Live Events

• Test your stream prior to the start of the event.
• Control the audio/video feed source.
  An Operator Controls:
  • When and which Live Slicer will slice content.
  • The timing and duration of ad breaks.
  • When slate should be inserted into the stream.
• Mark key events within your stream.

• Scheduled live events may be tracked within a calendar.
• A live event must have a starting and ending point.
• A live event’s playback URL may be signed to control how and when the live event may be viewed. Learn more.
• The source of a live event may consist of multiple Live Slicers. This setup allows manual failover to a backup Live Slicer when the live feed from the primary Live Slicer is unavailable or suboptimal.
• Slate will be displayed under the following conditions:
  • Prior to the start of the live event.
  • Upon the completion of the live event.
  • During an ad break when ad content is missing.
  • Outside of an ad break when the Live Slicer is not producing content.
  Slate may also be manually inserted into the broadcast.
• A live event may be configured to allow on-demand playback upon its completion. This setup will generate a CMS asset upon the completion of the live event. Although this asset will exclude slate, it will contain ad breaks.

Quick Start #

1. Configure a Live Slicer for use with live events.
2. Set up a live event configuration.
3. Set up and distribute a media player.
4. Broadcast the live event.
5. Optional. Provide on-demand access to the completed live event.

Set up a Live Slicer #

1. Verify that the latest version of the Live Slicer (231114.04.01) is installed.
   View Live Slicer release notes
2. Verify that the system time on the computer hosting the Live Slicer is accurate. Use Network Time Protocol (NTP) to sync your Linux server’s time with a public time server.
   The Live Events Dashboard uses UTC time to schedule certain commands to the Live Slicer. Therefore, inaccurate system time on the computer hosting the Live Slicer may lead to synchronization issues.
   Sample synchronization issues:
   • It could prevent the Live Slicer from ending an event and thereby cause the Live Slicer to perpetually slice content into an orphaned live event.
   • It may prevent on-demand content from being generated for the live event.
3. Define the following settings in the Live Slicer configuration file (/etc/uplynk.conf):
   ini

   Copy

   1api_port: 127.0.0.1:65009
   2preview: on
   3livepreview_with_audio: on
   4livepreview_max_viewers: 2

   Additional information for each of the above Live Slicer settings is provided below.
   • api_port: Verify that the Live Slicer has been configured to listen for API requests on a specific port.
   • preview: Enables the live preview capability within the Live Events Dashboard.
   • livepreview_with_audio: Enables audio within the Live Events Dashboard’s live preview when using Live Slicer version 22083100 or higher.
   • livepreview_max_viewers: Limits the number of simultaneous viewers of a live preview.
     Each instance of a live preview consumes resources on the computer hosting the Live Slicer. This setting is designed to prevent performance issues by capping the number of simultaneous connections.
4. Recommended: Secure the communication between the Live Slicer and the Live Events Dashboard through the use of SSL/TLS.

Set up SSL/TLS #

Set up Automatically #

1. Verify that the Live Slicer is hosted on a computer with a public IP address.
2. Update the Live Slicer configuration file (/etc/uplynk.conf) with the following changes and then save your changes:
   • Set the ssl_port setting to the desired port.
     Example: ssl_port: 65010
   • If present, remove the ssl_cert and manual_ip settings.
3. Verify that your firewall is configured to allow traffic on the port defined by the ssl_port setting.
4. Restart the Live Slicer.

Set up TLS Certificate Manually #

1. Register a domain for each desired Live Slicer via a domain registrar (e.g., Dyn, Namecheap, GoDaddy, or Freenom). The recommended setup for multiple Live Slicers is to use subdomains (e.g., ls1.example.com, ls2.example.com, ls3.example.com, etc.). These subdomains may then be secured via a single wildcard SSL certificate.
2. Obtain a TLS certificate:
   • Order a TLS certificate from a Certificate Authority (e.g., DigiCert, GoDaddy, or Let’s Encrypt).
   • Generate a self-signed TLS certificate.
     • Self-Signed SSL Certificate: This type of setup requires configuring each browser that connects to the Live Events Dashboard to trust this TLS certificate.
3. Store the TLS certificate on the computer hosting the Live Slicer.
4. Define the following settings in the Live Slicer configuration file: (/etc/uplynk.conf):

5. Optional. Self-Signed SSL Certificates Only: Perform the following steps from each web browser that will load the Live Events Dashboard:
   • Load a Live Slicer’s test page.
     Syntax: https://{Live Slicer Hostname}:{SSL Port}/testpage
     Sample URL: https://ls1.example.com:65010/testpage
   • Upon receiving a TLS warning, configure the browser to trust the self-signed SSL certificate.
   • Verify that the browser can now connect to the Live Events Dashboard.
   • Repeat this procedure for each desired Live Slicer.

Set up a Live Event Configuration #

• Defining when it will start and/or end: Starting with Live Slicer version 21071400, our service uses system time, as determined by Network Time Protocol (NTP), to identify when to perform a scheduled start or stop of your live event.
• Determining whether its playback URL must be signed.
• Determining whether the live event will be made available as on-demand content upon its completion.
• Defining the external ID through which a playback URL may be generated.
• Defaulting appropriate live event configurations (e.g., slate, content expiration, the ability to resume a live event, etc.) from the Slate and Live Events pages located under the Settings tab.

