ENTERPRISE

Integrator’s
Guide
ENTERPRISE

Integrator’s
Guide

Table of Contents
4 What is Livestream 11 Producing a Broadcast
Broadcasting: Best Practices
Our Mission
Broadcast Stream Ingest
How it Works
Minimum Ingest Quality
Wired Network Connections

5 Using This Guide Wireless Network Connections

Broadcasting Methods

Selecting A Camera

6 Enterprise Quick Reference Camera/Hardware Requirements

Livestream Recommended Cameras

Customer Service & Support Contacts Audience Participation

The Ultimate Guide to Livestreaming In-Room vs. Remote Participation

Events Livestream-Provided Audience Engagement Tools &
Capabilities
FAQs 3rd Party Integrations & Recommendations

Content Sensitivity & Confidentiality Post-Broadcast

Downloading Broadcasts
Livestream Security Features For
Enterprise Accounts Broadcast Archives

Live Broadcasting: Roles & Responsibilities

Online Support / Knowledge Base

Specifications & Basic Information

Watching A Stream: System Requirements
BYOD Expectations

Using the Livestream Platform

 Standard High Security Broadcast Audience
17 Configuration 24 Logistics
Global Settings Calculating Audience Size
Event Settings Stream Connection Traffic Model
Broadcast Attendance Factors
Accessing Your Events
Navigating The Events Panel Managing Audience Locations
Geo-Blocking Settings
Regional Broadcasts
Privacy Settings Global Broadcasts

Managing Bandwidth Usage Through Audience Behavior

Preparing Your Networks Viewing Rooms

Live vs. Archive Playback
Encouraging Home Viewing
22 for Broadcast Allowing Specific Connections via Geo-Blocking

Integrating Livestream Into a Static Website or Page

Standard Embedding of Livestream Player 27 Estimating

Custom Embedding
Integrating the Livestream Player into Your Intranet or Internal CMS Bandwidth Usage
Integrating SSO
Stream Caching / Redistribution Estimating Potential Audience Size vs. Actual Attendance
Port Configurations & Firewalls
VPNs
Stream Quality
Variable Quality Streams
Fixed Quality Streams

3
What is Livestream
Our Mission
We connect your organization to people by making every event an experience for
anyone, anywhere.

Livestream is the only comprehensive livestreaming solution, providing the streaming

platform, hardware, studio software, best-in-class support, production services, and
analytics to any person or organization with the desire to reach a global audience.
Livestream is trusted by over 30,000 organizations, from local communities to global
brands, and streams over 10 million events a year.

How it Works
Livestream is an IP-based broadcasting system that enables organizations to own,
manage, and distribute live video and audio content through the internet at scale.
Think of it as your own broadcast television channel owned by your organization
and operated through the internet for public broadcasts or distributed through your
internal network depending on your use case.

In addition to the broadcasting service, Livestream also provides streaming hardware

and studio software ensuring you have an end-to-end solution for all of your live
broadcasting needs.
Using This Guide
This guide is intended for semi-technical enterprise stakeholders who are integrating
Livestream into their organization. There are sections specific to the needs of
communications departments, video production, and IT. The Live Broadcasting: Roles
& Responsibilities section of this document provides a conceptual breakdown on how
differing roles and departments work with the Livestream platform.

This guide focuses on internal broadcast use cases. External broadcast support is well
documented in the Livestream help center.

Livestream Online Help Center

5
Enterprise Quick
Reference
Customer Service & Support Contacts
Enterprise Plan & Custom Plan subscribers have access to 24/7 phone and email support.

Email Support Phone Support

support@livestream.com +1 (646) 490-1679

Custom Plan subscribers also have access to dedicated training, event,

and account management support. Custom Plan support can be activated
through your dedicated Livestream account manager.

Training & Onboarding

Livestream will help you configure your account, conduct test streaming, and get you
comfortable with our platform so you’re ready to go live.

Dedicated Event Support

Our event professionals are standing by when you go live to directly handle
anything you need.

Dedicated Account Management

Our dedicated, highly trained, experts will be assigned specifically to your account in order
to assist you through all of your streaming initiatives.
Content Sensitivity & Confidentiality
Livestream has a robust set of tools for managing sensitive broadcast content. These tools
include stream protection and IP blacklisting/whitelisting to name a few. Livestream also
works closely with enterprise customers to ensure their security requirements are met when
integrating the broadcasting solution.

