Live Streaming Questions

Got questions or need a little help? In this section, you’ll find trending Live Stream FAQ and Troubleshooting articles.

Questions

  • How do I test a live stream and what do I need to know?

  • Refer to the Managing a Live Event Guide

  • Which stream key format do I use?

  • Most encoders will use the Separate format, try that first and if it doesn’t work try the Combine format. If you that still does not fix the problem contact support@vidflex.com.

  • When should I start my live stream?

    At a minimum start your stream 10-15 minutes before the set Live Event Start time. If you need to push back the start time, make sure you also adjust the Live Event Start time

    Important: Make sure the live stream is running before the live event start time begins.

Questions

  • Where do I find the encoder settings?

    The encoder settings are found in the Live Event container configuration window. Locate your container in the admin backend, click Edit > Event > Stream Settings & Preview. If the encoder settings are not displayed on this page make sure the input has been initially started. If the Event has Ended the encoder settings will no longer be available for this event.

  • What is Cloud Transcoding?

    Cloud Transcoding, also is known as Adaptive Bitrate, allows a device to playback the best quality stream that it can handle. Our system will generate up to 3 lower bitrates than the original bitrate being sent to the Vidflex system.

    For help on how to set this up please contact sales@vidflex.com

  • Where can I verify that the stream is going to my live event?

    You can verify the live stream in the live event containers Stream Settings & Preview page.

  • Is the Preview player different from what the viewer sees?

    The Preview player will show you the active live stream. The front end player only shows your audience content in between the set Live Event Start time.

    The Preview player is also used to verify your stream before the Live Start time, and also for any test streams you do.

    Do not change the Live Event Start time just to view a test stream. This can all be verified in the Preview player.

  • What are the recommended encoder settings?

    Please review our Recommended Encoder Set-up guide on our help center.

  • Where can I find all the steps for the person operating the camera and encoder onsite to look at?

    Please review our Managing a Live Event Guide on our help center.

Questions

  • What is the best practice if something happens during the live stream and it goes down?

    Don’t panic. This could mean many things. 

    • The first thing to do is check if your network went down. Open up a new internet browser and try to go to any website. If it still loads then you know its not network related.
    • If you have the internet, run a speed test at speedtest.net. It’s possible that the network had an outage or that it dropped momentarily below what the encoder needed to send the stream. 
    • By the time you verify the speed test things may appear normal. In that case, simply start the stream again from your encoder and wait the 15-30 second latency until you see it load on the video page. 
    • After you think enough time has passed for the delay, refresh the video page. Keep refreshing until you see the live stream again and the red live tag inside the video player controls.
    • Sometimes encoders will throw errors, in which case a simple reboot of the encoder application may be all that is needed. Classic restart. 
    • If none of these are working, contact support@vidflex.com.

  • I keep getting errors in my encoder when I start the stream, what do I do?

    Review if your encoder provides any error messages. In most cases the problem is how the encoder settings have been entered into the encoder.

    Verify in the Stream page where you originally got the encoder settings match what you’ve entered into the encoder. There is a nifty copy clipboard button beside each encode setting on the Stream page for you to use.

    Note: The encoder settings change for each live event container so you must change them out for each new live event.

  • My stream keeps buffering and is glitchy, how do I fix it?

    This is a common case of insufficient bandwidth that the encoder needs. Run a speed test at speedtest.net and verify that you have sufficient upload speed needed for the configured bitrate in your encoder.

    Refer to the Recommended Encoder Set-up on help.vidflex.com for more information on this. Note, always run a speedtest on the same day and well before the live event begins so that you know which settings to use when setting up your encoder.

  • My stream has lines across the player, what does that mean? How do I fix it?

    This is a sign that your encoder is not interlacing the stream. If you’ve spotted this before the live stream has started and have time to fix it, stop your stream. Go into the your encoder settings and find where the interlace setting is, make sure it’s enabled.

  • My stream looks grady, and is tracing the outline of objects, what does that mean?

    This could be related to a misconfigured keyframe interval. Most encoders have an option in their output settings to configure this. Look for this setting and if you find it, set the Keyframe Interval to 2 seconds. Some encoders say Keyframe Interval in frames instead of seconds, in this case enter or choose 60 frames. 

    Note: The keyframe interval goes hand in hand with the configured FPS (frames per second). Our recommendation above is assuming your FPS is set to 30.

  • I deleted my stream, can you get it back?
    Deleted streams are not recoverable.

    Please read the warning prompt before deleting the stream. This delete option is meant to only delete unwanted test streams before the real live event.

  • The download creation keeps failing, what do I do?

    There could be a number of reasons for this. The first thing to check is whether there was anything streaming when the Live Event Start time began. If there wasn’t any content streaming at that time, simply move the Live Event Start time forward to the spot you think the stream actually started. Then retry creating the download.

  • I can’t see my camera feed inside the encoder, how do I fix it?

    • Check that the camera lens cap has been removed
    • Check that you’ve correctly added the input inside the encoder application

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