Set up a Live Event #

1. Navigate to the Live Events page. From the main menu, navigate to Events > Live Events.
2. Click +Event.
3. In the Event Name option, assign a unique name to the live event.
4. Click Create. Tick the box to edit the event after creation.
5. Optional: Perform the following actions from the Details tab:
   • Schedule the Live Event: Assign the desired start and stop date/time through the Scheduled Start Time and Scheduled Stop Time options. Set the Auto Start/Stop option to “Yes” to automatically run the live event according to the schedule.
   • Define an External ID: Assign a unique ID to the live event through the External ID option. This ID may be used to generate a playback URL.
6. Optional: From the Config tab, define live event settings, such as:
   • Assigning an operator.
   • Determining the post-event playback experience for new viewers.
   • Deciding whether a token will be required for playback.
   • Setting up slate.
   • Configuring how long content generated from the live event will be kept.
     Playback Latency: Select the level of latency behind live for this event:
     • Default: 60 seconds
     • Low: Low 20s, 5+ second buffering, Missing Content Slate (MCS) is possible
     • Lower: Upper teens
7. From the Slicers tab, type the name of the desired Live Slicer in the Slicer ID option and then click + Add.
   The specified name must be a case-sensitive match to the value defined in the slicerID setting of the Live Slicer configuration file.
   For your convenience, suggested Live Slicers will be provided as you type.
   Manage this suggestion list
   The easiest way to add a Live Slicer to the suggestion list is to click Yes when adding the desired Live Slicer to a live event configuration.
   Manage this suggestion list from the Live Event Slicers section of the Live Events page. The Account Slicers list displays a list of all Live Slicers that have ever sliced content to your account, while the Live Event Slicers section defines the set of Live Slicers that will be suggested when setting up a live event configuration.
8. Optional. From the Pod Format tab, define the ad pods that will be associated with the live event.
   Add a Set of Ad Pods by Importing a CSV File
   Manually Define Ad Pods
9. Optional. From the Metadata tab, define the metadata that will be associated with the live event.
   Add Metadata by Importing a CSV File
   Manually Define Metadata
10. The Playback tab contains a playback URL, test Flash/HTML5 players, and HTML embed code. Use this information to test your live event and set up a media player.
11. Click Save.

Copy a Live Event #

1. Select the desired live events from the Live Events page.
2. Click Duplicate {n} Events.
3. If a live event selected in step 1 contains metadata, you will be prompted to review the fields that will be added to the new live event:
   • Exclude metadata from the new live event by clicking the rubbish-bin icon that appears to the right of each desired field.
   • Click Duplicate when finished.
   • Clicking Close will prevent that live event from being copied.
4. A copy of each live event selected in step 1 will be created. Each new live event will be named Copy of {Live Event}.

Add a Set of Ad Pods by Importing a CSV File #

1. Verify that your CSV file uses an ad pod-compatible format.
2. From the Add Pod pane, click Browse….
3. Navigate to the desired CSV file, select it, and then click Open.
4. Click Import from CSV.
   The Pod Format tab will be populated by the ad pods defined within the selected CSV file. Ad pods will be listed according to the order in which they were defined in the CSV file.

Manually Define Ad Pods #

1. From the Add Pod pane, specify a unique name for the ad pod under the Name option.
2. In the Duration option, specify the duration of the ad pod. Format: hh:mm:ss
3. Click + Add.
4. Optional. Add metadata that will be sent to the third-party ad server when the ad pod is queued up by an operator.
   • Select the newly created ad pod.
   • From the Add Metadata pane, specify a unique name in the Key option.
   • In the Value option, specify the value for the key being created.
   • Click + Add.
   • Optional. Add an additional key/value pair by repeating the steps above.
5. Repeat steps 1 - 4 as needed.
6. Click Save.

Add Metadata by Importing a CSV File #

1. Verify your CSV’s format and data.

• Format: The format should follow either of the following conventions:

  Type	Description
  Columns	This format requires all key names to be defined in the first row. Example: Key1,Key2,Key3 Value1,Value2,Value3
  Rows	This format requires all key names to be defined in the first column. Example: Key1,Value1 Key2,Value2 Key3,Value3

• Data: Verify that the CSV’s data does not conflict with metadata that has already been associated with the live event.
  Importing a CSV will overwrite metadata fields when a key with the same name is found.

2. From the Add Metadata pane, click Browse….
3. Navigate to the desired CSV file, select it, and then click Open.
4. Click Import from CSV. The Metadata tab will be populated by the metadata defined within the selected CSV file. Metadata fields will be listed according to the order in which they were defined in the CSV file.

Manually Define Metadata #

1. From the Add Metadata pane, specify a unique name for the metadata field under the Key option.
2. In the Value option, specify the value for the key being created.
3. Click + Add.
4. Optional: Add an additional key/value pair by repeating steps 1 - 3.
5. Click Save.

Ad Pods #

• Live Event Configuration:
  • An operator may queue up and then take an ad pod that was defined within the live event’s Pod Format tab prior to the start of the live event.
  • Once the ad pod’s duration has elapsed, the live event will automatically switch back to the Slicer source.
• Manually: An operator may start and end an ad pod during a live event by switching the source between Slicer and Ad Break.
• API: The Live Slicer API contains several endpoints (i.e., pod_start, pod_end, and replace_pod) through which ad pods may be triggered.

• Set up a default alert configuration through the Default Ad Break Warning (min) option from the Live Events page.
• Override this default setting on a per live event basis by opening the desired live event, clicking the Config tab, and then setting the Ad Break Warning (mins) option to the desired number of minutes.

Ad Pod CSV Setup #

Ad Pod Fields #

1Name,Duration,Type,Region
2Widgets,30,Informational,
3Conference,45,Conference,US
4Event 1,90,Event,
5Event 2,120,Event,
6Event 3,150,Event,

Live Event Authorization #

Authorize a User as an Operator #

1. Grant the Assigned permission to the desired user from the Account Access Settings page. If the operator requires the capability to view or make changes to a live event prior to its start, then grant the Read and Write permissions as well.
   Users who have been granted the Write permission may operate any live event and therefore do not require authorization on a per live event basis. Skip the following two steps for this type of user.
2. Navigate to the Live Events page. From the main menu, navigate to Events > Live Events.
3. Select the desired live event to open it.
4. Click the Config tab.
5. From the Event Operator option, select the user identified in step 1.
6. Click Save.