Livestream also knows that security-driven enterprise integrations take time and can impact
the speed at which an organization can adopt the service. Livestream recommends that
enterprise customers make clear distinctions between the content sensitivity of their use
cases so that integration requirements can be prioritized to adopt the solution as quickly as
possible.

FAQs
Q: Is Livestream a replacement for WebEx and other virtual conference call solutions?

A: No. Livestream is a professional high-quality broadcast system that is more akin to a

television channel than a conferencing service. WebEx is great for small virtual meetings
where anyone can be in control of the content as is needed. Livestream is a produced
medium that requires a video and audio production process to make the most impact
possible with your content, ideal for town hall and company-wide meetings, investor calls,
or events.

Q: Do I have to use a video production crew to broadcast content live?

A: You do not have to use a production crew but it is highly recommended you use experienced
broadcast production support services due to the nuanced logistics of producing a high
quality live broadcast. Inexperienced content producers can quickly encounter issues they
are not prepared to troubleshoot during a live broadcast.

Q: How much bandwidth will Livestream use on our internal network?

A: Livestream provides a series of controls that can be used to manage the amount of
bandwidth required for your audience to view a broadcast. You can also manage viewing
logistics for your audience to reduce the bandwidth requirements for your internal network.
There is a detailed section below in this guide that outlines the various ways Livestream
customers can manage their bandwidth.

A detailed listing of FAQs and support topics is available in the online Livestream help center.

Livestream Platform FAQs

7
Livestream Security Features For
Enterprise Accounts
•  Hide account and events on Livestream.com
•  White label player and embeds
•  IP and domain whitelisting for embedded players
•  Password protect events and embeds
•  Control embedding location
•  Geo-blocking

The “Standard High Security Internal Broadcast Configuration For Internal Use Cases” section
of this document has a detailed guide for enabling and configuring Livestream security
features.

For a complete list of Enterprise Account privacy and security features see our online help
center section linked below.

Privacy Features for Enterprise Plans

The Ultimate Guide to Livestreaming Events

This technical guide does provide some production best practices but is primarily intended for
managing the logistics of internal broadcasts, security, and audience/bandwidth management.
If you are looking for detailed information on how best to manage a video production like
cameras, audio, etc. download the Ultimate Guide for Livestreaming Events below.

The Ultimate Guide to Livestreaming Events

How To Stream Your Company All-Hands

Meeting: Livestream Quickstart Guide
We have created a quick start guide for enterprise communicators to support the most
common use case of streaming an all-hands meeting. This guide is for less technically-skilled
individuals who need to get up and running with a live broadcast quickly.

The guide can be useful for communications or IT professionals who need to demonstrate
how Livestream works or are just getting started on implementing Livestream within their
organization.
How to Stream Your All-Hands Meeting
Live Broadcasting: Roles & Responsibilities
Below is an example roles and responsibilities matrix showing how a typical enterprise organizes the various internal departments necessary
to implement a live broadcasting solution. While every organization is different, the basic responsibilities needed for successfully implementing
Livestream remain consistent. Note that this is a digestible example and not an exhaustive list.

Internal Communications
BROADCAST LOGISTICS TECHNICAL CONCERNS AUDIENCE SUPPORT

Determines the messaging, content, speakers, and venue for the Requires support for integrated Manages audience participation
content to be broadcast. playback of supporting media like logistics like Q&As and live chat
PowerPoint presentations and video moderation.
Arranges audience invites and manages event invitation lists.
rolls.
Arranges for stream player embedding on internal systems.

Manages broadcast archive on internal systems.

IT
BROADCAST LOGISTICS TECHNICAL CONCERNS AUDIENCE SUPPORT

Ensures the venue where the broadcast originates from meets system Ensures the Livestream global
requirements, has active high-speed ethernet ports for broadcast stream configuration is correct and up to IT
ingest. specifications.
Ensures necessary ports and other network configurations support Ensures and/or determines the best
stream ingest and playback. method for stream player/archive
embedding on internal systems.
Ensures the bandwidth necessary for
viewing the broadcast is available to
the required audiences while also
ensuring bandwidth used falls within
network tolerances.

