Creating a live stream

To create a live stream, click on the Create button the Live stream module. The below window opens where you can add all the necessary information for your stream:

1. Enter the name of the stream. This is only visible in Backstage, not in the app.
   
   
2. Enter the scheduled start date and time, which will be used for the countdown that will appear on the live stream viewer in the app, leading up to when the live stream begins.
   
   
3. Select the streaming provider:
   Streaming with SpotMe (recommended) means that you are streaming a video conference or meeting directly via SpotMe. Streaming with SpotMe allows you to add the additional streaming  options.
   
   Third party provider: Use this if you have an embedded stream, for example from third parties such as Youtube, Vimeo, Facebook, etc. This option does not allow you to use the Streaming with SpotMe options.
   
   
4. IF Streaming with SpotMe - Enable the stream options you'd like to include: Clapping, Who is watching, Q&A (as well as whether participants can post questions anonymously or not in the Q&A), and Live interpretation.
   
   IF Streaming with third party provider - Enter the information as described below:
   Height/Width: This is the minimum height and width for the stream viewer when minimized in the web app. As you are streaming through a third party platform, you'll need to enter the height/width (aspect ratios) of the third party stream.
   Stream URL:  A link to an HTML5 embed. See instructions for Vimeo, YouTube live and others.

Once you have entered the stream information and selected the options you want for your stream, click on Save. This will open the newly created stream's details, in the View tab, where you can continue with the stream set-up.

Connecting and previewing the stream

Once you have created the stream, by adding the necessary information and options, you can continue with the stream set-up in the Steam view tab:

Here, you will need to generate your stream credentials and connect the stream in your workspace to your video conference or third party streaming platform:

1. Click on Start preview. Doing so will generate your stream credentials (the stream URL and the stream key), that you will add to your video conference tool or third party stream provider.
   
   Once you do this, you will have 3 hours to start broadcasting, after that your stream credentials will no longer be valid and you'll need to generate new ones for the stream by starting a new preview.
   
   IMPORTANT: Streams will automatically stop/close if, for more than one hour, our system does not detect any streamed content. If this is the case, Backstage will prompt you about automatically closing the stream (should you wish to keep it open), before finally stopping the stream and creating an on-demand replay video of any streamed content.
   
   
2. Once you have generated the credentials, they will appear in the Setup tab:
   
   
   
3. Next, copy the generated credentials into your video conference or third party streaming tool.
   More information is available for using Zoom, Webex, Streamyard, OBS, Vimeo, YouTube live, etc.
   
   
4. After adding your SpotMe stream credentials to your tool of choice, start the steam there.
   Next, go to the stream in Backstage. You'll now be able to see the preview in Backstage.

Note: It may take up to 30 seconds for the preview to appear in Backstage after you start streaming.

NEXT STEPS
Find out how to add and run Q&A in your stream.
Find out how clapping works in your stream.
Find out how to add live interpretation to your stream.
See how to broadcast your live stream.