Livestream



Reserving the System

Because the Livestream service doesn’t allow for multiple events to stream on the same day or at the same time, we use a Basecamp event calendar to keep track of bookings for the Livestream service.

Follow the Basecamp link to see the booking system and see if the day you’d like to reserve is free: https://basecamp.com/2290732/calendar

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Event Poster

The event poster image must be 640x360 in size. The image will be the featured image of the stream. As well, a blurred version of the event poster will occupy the stream's preview frame acting as a background element before the stream goes live.

Livestream.com, event poster example

Use this template (.PSD, 3.2MB) to create your cover image. When working with the file, be sure to Show Guides to centre any titles properly. Replace the photo with an image of your own and change (and centre) the title at the bottom. Using this template is the best way to keep your event consistent with all the Western Livestream events and to meet Livestream.com's image requirements. As they change this document will be updated to reflect that.

An event poster should be saved as a .jpg before being uploaded to Livestream.com.

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Embedding the Stream

If you plan to embed the stream in a Western web property, you can grab the stream’s embed code by visiting the event page and copying and pasting the code into the HTML of the webpage from where they'd like to feature the stream.

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Adding Metadata to Your Event Listing

The following bits of data are required:

  • Event Title: as with other details, once you enter the title, you can edit it at any time
  • Date/Time: Set the appropriate date for your event. When you set the broadcast time, be sure to add 30 mins before and after the actual time you plan to broadcast for testing purposes as well as to bank time in case the stream goes a bit long.
  • Location: You can begin to type a location and it will autofill. In some cases when you add places like Alumni Hall it can find specific buildings on campus.
  • Category: As there isn’t an Education category, we choose the Lifestyle category for Western streams.
  • Event Description: Add a detailed description for your event. The field supports line breaks.
  • Short URL: If you’re embedding your stream into another webpage, you won’t need a short url. You’ll share that page's url and not the livestream one. You can set this if you’d like but it’s not required.
  • Tags: Tag the event with all relevant keywords. Special Note: all streams require the following keywords: westernu, western, university, london, ontario, canada, uwo.
  • Event Poster: Upload the poster you created earlier.
  • Event Background Colour: There is a pre-set Western purple swatch in the system. There is no need to change this.

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Software Help

Broadcasting requires Livestream Producer. Download Livestream Producer for free: https://livestream.com/producer

Livestream.com, Producer screenhot with red Go Live button

Set up the Software:

  • Install the software on the computer you plan to broadcast from.
  • Log in using Western’s streaming credentials.
  • Select your event from the drop down at the top of the app window. Once you've created and published your event it will show up in that list.
  • Below the red “Go Live” button, choose the video input source. It will default to your laptop's built-in camera so you'll need to choose another source if you have an external camera.
  • Select the stream quality. Depending on internet access, Depending on your internet connection, it's suggested that you select "Medium or Mobile (876Kbps)".
  • Click the "Preferences" button in the bottom right corner of the app, then choose the "Audio" tab. Click the “Open Audio Mixer” equalizer button. This brings up an equalizer (*shown below) where you can adjust master audio settings. To test this, clicking the “Headphone monitor” button lets you preview the audio with any headphones you plug into the laptop. Once things are set the way you want them, close the equalizer window and then click the “Save” button.
  • Click the large, red “Go Live” button and you’ll be prompted to name your video (this is done in case you save the broadcast after). Once you do that, your stream will be live.

Livestream.com, Producer screenhot with audio pane exposed

*The audio mixing pane exposed.

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Once Live

Once live you’ll see a bar across the bottom of your screen that lets you preview the video in the bottom left. If you click the image, it will open the stream larger for you to view. You can also adjust the audio settings and stop the stream when it's over from this preview bar.

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After the Stream

When the stream is over, you'll be given an alert whether you’d like to save the stream or delete it. If you save it, you can download the video afterwards as well as allow users to watch the stream afterwards if they missed it when it was first broadcast.

If you do decided to save it and go this route, be aware that after a while administrators of the Livestream account will delete archived footage to make room for other streams. If you’d like to keep the footage, you should download it from Livestream.

Special note: the ability to download a past broadcast severely lowers the quality of the video. It will download at 288p resolution instead of whatever quality it was originally broadcast.

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Tracking Stats

How to read the report

Livestream.com, filter events

Focus in on your event’s stats by selecting your event from the “Filter by Event” dropdown and the clicking the flashing “Update” button at the top right.

Livestream.com, select dates

You can also specify the time period you want to track stats for by dragging the slider to the appropriate interval.

Once the system updates and shows you the result, you can hover over each node in the graph to find out specific details about that broadcast.

Livestream.com, hover over nodes

How to continue reading the report

Check the stats after the stream’s date and subtract that number from the views on day-of to determine whether people have watching the stream since it went live.

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