Video Production
BROADCAST LOGISTICS TECHNICAL CONCERNS AUDIENCE SUPPORT

Ensures the production workflow including cameras, broadcasting Requires Livestream event ID from Needs requirements from party
hardware, and event audio for live broadcasts is set up, tested, and party responsible for managing responsible for audience participation
working, Livestream events in order to send on how media should be displayed in
broadcast to proper event. broadcast video.
Operates the broadcast production including broadcasting hardware,
cameras and audio mixing board. Needs requirements from party
responsible for media playback on
how media should be displayed in
broadcast video.

Event Management
BROADCAST LOGISTICS TECHNICAL CONCERNS AUDIENCE SUPPORT

Ensures the content needs of the event is properly coordinated between Ensures the technical needs of Ensures audience participation needs
all parties. the event is properly coordinated of the event is properly coordinated
between all parties. between all parties.
Manages venue logistics at time of event.

Manages the Livestream event administration system and event-level Manages audience logistics at time of
configuration. event.

9
Online Support / Knowledge Base
Livestream has an online support portal that gives detailed instructions on virtually every aspect of
using the platform. If you are looking for specific instructions on how to use the online Livestream
platform tools, Livestream broadcasting hardware, or the Livestream Studio software you can find
it in our online help portal.
Livestream Online Help Center

Livestream also keep an automated 24/7 system status center that can be accessed at any time.
Livestream System Status Center

Specifications & Basic Information

Watching A Stream: System Requirements
To watch an event on Livestream, please ensure you have the following:

•  System Requirements: Windows 7 or higher, Mac OS X 10.6 or higher

•  Supported Desktop Browsers: Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox, Safari 8 or higher, Internet
Explorer 11*, Microsoft Edge

•  Supported Mobile Browsers: Chrome, Firefox, Safari (iOS), Android native browser (Samsung

devices only)

•  Adobe Flash Player: http://www.adobe.com/software/flash/about/

•  Java: https://www.java.com/en/download/
•  Internet Connection: 5-10mbps download speed is recommended. Check your connection at
www.speedtest.net.

•  Connected TVs: Apple TV, Roku, and other HLS-compatible devices.

*Please see Microsoft's statement regarding Internet Explorer support.

Livestream keeps an up-to-date listing of system requirements in the online help center.

Livestream System Requirements

BYOD Expectations
Customers that permit a BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policy can also safeguard access to
their sensitive content through standard mobility management systems like AirWatch. Livestream
can be supported through standard browser/web security restrictions on mobility management
software.

Customers can also use pre-existing network/access controls when hosting Livestream broadcasts
over SSO-integrated internal platforms like intranets and content management systems.

Using the Livestream Platform

Livestream keeps a detailed up-to-date online platform guide that can answer any major
questions you may have about using the platform.

Livestream Platform Guide

Producing A
Broadcast
Best Practices
•  Audiences are more likely to abandon a live broadcast over
audio quality than video quality.

•  Always triple-check your microphones and audio output.

•  Always test your livestreaming setup end-to-end at the actual
venue before broadcasting.

•  It is strongly recommended to have a backup recording of

your event available should you run into bandwidth issues that
could interrupt your stream.

11
Broadcast Stream Ingest
The term “stream ingest” refers to the process of sending a video stream to the Livestream
servers in order to be rendered and redistributed to those viewing the broadcast. See the
“How it Works” section of this document for more information on how the Livestream
broadcast process works.

Minimum Ingest Quality

The quality of your broadcast will only be as high as the quality of the stream you are sending
to your audience. In order to assure you are serving the highest quality stream you need to be
sure your broadcast “up” speed meets your target quality (or higher). The speed requirement
table shows the minimum upstream bandwidth needed to maintain video quality standards.

Wired Network Connections

The most reliable Internet connection when streaming is
connecting directly via Ethernet to a dedicated network. This
means that no other computers or devices have access to
that network. This connection type is less likely to experience
bandwidth fluctuation than shared networks or wireless
connections.

A general rule of thumb is to have twice as much upload speed

available as the bitrate you want to stream at. An average
bitrate of each preset quality is listed in the quality menu of all
Livestream encoders.

