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Preview a Live Event

BlendVision One allows you to rehearse and preview your event before going live.

After a live event is created, the live event’s status will change to “Wait for Preview” which indicates that the system and stream server is prepared for previewing.

This article details instructions on how to preview your live event.

Before we start 

We recommend you confirm the following pieces of information before starting the preview: 

When can you start previewing

When the event preview becomes available depends on the time set as the scheduled time in the event settings.

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  • If the event start time was set to “Now”, the preview will be available in roughly 3 minutes when the system finishes preparing the event resources.
  • If the start time is scheduled more than 12 hours from now, then you will have to wait until 12 hours before the live event is scheduled to start. The status will display as “Wait for Preview'', meaning the server is on standby. You can manually start the server for event rehearsal if necessary.

Confirm the information necessary for signal streaming

If your live event is being hosted from a signal stream (RTMP), please follow the steps below to confirm the RTMP links for your signal push:

 

1. Refer to information in Live Control Room to access the control room of your event.

2. Click the gear icon on the top right of the control room page to find the necessary information for signal pushing:

  • RTMP Link (Main) - serves as the primary source feed for the Livestream. 
  • RTMP Link (Backup) - serves as the backup feed when the main source gets disconnected. The player will automatically switch to the backup source after a few seconds of loading time.
  • Stream Key - some live streaming software may require the RTMP Link/Stream Key to function properly.
  • Stream Key (Backup): serves as the backup Stream Key. Please use Stream Key (Backup) once you switch to RTMP Link (Backup).

    In such cases, you need to fill in the information in the format below to your live streaming software to avoid connection failure issues caused by a duplicate stream key:
    • RTMP Link: rtmp://<domain>/<live1 or live2>/ 
      Stream Key: <stream key>

Note:

1. We strongly recommend that you confirm the supported input formats for live events to set up your streaming software or encoder settings before you send a test signal.  

2. Player behavior regarding main and backup signals:

  • While streaming simultaneously to main and backup RTMP links 
    • The Player will stream the main source feed. 
    • The Player will automatically switch to another source feed after a few seconds of loading time when the main or backup feed is disconnected. 
  • When streaming to the backup RTMP link before streaming to the main RTMP link
    • Player will not automatically switch from the backup to main.

 

Start previewing 

During the “Wait for Preview” status, the stream server is not yet ready to receive a signal. Please follow the instructions below to change the status to “Previewing”.

 

1. Open the Livestream via the “Preview” button in the control room.

  • While the event status is in "Wait for Preview", you can find the "Preview" button in the upper-right corner of the control room. Click the "Preview" button to open the stream server.
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  • After clicking, you can confirm the status in Livestream List which should change to "Initiating". Please note that it will take a few minutes to start the server.
  •  When the server is ready, the status will change to "Preview".
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2. For live event hosting from a RTMP signal: the live event is open and ready for signal receiving once it reaches the “Preview” status. You may start pushing your signal to start testing.

  • For simulive events: you may skip this step and preview your content directly on the player.

 

5. When the test signal is sent, you can preview the livestream on the player in the control room.

  • You can also monitor the metrics (such as bitrate) of the input signal via the graphs under the player. Refer to Live Control Room.

Finish previewing

Once you have finished rehearsing and are satisfied with the results, you can refer to Start and End a Live Event to start your live event.

 

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