Things to Know

• Elite Studio is always in practice mode when not in live mode - rehearsals can occur as far in advance and as often as needed, so make sure you practice as often as you can.
• Set up roles and duties during rehearsals, so everyone knows their job during the live event.
• User settings are saved per login and will remain as they were during the last login session.
• By default, a maximum of 10 users (mix of Producer/Presenter) may connect to Elite Studio simultaneously. The Q&A Moderator role does not count towards this maximum.
  • An increase to 20 presenters is available as an upgrade - reach out to your Account Manager for more information.  Increasing the number of presenter roles does not change the layouts available.
  • The role of Q&A in Elite Studio is currently not accessible for tablet users on Android and iPad.

Looking for courses for presenters who don't have Elite logins? Send them to our ON24 Presenter Training for courses on using Elite Studio and leveling up their webinar skills.

System Requirements

It's essential that all presenters meet the minimum system requirements listed below.  

As a general best practice, close all unnecessary applications and clear your cache before logging in to each event. This will improve browser performance while ensuring all recent uploads and changes are visible.

Connecting

Access Elite Studio through the Presenter Link or from the event's Overview page. If you do not have ON24 account access, the Presenter Link will need to be shared by someone who has an ON24 platform login. 

Your presenting team can log in as Producer, Presenter or Q&A Moderator. If you are running a webinar by yourself, log in as a Producer so you can access all of the webinar features, including the start/stop buttons. 

From the login screen, enter your name and other details and choose your role under Join As.  Then click Login. 

Once you've logged in, you'll need to choose your camera, microphone, and virtual background, if desired.  Click Join Now to enter Elite Studio.

Your browser may ask for permission to use your camera and microphone - you must click Allow in order to connect to the event.

Elite Studio Interface

This is the Elite Studio Interface. 

The Live View window corresponds to the Slides tool on the Audience Console and will be featured in Elite Studio's Main Stage for Producers and Presenters.

Use the Top Toolbar to change your connection or virtual background, start a screen share, or update your Storyboard.  The Right Panel Tools include Team Chat, Attendees List, and Preview. 

For desktop users, the Q&A and Attendee Chat tools can be moved to the Main Stage by clicking the Main Stage button on either tool. Click Remove from Main Stage to move the selected tool back to the Right Panel and return the Live View to the Main Stage.

Find more information on the Elite Studio Interface. 

Starting an Event

Fifteen minutes before the live start time, the Start Event button will appear at the top of Elite Studio, alerting presenters that the audience console is open.

Before the webinar starts, connected presenters can speak with one another "backstage."  The audience will not hear or see the presenters until the Producer clicks Start Event.

After pressing the Start Event button, a confirmation window will appear. Clicking Start Webcast will connect the presenters to the live audience and start the webinar recording. 

Presenters are advised to wait a few seconds after selecting Start Live before speaking. Similarly, after selecting End Live, it is recommended to pause briefly before starting any debrief. This ensures that audio is heard completely, from start to finish.

Someone on the presenting team (Producer or Presenter) must remain connected to the webinar at all times. Otherwise, the live stream will stop and restart, resulting in two separate archives.

Pro Tips

• During the 15-minute window before the event starts, the audience will be viewing what is in the Live View window. 
  • We suggest pushing a title slide or an opening slide for the audience to see while they wait for the webinar to begin.
  • Presenters should avoid advancing slides during this time, as the audience will see them advance.
• Once the webinar has started, presenters are live to the audience. If presenters need to communicate in a "back channel" amongst themselves, they can use the Team Chat feature in Elite Studio.
• If you are running a longer webinar and would like to take a break in the middle of the presentation, presenters can mute their camera and audio during that time. All presenters should maintain their connections during the break and ensure their computers don't go to sleep or restart. Following these proactive measures will ensure the live stream isn't disrupted, and the webinar converts to an on-demand format correctly.

Live View Window

Slides and other presentation elements can be shared and advanced through the Live View window, which shows what is currently being displayed to attendees in the audience console.

• The Live View will be the default tool in the Main Stage area of Elite Studio for Producers and Presenters.  
• Use the Previous and Next arrows to move through the Storyboard.  An element counter will also show, so you know which element of the Storyboard is currently being shown.
• You'll also see the Live View tools, an animation counter (if your slide has animations), and the Reactions (if the Reactions tool was added to the Console).
• Note: The Storyboard and Slide Notes toggles will only be accessible if the Live View tool is in the Main Stage. The toggles will be 'greyed out' if the Live View tool is in the right panel. 

Storyboard

When toggled ON in the Live View, the Storyboard will appear to the side of the screen.

The Storyboard shows all the elements in your presentation.  

Click on an element to preview the element.  Click again on Push to quickly jump ahead or move to a previous element. 

The element currently live to the audience will be noted.

Slide Notes

Toggle Slide Notes ON to see any notes added to the presentation.  Notes can be created or edited directly within Elite Studio by clicking on the element in the Storyboard, then clicking Edit Notes.  Notes can be added to slides, polls, and URL elements, but not video clips.

Note: Replacing the PowerPoint deck will overwrite any edited notes with those from the new PowerPoint file.

To edit, select the element in the Storyboard. Click Edit Notes.

