How to screen cast and go live from your phone

The fastest way to start an IRL stream is to share your whole screen. No capture card, no HDMI cable, no backpack. With Super Simple IRL your phone captures its own display and sends it live, so everything you tap and play goes straight to your audience.

Why screen share

One device does everything. The phone runs your game, records its own screen, encodes the video, and pushes it out over SRT, all at once. That keeps your kit tiny and your setup quick.

It is a great fit for location based games and mobile apps, where you are already holding the phone and want viewers to see exactly what you see. It is tested on budget phones too, so you do not need the latest flagship to go live.

Before you start

You need a destination for your stream, a place the app can send the video. The recommended path is to receive SRT in OBS on your own PC, then push on to Twitch, YouTube, or Kick from there. Our guide to SRT streaming walks through that from a blank OBS.

Once you have a destination, its address becomes your SRT URL, which goes in Settings inside the app. Keep that URL handy for the steps below.

Go live in a few taps

1. Open Super Simple IRL

   Launch the app on your phone. The home screen offers two sources: This Screen to share this phone’s screen, and GoPro / DJI Camera for an external camera.

2. Tap "This Screen"

   On the home screen tap This Screen. This tells the app to capture your phone display rather than a camera.

3. Paste your SRT URL in Settings

   Open Settings and paste your SRT URL into the field. Set the Target bitrate slider to something your upload can hold, and choose Simple or Advanced mode. Simple keeps it to the essentials, Advanced unlocks resolution, frame rate, and codec.

4. Turn on Device audio if you want game sound

   Still in Settings, toggle Device audio to On if you want your game or app sound to go out with the stream. Leave it Off if you only plan to talk over your gameplay.

5. Start and accept the capture prompt

   Tap to start. Android shows a screen capture permission prompt to confirm you want to share your screen. Accept it, and the app begins recording your display.

6. Open the game or app you want to show

   Switch to whatever you want on stream, your GPS game, a map, or any mobile app. The app keeps capturing in the background.

7. You are live

   Everything on your screen is now live to your destination. Play as normal, and your viewers see exactly what you see.

Dial in quality (Advanced mode)

Switch Settings to Advanced when you want more control. Here is what each option does, in plain terms.

• Resolution. Choose 720p, 1080p, or Native. Higher looks sharper but needs more upload and more work from the phone. 720p is a friendly starting point.
• Frame rate. Pick 30 or 60. 30 is smooth enough for most games and easier on a budget phone. Save 60 for fast action if your phone and upload can handle it.
• Codec. Pick H.264 for the widest compatibility, or H.265 for better efficiency, which fits more quality into less bandwidth.
• SRT latency. This is the buffer that lets SRT recover lost packets on shaky networks. For mobile data, 2000 to 4000 ms is a comfortable range.
• MTU. The packet size. The default suits most networks. Only lower it if you see connection trouble on a fussy mobile link.
• Match bitrate to your upload. Set Target bitrate below what your connection can reliably send. If it stutters, drop the bitrate first.

Performance tips for budget phones

A cheaper phone can absolutely handle screen share. A few habits keep it smooth:

• Close background apps before you go live so the phone has room to work.
• 720p at 30 fps is plenty for most streams and keeps the load light.
• Keep the phone cool. Take it out of a thick case, and keep it out of direct sun.
• Turn battery saver off, since it can throttle the processor and cause dropped frames.
• Keep the screen on. Screen share needs the display awake, so set a long screen timeout or keep the phone active.

What your viewers see

Screen share sends your whole screen, exactly as it is. That includes any notifications, banners, and pop ups that arrive while you stream. Turn on Do Not Disturb before you go live so nothing private appears on camera.

Game guides

Ready to stream a specific game? These walkthroughs pick up where this one leaves off:

• Stream Pokémon GO
• Stream Monster Hunter Now
• Stream Orna: The GPS RPG
• Stream Ingress Prime

Frequently asked questions