IRL Pro

Download:

You can download IRL Pro directly from the Google Play Store. They also have a website, as well as a Discord server.

Pros and Cons:

Pros:

• Free Connection Bonding: IRL Pro allows users to use Mobile Data and Wi-Fi Data at the same time in a process known as connection bonding. This is huge and what makes IRL Pro the best.

• Supports SRT/SRTLA, which is better than RTMP/RTMPS (Though not supported by all platforms).

• Supports HEVC/x265, which is more efficient than H.264 (Though not supported by all platforms).

• Total Camera Control: Enable and Disable things like EIS and OIS (Camera Stabilization).

• Built in support for reading chat on popular platforms.

• Full custom web overlay support (Powerchat.live, Streamlabs, Etc).

Cons:

• No native multi-streaming support (Prism has this)

• No native overlays (Chat embedded on screen/replays)

• Runs hotter than other apps, which could lead to overheating / slow charging.

The Condensed (To The Point) Guide

Download the app. Open it.

Click the gear in the top left.

Go to 'Steamer' if you're using Kick or Twitch and add your username.

Go to 'Connections' and add your stream URL and key.

Go to 'Video' and set your resolution and FPS settings.

Go to 'Overlays,' click 'Web Overlays,' click 'New web overlay,' add your preferred Alert Box URL (See Alerts / Overlays / Text-to-Speech). If you aren't using Kick or Twitch, or you want to add a chat overlay for Kick or Twitch that is embedded on the stream, repeat the 'New web overlay' option and add your Chat Overlay URL as well, but set it to a different location on the screen than your Alert Box.

Go back to the main screen.

Click the White Play Button at the bottom of the screen.

You're live.

Connection Bonding:

Hands down, the coolest thing about IRL Pro is the free connection bonding. Typically, I'm checking locations I'm hanging out for free Wi-Fi, using the Xfinity Now method, or at the very least, connecting to the unlimited mobile hotspot from my second phone to always have two concurrent connections for the stream thanks to IRL Pro.

More Settings:

Streamer options: Here you can set a Kick or Twitch username, which will display the chat on the screen, which you can scroll, but you can't interact with it (ban/timeout/etc).

Bonding and NoDrop Settings: Here you will read a little about the bonding services provided by this app. However, the only options you can change are enabling them, and setting the 'weight' of each connection. Once you've looked over this, go back.

Connections: Here you will choose 'New connection' and setup your connection. Assuming you're brand new, you probably don't have a Streaming Server setup, so you will probably either use the Quick Site Setup to add Kick, Twitch, or a custom target URL. If you do have a Streaming Server setup, this is where you'd put your SRT/SRTLA URL. If you want to learn more about Streaming Servers, or don't know what I'm talking about, check out the Streaming Servers section, because the truth is, all the medium and larger IRL streamers are using Streaming Servers for the various benefits they offer.

Video: Here you can select the camera you want to see when you first open the app. Check the 'Flip between physical sub-cameras' option as there may be hidden options by default that you want to check out. Set your resolution and FPS. Look through the other options, note that things like electronic and optical image stabilization do contribute to battery drain and overheating problems, so if you are experiencing those problems, try disabling these to see if that helps. Directly above that, choosing your Bitrate and Format are helpful if you know what you're doing. HEVC uses less bitrate, but is more demanding on the encoder. For more information on additional facts about the comparison of HEVC and H.264, you'll have to research it, but what really matters in this situation is bitrate vs encoder demand, what's more important for you, and what actually works for you. This is also where you can choose to enable or disable EIS and OIS. I recommend EIS or the video will be very unstable usually, but it is much more resource demanding, and will zoom in the camera a little bit.

Audio: I personally don't touch anything here, but feel free to check it out.

Recording: I personally don't touch anything here, but this is where you can choose to also record your stream to your phone in real-time, however it is resource demanding, and I wouldn't recommend it. If recording your VOD to your phone in real-time is important to you, and you aren't bonding connections, I recommend just using Prism Live Studio instead.

Display: I don't mess with this, but it's just three options you can enable or disable.

Overlays: Here you can add Text/Picture overlays, if you want to put a watermark or something on the stream. This is also where you click 'Web Overlays,' then 'New web overlay,' then add your Alertbox URL. Repeat the process to add other overlays, like Chat, View Count, etc. You can choose to show these on the stream, or just on your phone where only you can see them if you want.

Advanced options: You can browse these, but I don't mess with any of them.

Once you've done all this, you can go back to the main screen, and then press the White Play Button centered in the bottom of the screen to go live!

Troubleshooting

The main issues people experience with IRL Pro are overheating and battery drain (even when charging). I recommend checking out the official IRL Pro Discord where you can ask about your specific device and settings for guidance.

If you can't figure it out, or if it just doesn't work well on your phone, you could buy the phone I recommend on the Recommended Android Phones page, or try Prism Live Studio instead. It's a great app, with great features, but it lacks connection bonding and forces a watermark.