Content Expiration #

• Temporary Live Event Assets: The primary and each backup Live Slicer will generate temporary audio/video assets. These assets are stitched together to form the live stream and on-demand content.
• CMS Asset: An asset that replicates the viewing experience of the live event will be added to the CMS library upon its completion. Live events with a duration longer than 8 hours will be split into multiple assets.
  Learn more.

• A default content expiration policy may be defined from the Live Events page. Define the desired content expiration policy through the settings in the Content Expiration section. These settings determine whether the CMS asset and the temporary assets generated from the live event will be automatically deleted once the specified number of hours have elapsed from the completion of the live event.
  A minimum content expiration policy of 150% of the duration of the live event is automatically applied to the temporary assets generated for all live events.

• Override the default expiration policy for the CMS asset generated for a live event through the VOD Auto Expire Hours option.

• <Blank Value>: The default expiration policy will be honored.
• 0: The asset generated from the live event will be immediately deleted from the CMS library.
• <Hours>: The asset generated from the live event will be deleted from the CMS library after the specified number of hours have elapsed.

Markers#

• Live Events: Adds a log entry. View your live event’s log data via the EVENT DETAILS tab of the Live Events Dashboard and the Logs tab of your live event configuration.
  Log event syntax: Event Marker Set: {Marker Type}:{Marker Name}
• Live Event Status Reporting: Triggers an event whose event property uses the following syntax:
  "event": "Event Marker Set: {Marker Type}:{Marker Name}",
• Live Stream: Adds an ID3 tag, which is a text information frame (TXXX frame), to the live stream.
• Get Live Events API: Returns marker log data within the markers list.

Marker Setup #

1. Creating a marker template that contains the set of markers that may be applied to your live event.
2. Assigning the desired marker template to your live event.

1. Navigate to the Marker Templates tab: Go to the Live Events page and click on the Marker Templates tab.
2. Click + Marker Template.
3. From the Marker Template Name option, type the name that will be assigned to the new template and then click Add.
4. Select the new template from the list.
5. Add a Marker Category:
   • Click + Type.
   • From the Type Name option, type the name of the marker category.
   • Click Add.
   • Repeat the previous step as needed to add more categories.
6. Add a Marker to the Template:
   • Select the desired marker type to expand it.
   • From the Marker Name option, type the name that will be assigned to the marker.
   • Click Add.
   • Repeat the previous step as needed to add more markers.
7. Click Save.

Mark Key Events Within a Live Event #

1. Verify that the desired marker template has been assigned to your live event configuration.
2. Start Live Event: Open the Live Event Dashboard and start your live event.
3. Select Marker
   In the Markers section, select the desired marker by performing the following steps:
   • From the Type option, select the desired type of marker.
   • From the Tag option, select the desired marker.
   • If the desired marker is not listed, type the name of the desired marker and press ENTER. It will then be added to the list of available markers for the duration of your Live Event Dashboard session. To permanently add this marker for future live events, follow the instructions in the Create a marker template procedure.
4. Wait until the desired moment in the live event, then click Mark to use the selected marker to add a marked event to your log data, live stream, and Live Event Status Reporting.
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 as needed.

Set up Slate #

• Automatically Inserted: Slate will be automatically triggered under the following conditions:
  • Pre-Event Slate: Prior to the start of a live event.
  • Post-Event Slate: Directly after the completion of a live event.
  • Ad Slate: During an ad break when ad content is not being received.
  • Missing Content Slate: During a live event when both of the following conditions are true:
    • The Live Slicer is not producing content.
    • The live event is not in an ad break.
  Define default pre-event, post-event, ad, and missing content slate from the Slate page. You may override this default configuration when setting up your live event. Additionally, a live event’s pre-event slate may also be manually set from the Live Events Dashboard prior to the start of the live event.
• Manually Inserted: The Live Events Dashboard allows slate content to be manually inserted during a live event by selecting the desired asset from within the Live Events Dashboard’s Switcher pane.
  Key Information:
  • Slate that is manually inserted into a live event is known as mid-event slate.
  • Prior to the start of your live event, you may select a CMS library for mid-event slate through the Mid Slate Library option from your live event’s Config tab. The assets associated with that library will be available for selection when inserting mid-event slate during a live event.
  • If you enable the VOD Replayable option on your live event, our service will generate an asset through which your live event can be replayed as on-demand content. Each time you insert slate into your live event, you must choose whether that asset will contain the slate content being inserted.
    • Include slate within the VOD asset generated by your live event:
      1. Open the configuration for the desired live event and set the Enable Slate in VOD Replay option to Yes. You cannot set the Enable Slate in VOD Replay option to Yes if a live event has been configured to use slate from a CMS library shared with your account.
      2. From the Live Events Dashboard, find the desired asset under the Mid Event Slate section and click on Save to Replay. Use the Save to Replay option to include the entire mid-slate asset within the asset generated for VOD replay of your live event. This occurs regardless of whether the live event operator chooses to add only a portion of that mid-event slate asset or loops it multiple times. If the live event operator loops a mid-event slate asset multiple times, it will be included only once for that instance of slate.
    • Exclude slate from the VOD asset: From the Live Events Dashboard, find the desired asset under the Mid Event Slate section and click to the left of the Save to Replay cell. If the Save to Replay cell is not present, you may click anywhere on the desired asset.

