Live Streams

Live Streams is your church's calendar of live streams: every service you plan to stream, what is on today, and every past service with its replay numbers. You schedule a live stream here, then open it to run it on the day.

Where to find it

Go to Publish > Live Streaming > Live Streams. It is the first row under Live Streaming, and it works the same in the web app and in Tech Manager. Both need to be signed in to WorshipMetrics; if not, the page says Live streams need the cloud.

Schedule a live stream

1. Go to Publish > Live Streaming > Live Streams and click + Add live stream. The Schedule a live stream page opens, already filled from your last live stream (same times, encoder and settings, on the next same weekday).
2. Leave Single selected for a one-time service.
3. Type a Name, for example "Sunday morning worship".
4. In Schedule, set the Date, Start and Planned end. Under the times you see how long it runs and your time zone.
5. Check the Encoder line. It shows which encoder feeds this live stream and whether it is Online. Click Change to pick another, or Set up an encoder if you have none yet. If your church has more than one encoder, make sure it is the right room's: the form carries over the encoder of your last live stream ("Carried over from" and its name).
6. Choose When the page goes public: As soon as it is scheduled, At the start, or a time before it (15 min to 1 day). Until then your church's page shows your message library.
7. Look at Also that day to see anything else scheduled that date.
8. Open Destinations and tick where this live stream goes (YouTube, Facebook, a custom RTMP server). The ones set to on by default are already ticked. Your watch page is always included.
9. Optionally open Details to add Speaker, Scripture, Sermon series, Part and Description (shown under the video on the watch page).
10. Open Recording. Keep Record this live stream on, and choose When the stream ends: Save as draft (you trim and publish it in the Library first) or Keep it published (the replay is up right away).
11. In the right-hand column, set Visibility (Public, Unlisted or Private), an optional Address for this one service, a Series, and Artwork (Choose artwork to upload, pick a stock image or generate one).
12. Click Schedule live stream. Its pre-flight opens, and the live stream appears under Upcoming.

Schedule the same service every week

1. Go to Publish > Live Streaming > Live Streams and click + Add live stream.
2. Click Recurring at the top of the form.
3. Fill in the name, date and times as for a single live stream. The form shows "Repeats weekly on Sundays at 9:00 AM" (your day and time).
4. Pick the Number of services: 4, 8, 12, 26 or 52. The next dates show as chips.
5. Click Schedule live stream.

If the run crosses a daylight-saving change, the form says so; the service stays at the same local time. Each week is its own live stream afterwards: editing one says "Part of a weekly run. Changes here apply to this service only." The Recurring card on the right of Live Streams lists each weekly run with its next date.

Find a live stream

1. Go to Publish > Live Streaming > Live Streams.
2. Today's live stream, if any, is the large card at the top with its state and one button.
3. Upcoming groups services under Today, This week, Next week and then by month. A service whose date passed without starting shows under Needs a new date.
4. Past lists finished services by month. Search by Title, speaker or scripture, or filter by series, year and visibility. Click Clear filters to start over, and Previous / Next to page through.

Marks on a card are the exceptions worth a look: Live, Armed, Preview, Draft, Cancelled, Did not air, Private, Unlisted, Not recorded and Encoder conflict. Past cards show peak live viewers, replays and clips.

Open, edit, duplicate or cancel a live stream

1. Go to Publish > Live Streaming > Live Streams.
2. Click a card to open it. What opens depends on its state: Finish scheduling for a draft, Open pre-flight before it starts, Open live console while on air, Open live stream afterwards.
3. For more choices, click the More actions button (three dots) on the card:
   • Edit opens its Live Stream Details card ready to change.
   • Duplicate… opens the form filled from this one, a week later. Change anything, then click Schedule live stream.
   • Cancel live stream asks you to confirm. Click Cancel live stream again, or Keep it. A cancelled live stream never goes public, and nothing already recorded is deleted.

Read the right-hand column

• Next Live Stream counts down to the next service, with a button to open it. While something is on air the card is titled On Air and shows the clock, viewers and Open console.
• Encoder Signal says whether the encoder for that service is getting through (for example Receiving or Listening). The Encoders and stream keys link opens the Encoders page.
• Recurring lists your weekly runs; click one to edit its next service.
• Help links to connecting an encoder, sending to YouTube or Facebook, sharing your watch page, and asking for help.

Share your links

At the top of Live Streams are two links: Watch page (the live stream when you are live, your library the rest of the time) and Live stream (always the live player). Each has icons to copy the link, show a QR code, get Embed code (live stream only) and open it.

Troubleshooting

A card or the form says "Encoder conflict"

Two live streams overlap on the same encoder, and an encoder carries one live stream at a time. The schedule form offers the fixes under the warning:

• Move this one to and a time: the first free time after the other service.
• A Use button named for another of your encoders (for example "Use Youth room"), when one is free at that time. It puts this live stream on that encoder.
• Add a second encoder, when your church has only one encoder. It opens Add encoder right there: type a Name (the room's name) and click Save. This live stream is then put on the new encoder. Before the service, set up the new encoder's booth computer and key on Publish > Live Streaming > Encoders.

Two live streams can run at the same time only on two different encoders.

"Without an encoder nothing can reach this live stream"

The live stream has No encoder chosen. Click Change on the Encoder line and pick one. If the line says No encoder yet, click Set up an encoder first.

A past card says "Did not air"

Its day went by without it ever starting. Nothing was recorded. Duplicate it if you still want to stream that service.

"The list did not refresh"

Click Try again. If it keeps failing, check your internet connection.

Good to know

• The Planned end is a guide only. WorshipMetrics never ends a live stream for you; a service that runs long shows a badge.
• Private hides a live stream from your watch page only. Anything posted to YouTube or Facebook stays there until you change it on that platform. Make private after the live stream ends hides the replay from viewers afterwards.
• With recording off there is no replay, no clips, no reels and no podcast audio from that live stream.
• Chat, prayer requests and the order of service are watch page settings shared by every live stream; change them on Publish > Watch Page.
• Your church's watch page shows live streams on your default encoder. A live stream on a second encoder plays on that encoder's own watch page instead, whose link is on its card on Publish > Live Streaming > Encoders. Chat is always off there.
• Running the service itself (pre-flight, Go Live, ending) is covered in the run screen article.