Wireless Network Connections

Streaming over wireless networks is supported through
many broadcast methods including the Livestream mobile
app. Wireless networks can have unexpected bandwidth
interruptions and issues therefore it is highly recommended
that you use a wired connection whenever possible.

If you must use a wireless connection for sending your stream

to Livestream you can reduce potential issues by using a
dedicated wireless access point. This should only be used
by the broadcasting agent. You can also temporarily disable
any other wireless networks in close proximity to the network
being used for sending the broadcast stream.
Using a Bonded Network
Livestream Studio features the ability to stream via a bonded connection, allowing the user stream through multiple Ethernet, Wifi or 4G/LTE
network connections. This makes it possible to aggregate multiple slower connections in order to spread your encoding across all available
bandwidth and increase reliability.

Broadcasting Methods
The difference between recorded video and live video is encoding. The video feed from your camera needs to be properly formatted to go
live. You can livestream with any video camera that has an HDMI or SDI output and a product like the Livestream Broadcaster or Livestream
Studio Software. The ability to transcode, upload, and stream is also highly dependent on your internet connection. Ideally you can use a
dedicated ethernet connection for your stream. The more reliable your internet connection, the higher quality stream you will have. We highly
recommend that you segregate your video encoding from other network traffic by removing all other networked devices or creating a VLAN. It
is also recommended that you do not use the network for any traffic intensive activities, such as uploading to an FTP, while you are encoding.

Official Livestream Guide to Stream Encoding

Selecting A Camera
•  If you are using a PC and want true HD video quality, you will
need to use a component, HDMI or SDI output on a camera and
connect it to a certified capture device.

•  USB Webcams are also compatible with both software products.

•  Livestream Broadcaster includes an HDMI video input and does
not require a capture device or PC.

•  The Livestream mobile app will use your mobile device’s

camera(s) and microphone.

Livestream Recommended Cameras

There are several cameras that Livestream relies on to execute qual-
ity productions. Livestream’s favorites include the Sony PXWX70,
Sony PMW-300K1, and Canon XA10. You can see our detailed on-
line guide to camera selection below.

Official Livestream Guide to Camera Selection

Detailed information on how best to manage a video production

with cameras, switchers, audio, etc. is available as an eBook-based
guide that you can download for free on the Livestream site.
The Ultimate Guide to Livestreaming Events

13
Audience Participation
In-Room vs. Remote Participation
Audience participation during live broadcasts increases viewership, audience engagement,
and makes for a good show. It must also be well thought out from a production standpoint
in order to have the desired result.

Live audience participation during single-location broadcasts (like a town hall with a Q&A
session from the audience in the room) are straightforward and do not require any additional
production complexity outside of the audience management tasks that go along with any
live event (like handling questions and passing microphones around the audience). Remote
participation from those viewing the live broadcast can also be included in this kind of
broadcast with minimal production complexity.

Live audience participation during multi-location broadcasts however require a fair amount
of complex production design depending on the desired output.

There are a few guidelines in terms of audience participation that can greatly reduce the
complexity of your production. There are ways to produce events that do not follow these
guidelines but should be reserved for highly experienced production teams who have
consulted with Livestream on how best to configure the broadcast to accommodate the
complexity of the production.

•  Choose a primary location to broadcast from and only host a live audience in that location.
•  Remote broadcast locations (like a live virtual interview between the event host and a
subject in a different location) can be integrated into the production but the subject should
be in a closed studio environment with no audience.

•  Remote audience participation (like questions from the broadcast audience through a
live chat system) can also be integrated into the production but require some thinking on
how that should be represented back to the broadcast and live audience. Do you want the
questions that come through the live chat displayed on-screen for the live audience? Do
you want them up as titles for the broadcast audience? The Livestream platform can easily
accommodate your needs but they must be first factored into your production.

•  Keep the focus of the broadcast on one or two subjects at a time. Three or four people
in different locations on the screen at the same time becomes difficult for broadcast
audiences to absorb and engage with. The audio in that situation is also difficult to produce
on-the-fly.

