Stream Health

Stream Health turns every stream your booth's switcher sends (vMix or OBS) into a report: how long it ran, its bitrate, dropped frames, encoder load and computer load, plus what to improve before next service. Use it to answer "why did the stream stutter on Sunday?"

Where to find it

Go to Publish > Live Streaming > Stream Health. It is in the web app and in Tech Manager. In Tech Manager it reads this booth computer's own reports. On the web app it shows the reports your booths sent to WorshipMetrics in the last 60 days, and each report names the booth it came from.

Check the stream that is running now

1. Go to Publish > Live Streaming > Stream Health.
2. Look at Current Session. The badge says LIVE or IDLE, and the headline sums it up:
   • Current stream looks healthy.
   • Current stream is degraded: some frames were dropped, or the encoder is working at 85% or more.
   • Current stream is at risk: 5% or more of frames dropped, or 10 or more frames.
3. Read the tiles: Duration, Bitrate (called Observed Bitrate for vMix), Dropped (frames, with the percentage), Encoder, CPU and Scene.
4. While live, the Action Log lists the latest things that happened.

Read a past report

1. Go to Publish > Live Streaming > Stream Health.
2. In Recent Reports, click a report. Each shows the destination or date, how long it ran, a one-line summary and a score. Higher is better: 90 and above shows green, 75 to 89 amber, below 75 red.
3. On the right, Selected Report shows the stream's settings (resolution, frame rate, encoder, bitrate, audio) and its averages: Duration, Avg bitrate, Dropped, Encoder avg, CPU avg and Reconnects.
4. Read Issues and Recommendations for what went wrong and what to change.
5. Under Timeline Events, click the i button (What does this mean?) on any event to see what it means, why it happens and how to fix it.

Read the charts

The four charts at the top follow the selected report over time: Bitrate, Dropped frames %, Encoder load and System CPU. Each shows its latest value and the min, avg and max. A short stream shows Not enough samples instead.

• Bitrate dipping below what you set means the upload could not keep up.
• Dropped frames % climbing means the encoder or the network could not deliver every frame, which viewers see as stutter.
• Encoder load near the top means the computer encoding the video is at its limit.
• System CPU high means the whole machine is overloaded, which can starve the encoder.

Start or stop your switcher's stream

1. Go to Publish > Live Streaming > Stream Health.
2. Click Start streaming or Stop streaming at the top. You see "Streaming start requested" or "Streaming stop requested".

This controls vMix or OBS directly, not a WorshipMetrics live stream. It works only when a connected OBS or vMix is found; otherwise the button is greyed out. From the web app the request goes to your booth computer. Click Refresh to reload the page.

On vMix, Start streaming starts every stream slot set up in vMix. When Tech Manager reports more than one slot set up, you are asked first: the dialog Start every vMix stream? names them, for example "vMix will start all 3 stream slots: Stream 1 (Custom RTMP), Stream 2 (YouTube) and Stream 3 (Facebook Live)." Click "Start all 3" (the number matches your slots) to go ahead, or Cancel. To start only the WorshipMetrics slot, use Start sending on the live stream's run screen in Publish > Live Streaming > Live Streams.

Troubleshooting

Viewers saw stuttering or buffering

Open the report for that service and look at Dropped and the Dropped frames % chart. If Bitrate also dipped, the internet upload could not keep up: use a wired connection and lower the bitrate on Publish > Live Streaming > Encoders. If Encoder load or CPU was high, close other programs on the booth computer or use a faster encoder preset.

The report shows several reconnects

Each Reconnects count is a time the connection dropped and came back. Occasional reconnects are normal; frequent ones point to an unstable internet connection at the booth.

"No stream reports from the last 60 days"

On the web app, reports are kept for 60 days. Go live in your configured switcher and the next session is recorded automatically. In Tech Manager the message is "No completed stream reports yet."

Start streaming is greyed out

Its tooltip says "Streaming controls are available for connected OBS or vMix switchers". Make sure Tech Manager is running on the booth computer and connected to vMix or OBS.

"No paired booth found for this organization."

The web app could not find a booth computer to send the command to. Open Tech Manager on the booth computer and sign in, then try again.

Good to know

• Stream Health measures the stream at your booth, as your switcher sends it. The Feed Health card on a live stream's run screen measures what arrives at WorshipMetrics. Comparing them tells you whether a problem is at the booth or on the way.
• A report is made automatically every time the switcher streams; you do not need to schedule anything.
• Some details, such as encoder settings, are not captured from every switcher, so a report may show fewer settings.