This Mac (Recommended) selected and the Go Live button](https://www.eventlive.pro/images/help/how-to-go-live-from-your-mac/01-how-to-go-live-this-mac.webp) ![The EventLive for Mac Studio ready to go live: the Start button at the top right, the microphone, camera and Share Screen controls at the bottom](https://www.eventlive.pro/images/help/how-to-go-live-from-your-mac/02-studio-ready.webp) While you're live, the top of the Studio shows how long you've been live, how many people are watching and how fast your Mac is uploading. **Copy Link** copies the link to watch your event. Before the day of your event, run a [free test](https://www.eventlive.pro/help/how-to-test-live-streaming) with the same cameras, microphone and internet connection you'll use. ## Cameras EventLive for Mac works with any camera your Mac recognizes: - **The built-in camera** of a MacBook or iMac, or a Studio Display. - **USB webcams.** - **Professional cameras** (DSLR, mirrorless or camcorder) through an HDMI capture device such as the Elgato Cam Link. Turn on clean HDMI output first: see [how to enable HDMI output on a camera](https://www.eventlive.pro/help/how-to-enable-hdmi-output-on-a-camera). Some cameras also work as a USB webcam with the manufacturer's webcam software. - **ATEM Mini or Blackmagic Web Presenter** connected with a USB cable. It appears as a camera, so you can switch cameras on the ATEM and stream its program from your Mac. - **Your iPhone**, with Continuity Camera. It needs iOS 16 or later on an iPhone XR or newer, signed in to the same Apple Account as your Mac, with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on. Mount the iPhone on a stand or tripod near your Mac. To switch cameras, click the camera menu at the bottom of the Studio (it shows the name of the current camera) and choose another one. You can switch at any time, even while you're live. EventLive gets the new camera ready before it switches, so viewers never see a black frame, even when the cameras have different resolutions or frame rates. Keyboard shortcuts: **⌘1** to **⌘9** choose a camera, and **⇧⌘N** switches to the next one. Click the gear button at the bottom right for **Video Settings**: - **Camera switch:** **Dissolve** or **Cut**. - **Framing:** **Automatic**, **Fill frame (crop)** or **Show whole picture**. - **Switch cameras automatically if one disconnects:** on by default. - **Mirror my preview:** viewers always see the real, un-mirrored picture. For several cameras on one event, see [how to use multiple cameras](https://www.eventlive.pro/help/how-to-use-multiple-cameras-for-live-streaming). ## Microphones Click the microphone menu (it shows the name of the current microphone) and choose: - **Same as System**, which follows the input selected in your Mac's Sound settings, or - any connected microphone: built-in, USB or Bluetooth, or an audio interface or mixer. You can change the microphone while you're live. The level meter shows what viewers hear. Click the microphone button next to the meter to mute or unmute (**⇧⌘A**). It turns red while you're muted. For better sound, see [how to improve audio quality](https://www.eventlive.pro/help/how-to-improve-audio-quality-for-live-streaming). ## Share your screen 1. Click **Share Screen** and choose a display, a window or an app. 2. Viewers see the whole shared picture, never cropped. The camera menu shows **Shared Screen** while you share. 3. Click **Stop Sharing** to go back to your camera. Use it to show PowerPoint or Keynote slides, a photo slideshow or a video. Close private windows and turn off notifications before you share. Sharing your Mac's sound isn't available yet, so to play music or a video's sound, play it through a speaker near your microphone and check it in your test. ![The Studio sharing a presentation slide while live, with the Stop Sharing button at the bottom](https://www.eventlive.pro/images/help/how-to-go-live-from-your-mac/03-share-screen.webp) ## Keep a backup copy **Record a copy on this Mac** in Video Settings is on by default. While you're live, EventLive saves a high-quality copy in your **Movies › EventLive** folder, and **REC** shows at the top of the Studio. The copy keeps recording even if your internet drops, so you have the whole event even if part of the online replay is missing. A 1080p copy uses about 4.5 GB per hour. If your Mac has less than 3 GB free, EventLive streams without saving a copy and tells you so. If the replay is missing footage, see [how to find missing recordings](https://www.eventlive.pro/help/how-to-find-missing-recordings-after-a-livestream). ## Picture quality and internet EventLive for Mac streams in 1080p Full HD. It sends efficient HEVC video, which looks sharp at under 3 Mbps, and adjusts the quality automatically when your upload speed changes, so viewers keep watching instead of buffering. An upload speed of 3 Mbps or more is best for 1080p. On a slower connection, you can choose **720p HD** under **Stream quality** in Video Settings before you go live. Use a wired (Ethernet) connection where you can. See [how to resolve poor signal issues](https://www.eventlive.pro/help/how-to-resolve-poor-signal-issues-during-streaming). ## Updates EventLive for Mac checks for updates once a day and asks before it installs one. To check yourself, choose **EventLive › Check for Updates…**. It never updates while you're live. ## Using the iPad version on your Mac? Macs with Apple silicon can install the iPad version of the EventLive app from the App Store. EventLive for Mac replaces it: external cameras, microphones and screen sharing work properly. Your account and events stay the same, so you can delete the iPad version. ## Troubleshooting - **The MacBook's camera is off:** a MacBook's built-in camera turns off while the lid is closed, and the camera menu shows it as **(lid closed)**. EventLive switches to another camera if you have one, or keeps the last picture on air until you open the lid, then picks the camera up again by itself. - **No camera or microphone:** open **System Settings › Privacy & Security › Camera** (or **Microphone**), turn on EventLive, then go back to the Studio. If a USB camera or capture device still doesn't appear, unplug it and plug it in again. - **Your iPhone isn't in the camera menu:** check the Continuity Camera requirements above, and that **Continuity Camera** is on in the iPhone's **Settings › General › AirPlay & Continuity** (**AirPlay & Handoff** on older iOS versions). - **No picture from a capture device:** check that the camera is on, in video mode, with HDMI output on, and try another cable. - **Viewers see buffering:** see [how to resolve poor signal issues](https://www.eventlive.pro/help/how-to-resolve-poor-signal-issues-during-streaming). - **Anything else:** choose **Help › Contact Support…** in EventLive for Mac. Support may ask for the stream logs: choose **Help › Show Stream Logs in Finder**. ## Windows computers EventLive for Mac is only for Macs. On a Windows computer, use [OBS Studio](https://www.eventlive.pro/help/how-to-connect-obs-studio-to-eventlive) or another RTMP encoder.