You can always contact your Livestream account manager with questions about production
best practices.
Livestream-Provided Audience Engagement
Tools & Capabilities

Livestream Chat
Livestream provides a native live chat system that can be enabled for any embedded event.
The system requires that chat users have Livestream accounts so a third party system
integrated into your existing identity management tool may be preferable for internal use
cases. Instructions on how to enable Livestream chat in your embedded events is below.
Recommendations on a third party chat provider are in the next section.

How To Add Chat to An Embedded Event

Interview Mode
Livestream has a very lightweight method for integrating remote subjects into broadcasts
through a Google Chrome web browser and camera called Interview Mode. Interview Mode
allows you to generate a unique link through our Studio software that you can send to
remote participants that allows them to stream a camera feed from their computer to your
broadcast switcher seamlessly. This is the recommended solution for most cases when you
need to add remote participants to your broadcast productions.

Livestream Analytics
Livestream provides a custom-built analytics platform that gives broadcasters meaningful
metrics on audience engagement and other common broadcast KPIs. The analytics platform
is available to Premium and Enterprise customers and can be accessed through the online
platform by logging in, clicking the account icon in the top right, and selecting “Analytics” in
the dropdown menu.
Guide to Livestream Analytics

15
 Third Party Integrations & Recommendations
Livestream supports a series of technical and functional integrations. Many platforms work
best when used in parallel with Livestream opposed to a native integration.

Provider Integration Features

Native in Google Analytics is a free service that

Livestream shows how many people visited your page,
how often, how they found it, common
keywords, and more.

Used in Parallel Live Q&A, polls and slides for your

meetings and events.

Livestream also supports other technical integrations. A list can be found in our help center.

Complete List of Third Party Integrations

Post-Broadcast
Downloading Broadcasts
Livestream automatically creates a high quality MP4 archive of all content streamed through
our platform. This MP4 file will be available for download immediately after the event is over
in your Livestream platform account. You can find more information on how to download
your broadcast archive videos in our help center.

Downloading Archive Videos of Previous Broadcasts

Broadcast Archives
When a broadcast is complete the event and broadcast player will automatically switch from
live broadcast mode to event archive mode. This switch turns your embedded livestream
player to a standard video player linked to the archive video of the event for instant playback
using the same player. For this reason Livestream recommends always creating a unique
web page for the embedded broadcast player so that a permanent archive is available for
post-broadcast viewing unless your use case specifically requires removing the broadcast
post-show. You can also use our “Highlight” tool to clip segments of footage for sharing.
Standard
High Security
Configuration
When your Livestream account becomes activated there are
global and event level settings that need to be configured
for your use case. In the section below we have outlined the
standard configuration many of our customers use to ensure
their internal content only plays on internal systems.

17
Global Settings
Internal broadcasts should not be listed in Livestream’s broadcast listings. This
is easily restricted in the global settings interface. In order to access the global
settings menu you must be logged in to your Livestream account. Once you are
logged in, click on the account icon in the top right of every Livestream page. This
will trigger a dropdown menu where you can access the settings menu.

Once in the settings menu you can restrict your broadcasts from ever being
publically listed. First click the “Advanced” link on the right hand side and then
click the “Hidden from search and Livestream.com” button. Once you select this
option click the “Save” button and your settings will immediately take effect.
Event Settings
Broadcasts are also known as “events” in the Livestream platform due to their
time-dependent nature. Every event can be configured differently depending
on your use case. Below is the most commonly used event-level configuration
parameters for our customers with internal broadcast use cases.

Note: The following configuration assumes you are embedding the player on an internal web platform.

This is the recommended method for internal broadcast use cases. The provided event page can also be

used. Instructions for viewing events through the supplied events page is available in our online help center.

Accessing Your Events

All of your events can be accessed and configured through the Livestream
platform. You can create new events through the same drop down menu that
provides access to global settings. You can also access any events you have already
created through the dashboard using the “Dashboard” link in the drop down.

Navigating The Events Panel

The events panel allows you to setup, monitor, and configure your broadcasts. All
settings can be found on the bottom right of the event management interface.

19
Geo-Blocking Settings
Geo-Blocking allows you to restrict connections to your broadcast so that only
viewers connecting from specific locations are able to view the broadcast.

Restricting Connections Through the Locations List

This can be configured by either selecting locations from a predefined list or
manually entering postal codes.

