This article contains guidelines for login, how to connect, and how to monitor the event and answer questions in real-time for Simu-live and Sim-2-Live. Producers, Presenters, and Q&A moderators have different functionality in the interface to control presentation elements and interact with the audience.

The look for some of the Elite Studio interface shown in the video has changed, but functionality remains the same. 

Things to Know

• All Simu-live and Sim-2-live webcasts MUST be recorded AND published at least TWO HOURS before the scheduled start time.  Two hours before the set start time, the system will switch to live mode, and NO CHANGES can be made during this time, including changing the start date/time, recording audio, rearranging slides, choosing the Rollover to Live option, etc.
• On the live day, Simu-live and Sim-2-live webcasts will start automatically at the set start date and time.  However, the presenting team may log in 45 minutes before the webinar is scheduled to chat amongst themselves for a pre-call.  
• If using a pre-recorded video for the duration of the webinar (also known as Presenter Media),  the Media Player will auto-expand by default while the video clip or screen share is playing.  If you wish to override these settings, the auto-expand option must be UNCHECKED in the Media Player configuration.
• For Sim-2-live webcasts using a pre-recorded video, all Producers and Presenters will need to connect to Elite Studio using their webcam or PC Microphone for the pre-call.  The dial-in option for speakers will not be available until the webinar rolls over to live.
• For the live portion of the Simu-live standard Presenter/Producer login limits and QA limits apply. Up to 10 Presenter/Producers and up to 12 Q&A moderators.
  

Monitoring Simu-live Webcasts

Simu-live webcasts are entirely pre-recorded and will play to a live audience at your chosen date and time.  While the presentation plays to the live audience, you may have Q&A moderators log in to monitor the event and answer questions in real-time via text using the Q&A tool.  Up to 12 people can log in at a time as Q&A Moderators.

Moderators will use the Present URL to log in and have full access to the Q&A, Team Chat, and Attendee Chat  (if available on the Audience Console) and will be able to listen and watch the webcast in the live interface.  

The webcast will start automatically at the chosen start time.  A Simu-Live in Progress message will appear in the top corner of the live interface for your Q&A moderators so they know when the webcast has begun.

There is no dial-in number or phone bridge for the Q&A moderators while the webinar is live, but they can communicate using the Team Chat.  Team Chat messages are not visible to the audience but are captured in the webinar reports. 

The webcast will end automatically after the recorded portion has played out.  The event archive will be available a few hours later for your audience to watch on-demand.

If you wish for the audience console to remain open after the presentation is complete to allow attendees additional time to submit questions or download certificates, consider extending the event by recording extra silence on the last slide so the console will remain open.  

Monitoring Sim-2-Live Webcasts

Sim-2-live webcasts are Simu-live webcasts with the Rollover to Live box checked, providing live time at the end of the recording to address questions.  Setup and recording will be the same for both.  The differences come when the webcast is playing out live to the audience.  

Sim-2-live webcasts also start automatically at the chosen start time.  And after the pre-recorded portion of the webcast plays out, the system will automatically switch to a live webcast.

While the pre-recorded portion plays to the live audience, Q&A will be text only, but your presenters can address questions from the audience both verbally and via text once the rollover to live occurs.  
 

Logging in for Sim-2-Live Webcasts

Your presenting team will be able to log in for the webcast starting 45 minutes before the set start time, using the Present URL.   However,  we recommend those with a speaking role log in at least 30 minutes beforehand so they have plenty of time to set up and test their connection.

Up to 10 live presenters (a mix of Producers and Presenter roles) can log in at a time.

All three roles (shown below) will be available for Sim-2-live webcasts.

Note:  Every Sim-2-live event MUST have at least one presentation team member login as a Producer to stop the broadcast after the live portion is complete.

Connecting to the Webcast

Switch to Live Mode

A Simu-live message will show at the top of the interface once the webinar has begun. The webcast will automatically stream to your live audience based on the chosen date and time.

A countdown will appear two minutes before the pre-recorded portion ends, alerting presenters to get ready.

At the end of the countdown, the interface will automatically go into full live webcast mode.  There will also be an automated message that plays for your presenting team that says, "You are now in the live stream," followed by a beep.  The audience will not hear the automated message.

Important:  The audio message comes AFTER the platform switches to live mode.  Producers and Presenters should wait until they HEAR the message before speaking or pushing slides. This will not align exactly with the live start countdown. A 10-15 second delay is normal and any speaking before the audio alert will not be broadcast. Please wait for the alert to begin speaking.

Highlighting and Centering Engagement Tools

During a Sim-2-live webinar, Producers and Presenters using Elite Studio can highlight any engagement tools within the audience console during both the recorded and live portion of the webcast on the fly during any part of the Sim-2-live webinar to draw the audience's attention.  For example, to point out the Q&A tool, click Highlight next to Q&A. 

Note:  Highlighting and centering the engagement tools are not supported for Simu-live events, only Sim-2-live.

Find more information on highlighting and centering engagement tools here. 

Whiteboard Tools

For those with Elite Studio, Producers and Presenters can use the whiteboarding tools to annotate their presentations during the live audio portion of the webcast, making it easier to capture ideas and notes in real-time using the pen and pointer tools to draw on their slides.

Find more information on whiteboarding tools here. 

Stopping the Webcast - Producers Only

The team member logged in as a Producer should press the End Event button after the event.  After pressing End Event, a confirmation window will appear.  Clicking End Webcast from this point will disconnect the presenting team from the live audience, and the webcast will end. 

Note: If the webcast is accidentally stopped, it cannot be restarted.

The event archive will be available a few hours later for your audience to watch on-demand.

Audience View

If you recorded your presentation in Elite Presentations, any videos added to the Storyboard will play in the Slides tool, not the Media Player.  By default, Google Chrome will automatically mute the video within the Slide Area.  Attendees using Chrome will need to unmute the video using the speaker icon at the bottom left corner of the Slide View Window.