Live Stream: Setup and Options
Incorporating live stream to accompany your main video, timed event or playlist, or even as its own stand-alone event, is easy to setup in just a few steps. Some common uses for this feature are to broadcast live introductions, Q&As, or panel discussions directly to the video or playlist's landing page. You can also create a live stream event without a main video or playlist in the LIVE EVENTS area. Some common uses for that might be interactive conference sessions or opening night greetings.
1. Configure the Live Stream
To setup a live stream select the sub-menu Live from the appropriate asset (Video, Live Event, or Playlist). Enable the "Include Live Stream" button at upper right. Fill in the "Live Stream Title" field, and set the "Start Date" the live stream will begin. Then add the "End Date" which will remove the Live Stream button from the event's online landing page afterwards. Be sure the "End Date" is set to after the "Start Date" (recommend two hours after), otherwise the live stream button won't appear on the landing page.
Filling in the "Live Stream Title" and "Start" and "End" date and time fields will create a live stream button on the event's landing page, positioned to the right of the Play button (or alone if this is Live Stream only). The text inside the button will be the "Live Stream Title" with a running countdown to the broadcast date/time.
The Live Stream button will not become clickable until 30 minutes prior to the designated time. At that point, if a patron enters (by clicking the button) prior to the live stream broadcast beginning, they'll see the following message on screen and can choose to wait or come back later.
2. Audience Interactivity
The Live Stream setup page has optional audience interactivity settings to include chat and/or questions.
- Live Chat Enabled - displays a text box on the right hand side of the live stream for audience members to comment and chat in real time.
- Ask a Question Enabled - displays an input for your audience to ask private questions. Only a moderator will see the questions. The following image shows an example of a live stream using both the Ask A Question and Live Chat options.
3. Moderator Page
There are a couple of options for moderating your audience interactions. The "Show Questions" button on the Live Steam setup screen will open a modal window for a moderator to see and choose private questions from. Another option is to use the "Add Moderator" button at the bottom of the screen to generate a url that a moderator and/or participants can be given in order to see the questions and/or chat comments in a browser window outside of the administrative portal.
Using the Moderator Page URL comes with some handy chat tools as well. When viewing the chat from the Moderator Page, a moderator can delete a comment from the live chat; ban a user; and see a commenter's voucher number or subscriber name. On the Questions side of the page, a moderator can group and prioritize questions or mark them as answered already.
4. Broadcast to the Landing Page
In order to broadcast a live stream to the video, live event, or playlist's landing page the RTMP End Point and the Stream Key need to be copied and entered into the software that you will be using to broadcast from (ie. Zoom, Steamyard, etc.)
For Zoom, you set up a custom broadcast location in your zoom account to prepare in advance for your live stream. You then schedule the zoom meeting and add in the RTMP end point info and stream key for the custom broadcast location, copied from the Live Stream area. Zoom setup instructions can be found HERE.
When the time comes and you have your zoom session started and are ready to broadcast, there is a toggle at the bottom of the zoom window to set the stream Live. You would choose the "Live on Custom Live Streaming Service". Please be aware there is a 10-30 second interval before the stream is live on the landing page.
You'll be directed to Zoom to fill in the RTMP end point, the stream key, and a live streaming page URL. The URL must be filled in to complete the setup, but it just needs to be any valid URL. We recommend putting your organization's web address here.
If you use another service for meetings, other than Zoom, it may offer the ability to broadcast a live stream and if so you would use the RTMP End Point and Stream Key data to setup your broadcast in a similar manner.
It is highly recommended that you do a practice run, or two, prior to your first event.