Restricting Connections By Manually Entering IP Addresses

You can even restrict connections to only specific IP addresses.

This setting is event-specific depending on your requirements. It is recommended

to use this setting for events where your audience is restricted to certain offices
or locations.
Privacy Settings
The privacy menu allows you to specify restrictions on how your embedded
player can be accessed. Privacy controls allow you to control embedding, player
branding, password-protection, and URL/domain restrictions. It is recommended
that every event for internal use cases be domain restricted to the internal platform
hosting the player for security purposes.

This configuration allows embedding of the player, hides the Livestream branding
in the player, and restricts the player to only working within the Livestream
platform interface and an internal domain. Password protection is available but
not recommended for customers utilizing an SSO solution.

Note: You must include the Livestream domain in the allowed URLs list if you intend on monitoring the

broadcast within the platform.

21
Preparing Your Networks
Standard Embedding of Livestream Player
The Livestream platform interface contains a player embed code configuration and
generation tool you can use to easily embed an event broadcast player into an internal page
or site using an IFrame.

Detailed directions on how to configure and generate the embed code using the Livestream
platform can be found on the Livestream help center using the link below.

Embedding A Livestream Player

Custom Embedding of Livestream Player

Advanced integrators with development resources can create their own player that ingests
and renders the broadcast stream using the Livestream API. This is only necessary in rare
cases where the default player cannot be used. The Livestream API guide is available in a
devoted help center.

Livestream API Guide for Developers

Integrating the Livestream stream caching depending on your network infrastructure.

Player into Your Intranet or The most common method is to use a custom HTML5 player that

Internal CMS ingests the Livestream HLS stream and redistributes the stream
internally using HTTP chunking.
The embedded Livestream player can easily be integrated into
any internal content management or intranet system capable of
Livestream can help you determine the best caching method for
outputting HTML through an IFrame using the embed method
your infrastructure as needed by contacting your account manager.
described in the Embedding A Livestream Player help center
document.

There is a 1:1 relationship between an embedded Livestream player

Port Configurations & Firewalls
and the broadcast event it is linked to meaning that every broadcast Your network needs to be able to maintain a back and forth

viewer has its own unique embed code tied to a specific event. This communication with Livestream. In order of importance, the

ensures that every broadcast can live on as a persistent video archive following Firewall ports on your network should be open to incoming

using the same player code once the event is over. Your live event and outgoing communication:

player will automatically become an event archive player once the

broadcast is complete. It is recommended that you create a unique
TCP 1935 TCP 80 TCP 443 UDP 53
page in your internal site for each event so that the event archive
is available for on-demand viewing as a permalink post-broadcast.

Click here for instructions on how to check if these ports are open
You can also embed an event player in more than one area if
on your network
needed. For example, if you are broadcasting a widely publicized
internal event like a company-wide town hall you can embed the
player on your intranet home page shortly before the event starts to VPNs
encourage company-wide viewing as well as embed the player in
VPNs are a common access control method that will impact how
a unique page. Your audience can view the event in either location
you model your bandwidth usage. VPNs will generally increase
during the live broadcast. Once the broadcast is over you can then
stream latency and create more network stress so they should only
remove the player from the home page and provide a link to the
be required for viewing if absolutely needed for access or security
unique archive page for post-event viewing.
control.

Livestream can work with you on how to best approach your internal
If you require users to view a broadcast stream through a VPN
integration strategy as needed by contacting your account manager.
they should be added to the network calculation based on your
configuration.

Integrating with SSO Viewers connecting from remote locations through an external
The most effective method for restricting access to the Livestream
ISP without a VPN should not need to be a part of the network
player through SSO is to only embed your player in pages that are
calculation as Livestream will route the stream directly to their ISP
already restricted through an existing SSO integration. This ensures
from the Livestream broadcast servers.
that access rights for the player are tied to existing content access
rules your organization already governs and maintains.

Stream Caching / Redistribution

The Livestream broadcast stream can be cached within your internal
network and redistributed from your caching server in order to
greatly reduce the amount of external connections required for your
internal audience to view the feed. There are multiple methods for

23
Managing Broadcast
Audience Logistics
Calculating Audience Size
Estimating the network impact of an internal broadcast requires understanding how your
audience will behave during the stream, how many viewers have been invited, where they are
connecting from, and how they will be viewing the broadcast. The section below provides
a detailed guide that walks you through what you need to know in order to calculate the
network impact of your production decisions and provides solutions to common logistical
questions and challenges.