Configure a Live Event’s Slate #

1. Navigate to the Live Events page. From the main menu, navigate to Events > Live Events.
2. Select a Live Event that has not yet started.
3. Click the Config tab.
4. At the bottom of the page, view the default pre-event, post-event, ad, or missing content slate.
5. Change the default pre-event, post-event, ad, or missing content slate:
   • Click Change that appears directly below the desired slate.
   • Select the desired asset.
   You may only choose an asset from the default CMS library for the type of slate being configured.
6. Optional: If you want to include mid-event slate within the VOD replay asset of your live event, enable the Enable Slate in VOD Replay option.
   If you enable this option, also select a CMS library that you own in the next step. If you select a shared CMS library, the live event operator will be unable to include mid-event slate within the VOD replay asset, regardless of this option’s status.
7. From the Mid Slate Library option, select the desired CMS library.

   All assets within the selected library will be available for selection as source content from the Switcher pane of the Live Events Dashboard.
8. Click Save.

Define a Default Slate Configuration #

1. From the Content tab, organize assets that will serve as slate content into one or more CMS libraries.
   You may assign different libraries for each type of slate.
2. Navigate to the Slate page. From the main menu, navigate to Settings > Slate.
3. Click on the Slate Types tab.
4. Ad Slate: Perform the following steps to set the default asset that will be broadcast as slate during an ad break when ad content is not being received:
   • Set the Ad Slate Library option to the CMS library that contains assets that may be used as ad slate.
   • Set the Ad Slate option to the desired asset.
5. Missing Content Slate: Perform the following steps to set the default asset that will be broadcast as slate when content is not being received and the live event is not in an ad break:
   • Set the Missing Content Slate Library option to the CMS library that contains assets that may be used as missing content slate.
   • Set the Missing Content Slate option to the desired asset.
6. Click on the Live Event Slates tab.
7. Pre-Event Slate: Perform the following steps to set the default asset that will be broadcast as slate prior to the start of a live event:
   • Set the Pre Event Slate Library option to the CMS library that contains assets that may be used as pre-event slate.
   • Set the Pre Event Slate option to the desired asset.
   The asset that will serve as pre-event slate may be changed prior to the start of the live event from within the Live Events Dashboard.
8. Mid-Event Slate: Set the Mid Event Slate Library option to the CMS library that contains assets that may be used as mid-event slate.
   All assets within the selected library will be available for selection as source content from within the Switcher pane of the Live Events Dashboard.
   An asset for your live event may be generated upon its completion. The option to include mid-event slate within that asset is only available when inserting slate using an asset that you own.
9. Post-Event Slate: Perform the following steps to set the default asset that will be broadcast as slate after the live event has completed:
   • Set the Post Event Slate Library option to the CMS library that contains assets that may be used as post-event slate.
   • Set the Post Event Slate option to the desired asset.
10. Click Save.

Post-Event Slate Duration #

• Loop Indefinitely: The post-event slate will play continuously on loop.
• Play Through One Time: The post-event slate asset will be played only once.
• Set Time Duration in Minutes: The post-event slate will play for the specified number of minutes.

Set up a Media Player #

1. Generate a playback URL using either the live event’s ID (i.e., GUID) or external ID.
   • Event ID: An event ID is automatically generated upon creating a live event.
   Copy a playback URL by navigating to the Live Events page, viewing the desired live event, clicking the Playback tab, and then clicking copy from under the HLS URL option.
   Syntax: https://content.uplynk.com/event/LiveEventID.m3u8
   • External ID: An external ID may be assigned to a live event upon its creation or modification.
   Syntax:
   https://content.uplynk.com/event/ext/<OwnerID>/LiveEventExternalID.m3u8
2. If the live event configuration requires a token for playback, then create a script that signs the playback URL.
3. Point the media player to the live event using the above playback URL.
4. Distribute the media player to the desired viewers.

Latency #

Best Practices for Reducing Latency #

Select the Playback Latency #

Latency Options #

• Default: ~60 seconds
• Low: Low 20s, 5+ second buffering, Missing Content Slate (MCS) is possible
• Lower: Upper teens, 2+ seconds buffering, MCS is possible
• Lowest: As low as 15 seconds, minimal buffering, no MCS

Important Considerations #

• Many factors are in play for reduced latency. Any latency numbers referenced by Edgio documentation are estimates. Actual results may vary.
• Reducing latency does not currently work with Time Shifting.
• Inconsistent Slate Slice Duration is not recommended and will give unpredictable latency results.
• Four-second profiles may still work but won’t achieve the desired latency results and are unlikely to produce any video at the lowest setting.
• Two-second profiles without Playback Latency settings will give default delays.
• Existing V1 channels will not see the Playback Latency drop-down.
• MCS latency can only be removed via ad-break opportunities or new sessions.
• Player buffering cannot be controlled via Edgio’s Streaming service.
• Platform specificity may vary latency by multiple seconds.
• Many factors contribute to latency, so playback latency may vary.
• If using a Channel Scheduler with historical, four-second segment assets, you cannot schedule those assets onto an Edgio-enabled channel.
• The act of ‘Creating’ a CSL slicer will always create (/override) a profile to slicer ID mapping, even if using the default profile. Slicer Resets will not update the mapping.
• Due to continued testing, new technology, and other factors, playback profile parameters used by the manifest engine may change from time to time, without notice.

