Stream

Introducing Manual live stream

What's inside this article:


Basic information

Manual live stream is a tool in Pangea CMS that lets you set up a live video stream at very short notice. It is not necessary to know in advance exactly when the stream will end. This tool is ideal for reporting on breaking news stories and special events. Send a one-off stream to one or more social media accounts, as well as to the website.



Set up a stream in Pangea CMS

Go to Stream > Manual live stream to open the Manual live stream tool.

It is required to complete the following settings for every stream:


Stream name

Enter a name to identify the stream in Pangea CMS. This name is not displayed via social media platforms.

NOTE: If you send the stream to the website, the Stream name might be displayed on the Manual stream widget.


Source

Select the source of content for the stream. In the Preview box, check which content is currently being streamed via the selected source.

NOTE: In rare cases, the preview might be unavailable for technical reasons. This does not impact Manual live stream functionality. If the preview is down, you should still be able to send the stream without any issues.


Max stream length

Select the maximum amount of time that will be allowed for the stream. After this time, the stream will be automatically cut.

IMPORTANT: The purpose of the Max stream length setting is to ensure that streams are not left to run indefinitely in CMS. You will be able to manually end the stream at the desired moment.

Choose from the following pre-defined values:

  • 30 minutes
  • 1 hour
  • 2 hours
  • 3 hours
  • 4 hours

Select Custom to manually enter the date and time when the stream will be cut. Enter a custom value according to the local time for your site. You cannot enter a time that is more than 8 hours in the future.


Email

Your email address is prefilled in the Email box. It is not possible to enter a different email address.

We might use this email address as follows:

  • To notify you about the stream.
  • To contact you if there is a problem with the stream.



Send a stream to social media

You can send the same stream to one or multiple social media accounts. Follow these steps:

  1. Under Social media, select a social media platform.
  2. Under Name of channel, enter the name of the social media page. This information will be visible only in Pangea CMS.
  3. Paste the Server URL and Stream key from the social media account. For details, go to the following section:
  4. To stream to multiple social media accounts, repeat steps 1-3 above for each account.
  5. To stream to the website, tick Stream to website. For details, go to the following section:
  6. Hit Send stream to send the stream to the selected social media accounts (and to the website if selected).

After you hit Send stream, each social media platform will need to process and encode the stream. This process might take up to one minute. The stream will not be available in each social media account until it has been fully encoded and processed.

Most social media platforms show a preview of the stream once it is encoded and processed. The stream will not start until you manually go live via the social media account.

The exception to this rule is Odnoklassniki, where the stream will go live automatically as soon as it is encoded and processed.

For information about starting a stream via different social media platforms, see the following articles:



Send a stream to the website

Manual live stream to the website is only available if your website already includes a Manual stream widget. To learn how to build a Manual stream widget, see the following article:

To send a stream to the Manual stream widget, tick Stream to website.

NOTE: If you build a Manual stream widget in another tab, the Stream to website option will not become available until you refresh the Manual live stream tab.

For detailed information about using Manual live stream to stream to the website, see the following article:



Retrieve the Server URL and Stream key

Before you can send a stream to a social media account, you need to retrieve the Server URL and Stream key that are linked to the social media account. For step-by-step instructions, see the following articles:



Guidelines

After you hit Send stream in Pangea CMS, it might take up to one minute before a preview of the stream is available in each social media account. This is because third-party platforms need time to process and encode the video. The exact time varies from request to request.

To avoid issues with the start times for your shows, follow the guidelines below:

  • Send the stream from Pangea CMS at least one minute early to ensure the video will be processed and ready before the start time.
  • Follow industry best practice by including a "Stream Starting Soon" screen at the start of your streams. This approach avoids potential issues if the stream starts early.



Customize default settings

Your service can customize the default values for certain settings on the Manual live stream screen in Pangea CMS. The following options are available:

  • Max stream length: The global default value is 2 hours. Alternatively, choose one of the following default values for your service:
    • 30 mins, 1 hour, 3 hours, 4 hours, Custom
  • Name of channel: Set one default channel name for each supported social media platform.

Contact Pangea Customer Care to customize the default Manual live stream settings for your service.