Stream Connection Traffic Model

Broadcast audiences rarely view an entire broadcast start to finish through a single sustained
connection. The expectation that audiences connect at the same time at the start of the
event and drop off at the same time at the end rarelyhappens. Simultaneous connections
generally work in a curve starting a few minutes before the broadcast, peak within the first
25% of the event duration, and slowly ramp down until the termination of the broadcast.

Broadcast Attendance Factors

Depending on if the broadcast content is mandatory viewing, the number of viewers that
stream the broadcast concurrently is going to be less than the users who are invited.

For a mandatory broadcast expect 80%-90% of those invited or projected to attend will
connect to the stream during the course of the event

For a “please attend” event expect 30%-50% of those invited or projected to attend over the
course of the event duration.
Managing Audience Locations
Regional Broadcasts
If you are running a broadcast where most of your audience are in the same region and/or time zone the logistics are fairly straightforward.
Your audience will largely connect and disconnect following your standard connection curve. If you have bandwidth usage concerns you can
manage bandwidth usage at the network or audience level (or both).

Global Broadcasts
Global broadcasts have unique logistical challenges that must be considered before deciding on your final broadcast plan. Below are common
methods for managing global broadcast logistics used by organizations

All-at-Once Broadcasts

Broadcasting live globally can be difficult to do all-at-once as all the locations in time zones outside of normal
business hours are going to have lower view and interaction rates. A broadcast originating where it’s 3:00 PM
is going to have a much higher level of engagement in the surrounding regions of similar time zones than on
the other side of the world where it is 3:00 AM. Expect a diminishing number of connections to occur per
invited audience member as the audience time zone moves further outside of normal business hours. These
types of broadcasts are generally best for specific time-sensitive events like earnings announcements and
other major company announcements that have a specific time-sensitive requirement.

Multi-Broadcast by Time Zone

Conducting multiple broadcasts with rotating “crews” that cover chunks of business hour friendly time
zones for a global audience is generally the most time/cost effective in terms of engagement vs. production
complexity. It is also more predictable in terms of audience connections, attendance rates, and general event
logistics than all-at-once broadcasts. You can also stage the same content in different sites or offices around
the globe at a business friendly time for each time zone range your audience is in. These types of broadcasts
are generally best for global audiences that are being presented with structured and/or scripted content that
also has audience participation elements (like Q&A) and/or high engagement targets that can only be met by
a broadcasting schedule friendly to global office hours.

Follow The Sun

This is a similar method to “Multi-Broadcast by Time Zone” but is essentially a rolling broadcast over a 12 or
24 hour period. This can be done from a single location with rotating staff or can also be staged continuously
over multiple locations. These types of broadcasts are best for global audiences that are being presented
with less structured content or focused on global audience participation like annual company benefit policy
changes or an internal product launch.

Live for Primary Audience, Archive for Secondary Audience

You can also cater to global audiences by having a primary live broadcast in a single location that is then
promoted as an archive video in secondary locations as global audiences come online during business hours.
You can even couple this approach with a constant live chat so that audiences watching the archive can still
participate with stakeholders without having to produce multiple broadcasts. These types of broadcasts can
be used in place of the other methods mentioned in this section (to reduce the amount of broadcasting
effort for a global audience) but also require a nuanced communications and coordination effort to maintain
engagement across all audiences.

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Managing Bandwidth Usage Through
Audience Behavior
Livestream frequently receives questions from the enterprise about bandwidth uses for global
corporate communications. The bandwidth graphic above and calculator after this section
may help answer some of these questions, but below are a few other considerations.

Viewing Rooms
Setting up viewing rooms where audiences can come together and view a single stream in a
group is an easy way to reduce the amount of concurrent connections during a broadcast.
This technique can greatly reduce the amount of bandwidth used per audience member at a
given site but can also increase the complexity of audience participation logistics.

If this is a method you would like to employ but are having challenges with audience
participation logistics please contact your Livestream account manager who can help you
figure out how best to solve the challenges.