Broadcast a Live Event #

1. Navigate to the Live Events page. From the main menu, navigate to Events > Live Events.
2. Select the desired live event to open it.
3. Click Open Dashboard.
4. Verify Connection: Ensure a connection was established to the Live Slicer(s) associated with the live event configuration. A live event may be managed over the internet provided that a firewall does not prevent communication between the Live Events Dashboard and the Live Slicer. Otherwise, an operator should load the Live Events Dashboard from within the same network as the Live Slicer.
   Troubleshooting: If a connection to the Live Slicer cannot be established, verify that SSL support has been added to the Live Slicer. Alternatively, look for a warning icon in the browser’s address bar. Click on that icon to accept the potential security risk of loading content via HTTP alongside HTTPS traffic. Eliminate this security risk by adding SSL support to the Live Slicer.
5. Test the live event via the Live Events Dashboard. This step may be skipped by removing the live event testing requirement from the Live Events page.
6. Start the Live Event: Monitor the live stream to identify the starting point of the live event and then start the live event from the Live Events Dashboard.
   Best Practices:
   • If you are monitoring multiple live events, consider performing the following steps to reduce CPU usage:
     • Launch the player in a separate window by clicking View in New Window.
     • Close the source and audience view by clearing the Slicer Live Preview and Audience View options from the View menu.
   • Optional: Publish your live event to one or more social media platforms.
7. Optional. Publish your live event to one or more social media platforms.
8. Manage Ad Breaks and Slate Content:
   Insert an Ad Break:
   • Ad Pods: Select the desired ad pod to queue it up. Select the same ad pod to start the break. The ad break’s current duration will be indicated next to the ad pod. The ad pod will automatically end upon reaching the ad pod’s duration.

     This method is only supported for ad pods defined within the Pod Format tab of the live event configuration.
   • Manually: Click Ad Break. The Switcher pane will indicate the total duration of the ad break. End the ad break by clicking the Slicer tile. The feed will switch over to the content generated by the Live Slicer selected under the Slicers pane.
   Insert Slate:
   • Start inserting slate by finding the desired asset from within the Mid Event Slate section and then either clicking on it or the Save to Replay option.
   The Save to Replay option includes slate when viewers watch your live event as on-demand content. If the Save to Replay option is not displayed, then slate will be excluded during VOD replay.
   • Upon selecting the desired slate content, the Switcher pane will indicate the total duration of slate content. Click the Slicer tile to switch back to the content generated by the Live Slicer selected under the Slicers pane.
9. Monitor the live stream to identify the ending point of the live event and then stop the live event from the Live Events Dashboard. It is possible to resume a live event after it has been stopped.

Verify Live Slicer Connectivity #

• Connected (Green): Indicates that the Live Events Dashboard can communicate with the Live Slicer.
• Slow Connection (Yellow): Indicates that the Live Events Dashboard is experiencing latency when communicating with the Live Slicer. If multiple Live Slicers have been associated with the live event configuration, consider switching to a “Connected” Live Slicer.
• Disconnected (Red): Indicates that the Live Events Dashboard cannot communicate with the Live Slicer. If multiple Live Slicers have been associated with the live event configuration, it is strongly recommended to switch to a different one.

Test a Live Event #

1. Load the Live Event in the Live Events Dashboard.
2. Click Enter Event.
3. Click Start Test.
4. When prompted to confirm this action, click Start Testing.
5. Optional. Once testing is complete, click Complete Test twice to exit this mode and prepare for the start of the live event.

1. Verify Audio/Video Sources:
   • Slicer: Click on the thumbnail under the Switcher pane to view the content being ingested by the Live Slicer selected under the Slicers pane. Selecting a different Live Slicer will automatically update this thumbnail to show the feed from the newly selected Live Slicer. This feature allows for quick failover to a different Live Slicer if the current one experiences issues. It is strongly recommended to fail over only to a backup Live Slicer ingesting an identical audio/video feed, not for switching between alternate feeds.
   • Ad Break: This thumbnail displays the content being ingested from a third-party ad server.
   • Slate: The remaining thumbnails list the assets available for mid-event slate.
2. Replicate Viewer Experience:
   • Play back the stream via the sample media player provided in the Audience View pane. This player streams the source defined in the Switcher pane using a playback URL with the same query string parameters used by custom media players during the live event.
   • Customize the playback URL by defining parameters in the URL Params setting. Click Update to apply the new playback URL to the Audience View preview.

Slicer Live Preview & Audience View #

• The Audience View preview lags behind the live audio/video feed. This delay replicates the viewing experience.
• The real-time preview provided by the Slicer Live Preview pane requires:
  • Live Slicer version 16062200
  • Live Slicer configuration settings: Update the Live Slicer configuration file (/etc/uplynk.conf) to include the following settings:

    Setting	Description
    preview: on	Enables the Slicer Live Preview. If the livepreview_with_audio setting is not enabled, then this preview will only consist of video.
    livepreview_with_audio: on	Requires Slicer version 22083100 or higher Enables audio for the Slicer Live Preview. The Slicer Live Preview pane displays audio levels regardless of whether this setting is enabled.
    livepreview_max_viewers: #	Determines the maximum number of simultaneous viewers of a live preview. Each instance of a live preview consumes resources on the computer hosting the Live Slicer. This setting is designed to prevent performance issues by capping the number of simultaneous connections.

Start or Stop a Live Event #

• The live stream will switch from pre-event slate to the source that is currently selected in the Switcher pane.
• The Live Slicer will start slicing to an asset in the CMS library.

• The live stream will switch from the currently selected source to post-event slate.
• An on-demand version of the asset will be added to the CMS library. The live event’s configuration determines whether this asset will be available for immediate playback. Learn more about on-demand content.

1. Test the Live Event: Once testing has been completed, click Complete Test twice to exit testing mode and prepare for the live event.
2. Start the Live Event: When ready to start the live event, click Start Event. Confirm the action when prompted by clicking Start Event again.
3. Stop the Live Event: Once the live event is complete, click End Event twice to switch the stream over to post-event slate content.
4. Failover to a Different Live Slicer: If multiple Live Slicers are associated with the live event configuration, you can quickly fail over the stream by selecting the feed from a different Live Slicer in the Slicers pane.

