Want to live host a trivia game in real-time for your participants right on their mobile devices? How about a simple single-click setup that uses your computer's camera right inside Crowdpurr? What about no-lag sub-second latency using real-time WebRTC streaming? No problem, just turn on the all-new Crowdpurr Streaming!
Your live stream will display directly on your participants' mobile devices. Your crowd follows along with a live virtual host that is embedded directly into Crowdpurr's Participant View. No need for a second screen!
This allows you to create dynamic virtual events such as live game shows, trivia contests, and fundraisers that are all hosted live by you, or your host, right inside of Crowdpurr.
Stream directly on the Participant View on participant devices!
What's Needed?
All you need is a webcam attached to your computer. PCs typically use an external webcam. Macs can use the built-in FaceTime camera. Your default camera and microphone will be used. If you have additional hardware, you can configure it to be used in your operating system and/or web browser.
Live stream using your computer's camera right from the Experience Dashboard
Which Plans Allow Crowdpurr Streaming?
All Crowdpurr plans allow live streaming! Live streaming is unlimited for Conference Plan and above users. The free Basic Plan, the Classroom Plan, and the Seminar Plan, each come with a set amount of monthly streaming minutes, so you can still use live streaming on lower-level plans.
Each plan comes with the following amount of streaming minutes:
| Plan | Streaming Minutes |
| Free Basic Plan | 15 |
| Classroom Plan | 30 |
| Seminar Plan | 60 |
| Conference Plan | Unlimited |
| Convention Plan | Unlimited with Recording |
Minutes renew monthly on lower-level plans. If you run out of streaming minutes and/or have a longer event, you'll need to wait for them to renew, purchase a la carte minutes, or upgrade to a higher-level plan that has more minutes.
Yes, streaming minutes renew monthly. However, they do not roll over and accumulate. Each month your total minutes will reset when your monthly plan renews or when a new month cycles on yearly plans.
Add a Dashboard Stream
The easiest way to launch a live stream is to add a stream right from the Experience Dashboard using your computer's camera and microphone. This will record you directly in front of your computer and allow you to host your experience while you run the Experience Dashboard.
On the Experience Dashboard of your Experience, click on the salmon-colored Streaming tab. Then under Dashboard Stream, click on the Initiate Dashboard Stream button. Your web browser will ask permission to use your camera and microphone.
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To start a live stream, click on the Streaming tab on the Experience Dashboard |
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Click Allow on the browser's camera and microphone permissions pop-up. |
You must allow your web browser access to both your camera and microphone when requested. Otherwise streaming from the Experience Dashboard will not work.
Select a Camera Source
After granting permission from your browser, select which camera source to use for your live stream. Most users will only have one camera source. Upon making a selection, the live preview will display.
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After granting permissions, select a camera source. |
When camera permissions were not granted. |
If you see the warning Camera Permissions Blocked, you must edit your browser's permissions settings and remove the block for Crowdpurr's domain (app.crowdpurr.com), refresh your browser, and complete the process again.
Reviewing the Live Preview
After granting permissions, a live preview window will be added to the Experience Dashboard. This allows you to adjust the camera and your positioning before going live.
A preview of the live stream is shown on the Experience Dashboard
If you hear feedback, it's because your computer speaker volume is too high. Turn down your speakers or mute them. Your computer's microphone will still record audio when the speakers are muted. If you want to hear audio, you may need to use headphones or earbuds.
Going Live
When you're ready to add your stream to participant devices, press the green Go Live button to start your live stream. This will initiate the actual broadcast and enable the live stream on all participants' Participant Views. The preview window will update to the actual live broadcast the same as your participants see.
You're now ready to live host your experience. There are additional features below that will help with this.
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Going live on the Experience Dashboard |
The live stream showing on participant devices |
You can enable and disable live streaming as many times as you want. Or choose to live stream continuously through the entire experience.
It's best to give participants a few minutes to sign in once your Experience's time to start has arrived. However, participants can still sign in once a stream has started. It will appear after they sign in.
To continue streaming, you must stay on the Experience Dashboard and keep it open. If you navigate away or refresh your browser, your broadcast will pause until you return. Upon returning, it will automatically restore the live broadcast.
Using Streaming Minutes
If your account is not on the Conference Plan or above, then it will utilize monthly streaming minutes. Once you click Go Live your streaming minutes will begin decrementing. The blue timer next to the live stream on the Experience Dashboard indicates how many minutes you've used during the current streaming session. The gray timer indicates how many streaming minutes are left on your account.
The user has been streaming for 35 seconds and has 51 minutes and 56 seconds of stream time remaining.
At the end of each live stream, your streaming minutes will be updated. Once you reach zero streaming minutes, you will need to either wait for your monthly renewal of streaming minutes, purchase additional a la carte streaming minutes, or upgrade to a higher plan.
Minimizing the Live Stream
As you host your experience, there will be times when you want the stream to be front and center and only allow the audience to view the live stream. And there will be times when you want the live stream to minimize to allow the audience to answer questions, play trivia, etc.
The Viewer Controls with the Show Live Stream (Z) button
You can minimize and maximize the live stream using the Show Live Stream (Z) shortcut button under the Viewer Controls box on the Experience Dashboard.
Enabling Show Live Stream (Z) will make the live stream full-screen and use the layout selected in the Live Stream Layout setting below. Disabling Show Live Stream (Z) will minimize the live stream to the upper-left corner of the Participant View allowing participants to interact with your experience.
When Show Live Stream (Z) is disabled and your live stream is minimized, your participants can still hear and see your live stream. You can use the Z keyboard shortcut to minimize and maximize the embedded live stream.
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The stream is minimized in the corner, allowing players to interact. |
The stream is maximized when Show Live Stream (Z) is enabled. |
Content Layout
The Content Layout section allows you to set how you want the stream to appear when it's enabled and "maximized" when Show Live Stream (Z) is enabled.
By default, all dashboard live streams have a default 16:9 or "wide-screen" aspect ratio. You can choose to show the full width of the stream, a vertical crop card, or a full-screen version. This allows you to crop in on a live host if needed. You may change these in real time if needed.
The live stream layout options on the Streaming tab of the Experience Dashboard.
- Full Width - This setting will display a full 16x9 "widescreen" version of your live stream. This is useful if you want to display the full width of the stream.
- Vertical Crop Card - This setting will zoom in and crop your embedded live stream to focus more on the centered live virtual host. This is useful when you want participants to view the live talent from a closer perspective, using more of the mobile device's vertical screen space.
- Full Screen - This setting is similar to Vertical Crop Card however it crops in even more to give a full "take over" of the screen space by the live stream.
Use the Vertical Crop Card or Full-Screen modes to emulate HQ-style trivia apps where the host takes over the screen between questions to tell jokes and/or deliver spoken content.
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Full-Width Layout |
Vertical Crop Card Layout |
Full Screen Layout |
Stopping The Stream
When you're ready to stop your live stream, simply click on the red Stop button. Pressing this button will return you to preview mode and keep your camera and microphone active. It will also remove the live stream from all participant devices. This is useful to temporarily turn off the stream on the participant's mobile devices.
You can easily restart your stream by pressing the Go Live button again.
Press the Stop button to stop the live stream.
Shutting Off The Camera and Microphone
When completely finished with your live stream, you should shut down your camera and microphone by clicking on the red Shut Down Stream button underneath the Streaming → Dashboard Stream area on the Experience Dashboard.
This will ensure your camera and microphone are no longer active.
Press Shut Down Stream to turn off the camera and microphone of your web browser.
Additional Articles
To learn more about additional features related to live streaming, check out these articles:
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