Live vs. Archive Playback

Limiting the live audience to only sites that meet network bandwidth requirements and
encourage on-demand playback at other sites where bandwidth is limited is another
solution. On-demand playback over the course of a day will greatly reduce the number of
concurrent connections while still maintaining a high playback quality. Audience participation
methods can still be employed using this strategy but must be carefully thought out and
communicated ahead of time.

Encouraging Home Viewing

Encouraging audiences to view the broadcast from their homes is a great way to reduce
the network traffic at work sites while still allowing for high quality playback and audience
participation elements. This technique can also be used on a site-by-site basis so that only a
fraction of the audience is encouraged to view at home when there is a specific viewing site
or two that cannot support the bandwidth usage.

This solution can be problematic if audiences at home must view the broadcast through a
VPN.

Allowing Specific Connections via Geo-Blocking

Livestream platform admins can also restrict viewer access based on their connection
location. If you are broadcasting to a specific audience and need to ensure that only that
audience connects for bandwidth management reasons you can whitelist the audience
locations to ensure that only they are able to view the broadcast.
 Estimating Bandwidth
Usage
Estimating Potential Audience Size vs. Actual
Attendance
Audience sizes should be calculated in terms of the number of viewers invited to a broadcast
for each internal network viewers are connecting to. If you are broadcasting to viewers in
multiple locations that have different networks and/or bandwidth requirements you should
model peak bandwidth usage by audience size per location instead of the total amount of
viewers invited.

You should ask the event owner to supply you and/or networking stakeholders with the
number of potential viewers per internal connection location and extrapolate the network
requirements based on the location of internal connections. You should also ask the event
owner if broadcast attendance is mandatory as this will have a significant impact on the num-
ber of expected viewer connections and is an important variable when modeling bandwidth
usage.

The following table is an example of the information needed to calculate peak per-network
bandwidth usage and target downstream video quality.

NETWORK / SITE US - TEXAS US - NYC UK - LONDON ASIA - HONG KONG

Number of Potential Viewer 100 500 50 50

Connections per Site
(Supplied by Internal Comms / Event
Management Team)

Max Peak Bandwidth 50 Mbps 80 Mbps 25 Mbps 10 Mbps

Tolerance / Limit
(Added by IT)

Target Video Quality per 550 Kbps 250 Kbps 1500 Kbps 250 Kbps
Connection
(Derived From Calculator)

Estimated Peak 26.8 Mbps 61 Mbps 36 Mbps 6 Mbps

Bandwidth Usage
(Derived From Calculator)

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Stream Quality
The Livestream platform allows broadcast producers granular control of the stream quality
and bandwidth usage both up and down stream.

Variable Quality Streams

Generally it is a best practice to serve your audience the highest quality video stream
possible using the variable quality method that dynamically changes the quality of the video
depending on the bandwidth available to any given viewer. This is achieved by using a stream
ingest method that supports a variable quality stream like the Livestream Studio software.
As long as you are using the variable quality method the Livestream platform and player will
automatically negotiate the stream for quality on a per-user basis during the broadcast as well
as during archive playback.

Fixed Quality Streams

There are situations where limiting the stream quality is necessary to decrease the network
load required to support the number of viewer connections expected for a given broadcast.
This is achieved by limiting the stream ingest quality at the upload source like a Broadcaster
or the Livestream Studio software.

For example, if you limit the ingest quality to 512kbps for your stream your audience will only
be able to view the stream at that quality ensuring there is a bandwidth cap per connection
that can easily be accounted for in terms of network impact.

Downstream quality can also be limited through network-specific methods like caching,
QoS, and internal CDN functions but should be implemented in conjunction with guidance
from Livestream technical experts and an internal solution architect at your organization.

A complete list of stream ingest methods and what kind of stream quality they support can
be found on the Livestream site below.

Livestream API Guide for Developers

You can always contact your Livestream account manager with questions about managing
bandwidth on internal networks.
Interested in securely streaming your
global corporate communications?
Livestream has a variety of solutions and features for companies of all sizes. Talk to an
enterprise streaming specialist today to increase employee engagement and productivity.

Contact our sales team today

to find the Livestream solution that’s right for you.

+1 (646) 490-1679
sales@livestream.com

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