View Live Event Details #

• Pre-event slate: A live event’s pre-event slate may be changed from this tab prior to the start of the live event.
• Metadata associated with the live event configuration
• Audit log data that tracks major events (e.g., event creation, source switching, event started/ended, etc.). Audited events may be posted to your web server. Learn more.

Resume a Live Event #

• The length of this window is determined by the Minutes option defined under the Resume Event Buffer section. You can find this option by navigating to the Buffers tab of the Live Events page.
• Ensure that the After Event Buffer option defined under the System Conflict Buffers section meets or exceeds the length of time defined in the Minutes option.
• If a resume event buffer has been defined, the Live Events Dashboard will count down the remaining time an operator has to resume the event upon stopping it.
• The maximum value for the Minutes option is 5 minutes.
• Post-processing (e.g., creating on-demand content from a live event) will not start until after this window expires.
• Additional content sliced after resuming a live event will be included in the CMS asset generated from the live event.

Syndication Publishing #

1. Create a publishing target for each desired social media or content distribution platform.
2. Publish to the desired platform(s) by associating the desired publishing target(s) with your live event.

On-Demand Content #

• Contents: This asset contains the entire live event feed including markers for ad breaks. However, it will not contain slate inserted into the live event feed.
• Naming Convention: This asset will be named after the live event’s description. If the live event has not been assigned a description, then it will be named after the first Live Slicer associated with the live event (e.g., MySlicer).

Change a Live Event’s Asset #

• The original asset will be removed from the CMS library. However, it will still be available from the live event’s Assets tab.
• The original asset will be assigned the expiration policy defined by the live event’s Auto Expire Hours option. View this setting from the live event’s Config tab.
• The CMS asset newly assigned to the live event will be assigned the expiration policy defined by the live event’s VOD Auto Expire Hours option. View this setting from the live event’s Config tab.

Change the Asset Associated with a Live Event #

1. Load the configuration associated with the desired live event.
2. Click Change VOD Asset from the notification bar.
3. Set the Asset GUID option to the asset ID for the desired asset.
4. Click Save.
5. Verify that the VOD label has been applied to the asset that best represents the on-demand version of the live event.

Playback On-Demand Content #

• If a specific duration has been defined for post-event slate, it is mandatory for new and existing viewers.
• Existing viewers may refresh the page to view the on-demand version of the live event.
• New playback requests for the live event will stream it as on-demand content.

• An alternative method to stream the live event as on-demand content is to play back the CMS library asset that was automatically generated from the live event. This may be performed through the asset’s playback URL.

Long Live Events #

• Multiple assets will be added to your CMS library for long live events. These assets will be named according to the following convention: Live Event Name_Sequential Number
  For example, if three assets were generated for a live event called “Marketing Conference,” they would be named:
  • Marketing Conference_1
  • Marketing Conference_2
  • Marketing Conference_3
• On-demand playback of the live event will be through a multi-beam playlist. This playlist references the live event’s temporary audio/video assets.

Manually Generate On-Demand Content #

• Upon testing a live event.
• Upon starting a live event.
• Upon switching to a different Live Slicer.
• Upon switching back to the Live Slicer from slate.

1. Navigate to the Live Events page. From the main menu, navigate to Events > Live Events.
2. Select the desired live event to open it.
3. Click the Assets tab.
4. Play back each desired temporary asset by clicking the icon under the Actions column and then selecting Launch Test Player.
5. Perform one of the following tasks:
   • Generate alternate on-demand content by importing each desired temporary asset into the CMS library. This can be accomplished by clicking the icon under the Actions column and then selecting Save as Asset. Once all of the desired temporary assets have been imported into the CMS library, generate a playback URL that combines all of the imported assets. - Create a highlight clip. Launch the Clipping Tool by clicking the icon under the Actions column and then selecting Clip Asset.

Live Event Status Reporting #

1. Navigate to the Live Events page.
   • From the main menu, navigate to Settings > Live Events.
2. Under the Event Callback URL section, type the URL to which HTTP POST requests will be submitted.
3. Optional: Choose how you will authenticate requests posted to your web server under the Webhook Secret Token section.
   • No Authentication: Verify that None is selected.
   • Token or Signature Authentication: Perform the following steps:
     • Token Authentication:
       • Select X-Edg-Auth-Token.
       • This mode ensures that each live event status request sent from our service to your web server includes an X-Edg-Auth-Token header set to your secret key.
     • Signature Authentication:
       • Select X-Edg-Signature-256.
       • This mode ensures that each live event status request sent from our service to your web server includes an X-Edg-Signature-256 header set to an encrypted value that represents the request’s payload.
   • Click Generate Secret.
   • Click Copy.
   • Store your secret key in a secure location.
   • Access to a secret key is limited to when it is generated. If you lose your secret key, then you will need to generate a new secret key and update your server-side authentication script to reference it.
   • Click Ok.
4. Click Test to submit a test request to your web server. Verify that your web server received the request.
5. Click Save.

Authentication #

• Token: This mode requires our service to include the X-Edg-Auth-Token header with each request it sends to your web server. This header is set to your secret key. You will need to implement a server-side script that compares your secret key to the X-Edg-Auth-Token header.
  Sample validation function

  1SECRET = '1234567890abcdefghijklmnop' # Replace with your secret key.
  2...
  3
  4    def validate_authentication_token(self, content, callback):
  5        header_sig = self.headers.get(TOKEN_TYPE_AUTH_TOKEN)
  6        if SECRET == header_sig:
  7            callback(content, TOKEN_TYPE_AUTH_TOKEN)

• Signature: Recommended. This mode requires our service to include the X-Edg-Signature-256 header with each request it sends to your web server. This header is set to a signature that is calculated by encrypting the request’s payload using a hash-based message authentication code (HMAC-SHA256) and your secret key. You will need to implement a server-side script that calculates this signature and compares it to the X-Edg-Signature-256 header.
  Sample validation function

  1SECRET = '1234567890abcdefghijklmnop' # Replace with your secret key.
  2...
  3    def validate_signature_256(self, content, callback):
  4        msg = b64encode(zlib.compress(content.encode('utf8'), 9)).strip()
  5        sig = hmac.new(SECRET.encode('utf-8'), msg, hashlib.sha256).hexdigest()
  6        header_sig = self.headers.get(TOKEN_TYPE_SIGNATURE_256)
  7        if sig == header_sig:
  8            callback(content, TOKEN_TYPE_SIGNATURE_256)

Request Body #

State #

Events #

Sample Request Body #

1{
2    "username": "joe.smith@example.com",
3    "user_id": "abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz123456",
4    "external_id": "",
5    "event_id": "1d6f7eb5fe474312947e73ccc1c57e32",
6    "timestamp": 1572293065429,
7    "event_desc": "My Live Event",
8    "state": "pre",
9    "testing_complete": null,
10    "testing_start": null,
11    "event": "Event Updated",
12    "metadata": {
13        "key2": "value2",
14        "key1": "value1"
15    }
16}

Conflicting Scheduled Events #

• Yellow Highlighting: The Live Events page will apply yellow highlighting to each live event that has a scheduling conflict.
• Warning Icon: When viewing a live event configuration that has a scheduling conflict, the Slicers tab will display a warning icon and list all of the live events that conflict with it under the Conflicted Events column. Click on a live event to view and update its schedule.

• A live event has the following schedule:
  • Expected Start Time: 11/11/2016 at 06:00 PM
  • Expected Stop Time: 11/11/2016 at 08:00 PM
• The before event buffer has been set to 15 minutes.
• The after event buffer has been set to 45 minutes.

• Expected Start Time: 11/11/2016 before 09:00 PM
• Expected Stop Time: 11/11/2016 after 05:00 PM

Stream a Live Event Tutorial #

• Effortlessly scale to massive audiences.
• Start the event at any time and present your users with looped video until the event begins.
• Immediately replay the event on-demand upon completion.
• Insert ad breaks, integrate with a third-party ad server, and deliver unique ads to each of your viewers.

• Live event scheduling
• UDP streaming
• Mac support
• API-driven workflows

• Linux OS
• Blackmagic DeckLink SDI card

• Audio source
• Video source

1. Set up a Live Slicer.
2. Create and configure a live event.
3. Set up a media player.
4. Broadcast the live event.

1. Create a live event configuration for testing purposes. Determine the optimal streaming quality for the host computer by streaming for a short time period (e.g., 5 minutes).
2. Create another live event configuration for the actual live event. Make sure to set the streaming quality to an optimal value.

Step 1 - Set Up a Live Slicer #

1. Live Slicer version 21092100 or higher: Install the libnl-3.200 library.
   sudo apt install libnl-3-200
2. Python and bzip2: Install the python bzip2 applications.
   sudo apt install python bzip2
3. Download the Live Slicer by clicking Downloads from the bottom right-hand corner of the CMS and then clicking on the desired OS.
4. Extract the zip file to the desired directory.
   $ tar -xvf uplynk_slicer_linux_64-231114.04.01.tbz2
5. Navigate to the newly created directory.
   $ cd uplynk_slicer_linux_64-231114.04.01-master/
6. Run install_live.
   $ sudo ./install_live
7. Open the Live Slicer configuration file (/etc/uplynk.conf) in a text editor. View a sample configuration file.
8. Set the username setting to the email address associated with your account.
   username: joe@example.com
9. If present, delete the password line.
   password: samplepassword
10. If missing, add a line for the apikey setting. Set it to your secret API key.
    apikey: abcDEFghiJKLmnoPQRtuvWXYz123ABCdefGHIJKL
11. Set the slicerID setting to “marketingslicer.”
    slicerID: marketingslicer
12. Set the slicerID setting to “marketingslicer.”
    slicerID: marketingslicer
13. Set the card setting to the number assigned to the Blackmagic capture card that will generate the source feed.
    card: 1
14. Set the port on which the Live Slicer will listen for API requests.
    api_port: 65009
15. Enable the Live Events Dashboard’s live preview capability.
    preview: on
16. Enable audio for the Live Events Dashboard’s live preview when using Live Slicer version 22083100 or higher.
    livepreview_with_audio: on
17. Set a limit to the number simultaneous viewers of a live preview.
    livepreview_max_viewers: 2
18. Configure the Live Slicer to generate and install a SSL certificate.
    Alternatively, manually generate a SSL certificate and then configure the Live Slicer to use it. Learn more.
    • Set the ssl_port setting to the desired port. ssl_port: 65010
    • If present, remove the ssl_cert and the manual_ip settings.
19. Start the Live Slicer through the following command:
    • upstart: sudo start uplynk_liveslicer
    • systemd: sudo systemctl start uplynk_liveslicer.service
20. Set up the Blackmagic capture card to capture the audio/video feed.
    • Connect the audio and video source to the Blackmagic capture card.
    • Open Blackmagic system preferences and then configure the above connections as input sources.
    • Open Preferences (Edit > Preferences) and then set a project format, capture file format, and storage location.
    • Close Preferences and then click on the Log and Capture tab.
    • Click Capture. The Live Slicer will automatically pick up the feed.

Step 2 - Create a Live Event in the CMS #

1. Sign in to the CMS.
2. Navigate to the Live Events page. From the main menu, navigate to Events > Live Events.
3. Click + Create Event.
4. In the Event Name option, type “My Live Event.”
5. Click Create & Edit.
6. From the Config tab, set the Require a token for playback option to “No.”
7. From the Slicers tab, find the Slicer ID option and then type the value assigned to the slicerID setting (i.e., marketingslicer) in the Live Slicer configuration file. Click + Add.
8. Click Save.

Step 3 - Set up a Media Player #

1. From within the desired text editor, insert the following HTML code:
   HTML

   Copy

   1<!DOCTYPE html>
   2<html>
   3    <body>
   4
   5    </body>
   6</html>

2. From within the CMS, open the live event created above.
3. Navigate to the Playback tab.
4. Click copy which appears next to the Embed HTML option.
5. From the text editor, paste the copied text within the body tags. The resulting HTML code should look similar to the code provided below.
   HTML

   Copy

   1<!DOCTYPE html>
   2<html>
   3    <body>
   4        <iframe style="border:none" width="640" height="480" src="https://content.uplynk.com/player5/1SodqitBFcSwHXKzdVT4Leef.html"></iframe>
   5    </body>
   6</html>

6. Save the above code as a HTML page (e.g., myliveevent.html).
7. Load the above web page and verify that it loads pre-event slate.

Step 4 - Broadcast a Live Event #

1. Navigate to the Live Events page. From the main menu, navigate to Events > Live Events.
2. Select the live event created above.
3. Click Open Dashboard.
4. Verify that a connection was established to the Live Slicer. The Live Slicer should be highlighted in green.
5. Test the live event.
   • Click Enter Event.
   • Click Start Test.
6. Monitor the live event to identify its starting point and then start it by clicking Start Event twice.
7. Monitor the live stream to identify the ending point of the live event and then stop it by clicking Stop Event twice.

Step 5 (Optional) - Stream the Live Event as On-Demand Content #

CameraSlicer #

Minimum System Requirements #

Set up Firewall #

Install CameraSlicer #

1. Download the CameraSlicer by clicking Downloads from the bottom right-hand corner of the CMS and then clicking Mac Slicer.
2. Unzip the archive and move the CameraSlicer application to the Applications folder.

Open the CameraSlicer Application #

Use the CameraSlicer to Stream a Live Event #

• The live event must be managed through the CameraSlicer. A live event generated by the CameraSlicer cannot be managed via the Live Events Dashboard.
• A live event operator should not be defined in the live event configuration. The operator for the live event is determined according to the user account used to log in to the CameraSlicer.
• Live events cannot be scheduled to automatically run when using the CameraSlicer. The Auto Start/Stop option should be set to “No.”
• Only a single slicer ID should be associated with the live event. This ID must be specified when starting up the CameraSlicer.
• The CameraSlicer does not allow mid-slate to be added to a live event.
• Most actions that describe the live event, with the exception of “Event Started” and “Event Ended,” will not be logged.
• The CameraSlicer does not support the capability to resume a live event after it has been stopped.
• Only a single temporary asset will be created for the live event. This temporary asset replicates the live viewing experience. Although the ad break content served during the live event will be excluded from it, it will contain ad break markers.

1. Navigate to the Live Events page. How?
2. Click + Create Event.
3. In the Event Name option, assign a unique name to the live event.
4. Click Create & Edit.
5. From the Slicers tab, type a value to identify the CameraSlicer session. Click + Add.
6. The Playback tab contains the playback URL to which you should point your media player.
7. Click Save.

1. Navigate to the directory where the CameraSlicer was installed and open the CameraSlicer application.
2. From the Username/email option, type the user name or email address associated with the user account for the live event.
3. From the Password option, type the password that corresponds to the specified user account.
4. From the Slicer ID option, assign an ID for this CameraSlicer session. This ID should match the slicer ID assigned to the live event created in step 1.
5. Click Sign In.
6. From the 1 Select Event step, select the live event created in step 1.
7. Click Next.
8. Select the desired video and audio sources using the Video Source and Audio Source options, respectively. If valid inputs have been selected, a video preview and audio levels will be shown.
9. Move the slider bar to adjust the streaming quality to the desired bit rate. Ensure that the specified value does not exceed the expected upload bandwidth. The specified streaming quality may not be changed during the live event.
10. Identify the starting point for the live event through the live preview and then click Begin Event. If prompted, allow the CameraSlicer application to accept incoming network connections.

1. Under the Ad Break section, assign an estimated ad break duration in minutes and seconds.
2. Click Begin to start the ad break.
3. Click End to stop the ad break.
4. Click Finish Event to end the live event.

Wizard Steps #

1. Authentication: Define the user credentials through which the CameraSlicer will authenticate to our services.
2. Select event: Select the live event configuration to which content will be published.
3. Setup: Define the audio/video source and the quality of the stream to be generated.
4. Broadcast: Define ad breaks and mark the end of the live event.

Authentication #

Select Event Step #

Setup #

• If prompted, please allow the CameraSlicer application to accept incoming network connections.
• Upon clicking Begin Event, the live event’s status will switch from “Pre-Event” to “Live (Slicing).” Learn more.
• Viewers may request a live event before the CameraSlicer starts capturing and slicing audio/video. Pre-event content will be streamed to those viewers.

Broadcast #

• Provides a preview of the audio/video captured by the CameraSlicer.
• Allows ad breaks to be added to the live event.
• Allows the live event to be completed.

Ad Breaks #

• Begin: Starts the ad break.
• End: Ends the ad break.

• Set up ad integration prior to adding ad breaks. Learn more.
• Ad slate will be displayed whenever there is an insufficient ad coverage for an ad break. This occurs when:
  • An ad has not been defined for the ad break in question.
  • The duration of the live event’s ad break exceeds that of the scheduled ads.
• Define the asset that will be streamed on a loop for ad slate through the Ad Slate option. View this option by clicking the tab with the gears icon and then clicking Live from the Advanced pane on the left-hand side of the window.

Finish Event #

More Information #