Make any necessary changes or add notes using bold, italics, numbering, or bullet points as needed. Once you have edited your slide notes, be sure to save. Your new, edited notes will now show in the Live View notes.

Slide Notes can be moved to the top or bottom of the screen and resized with handles. Once you adjust the Slide Notes area, it will remain in that position until you adjust it again.  You can also update the text size if necessary.  

Note: In order to see the buttons that allow you to move or resize Slide Notes, you must have a slide containing notes in the Live View. If the current slide does not contain notes, these buttons will not appear. 

Draw

Note: The draw tool is only supported with a slide tool configured for a 16:9 aspect ratio in the console builder. 

From the kebab menu, toggle Draw ON to annotate your live presentations using the whiteboard tools.

• Pen - utilize one of three colors and three sizes to draw
• Pointers - an arrow or orange dot will display for five seconds to focus the audience's attention
• Erase - select and erase individual lines
• Clear -  clear all the lines and pointers at once

Moving to the next slide in the presentation will automatically clear all pointers and drawings.  And the annotations made during the live event will carry over to the on-demand version.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Keyboard Shortcuts can be enabled to advance slides. They are turned off by default. To turn them on, the Producer opens Setup > Assign Tools and checks the Keyboard Shortcuts option. Keyboard focus must remain in the Storyboard panel for shortcuts to function. Select a slide, push it live in the Storyboard, and then use your keyboard to advance or review slides.

• Next Slide - right arrow or page down
• Previous Slide - left arrow or page up

Animated Reactions

If the Reactions tool was added to the Audience Console and toggled ON in the Live View, you'll be able to see the reactions as the audience uses them. 

There is also a Reactions counter.  Hover over Live View to see a running total of reactions and see a breakdown of each reaction during the live event.

Media Player

The Media Player in Elite Studio corresponds to the Media Player on the Audience Console.  Once the event has started, presenters will be live to the audience. Attendees will be able to see and hear the presenting team (if webcams are used). 

Webcam video will appear for those connected via webcam, and a bullhorn icon will appear for those connected via mic only.  The Media Player will open automatically in Elite Studio (if not already) to play any videos shared or during screen-sharing sessions.

Presenter View

• This is the default view in Elite Studio and will show all presenters connected to the event.
• This is one place you can mute your camera and/or microphone from.
• If multiple presenters are using a webcam, webcam layouts can be changed by hovering over the Media Player.
• Choose whether or not a Presenter's name will be displayed in their video feed.

Audience View

• Click this to see the audience version of the Media Player.
• There is a two-second delay in this view. Rest assured, audiences will not notice a delay.
• Note: When using this view, keep the audio muted to prevent echoing. This does not mute the audio for the audience.

Webcam Layout

• If multiple presenters are using webcams, their layouts can be changed on the fly by hovering over the Media Player and selecting a different layout.  This can be updated from either tab.
• You can also choose to display the presenter's name by checking the box.  This name can be edited in the Presenters window. 

Tools

These tools will appear in the right panel, which can be collapsed if you need more room in the Main Stage. 

Depending on how your Producer sets up the event, not all of these tools may be available in the Console.

Find more information on assigning tools to the presenting team here. 

Q&A

The Q&A tool allows your presenting team to collaborate on audience questions during a live webcast and corresponds to the Ask Question tool on the Audience Console.

Note: This tool will only be available if the Ask Question tool was added to the Audience Console.

This tool can be moved to the Main Stage by clicking the arrow icon in the top corner (desktop only).

Click on the question to find answer options. Answers can be sent to the individual who asked, everyone in the audience, or pushed to the slide area for discussion. Questions will only be visible to the audience if they are answered. No matter how the question is answered, both the question and the answers will remain anonymous to the audience.

Find more information on using the Q&A Tool.

Screen Share

Click on the Screen Share button to share your screen.  The screen share will appear in the Media Player for both presenters and attendees.

Click Stop Sharing to stop the screen share.

Find more information on screen sharing here. 

Note: Beta screen share is available for iPads. This feature will be enabled by request only. Please contact Support for details. The ON24 Screen Share app must be downloaded from the App Store. Screen sharing is not available in Safari v15 or older or on any other operating system.

Presenters

Lists those who are currently connected to the event. Click the pencil icon to edit the name - this is the name that will appear in the Media Player when Display Presenter's Name is checked.

You can also pin a presenter to a place in the Media Player (Producer's only), mute the presenter's camera or mic, or disconnect the presenter from here.

Team Chat

The Team Chat allows presenters to chat with each other. Messages may be sent to all presenters at once or privately to individuals. Messages will not be visible to the audience, but they will appear in the Webcast Intelligence report.

Attendees List

The Attendees List shows all attendees currently in your webcast. You will need to click refresh to see the latest numbers.  The number of attendees will appear at the top in parentheses.

You can search for attendees and sort by Name, Company, and Login Time columns.

When sorting the list by name, attendees will be alphabetized by their first name.

To block an attendee and prevent them from viewing your webinar, click the Block Attendee icon.

Once an attendee is blocked, they will no longer be able to access the audience console. Instead, they will see a notification informing them that their access to the presentation has been suspended.

 

Engagement Tools

Use this tool to highlight any Engagement Tools you added to the Audience Console.  Any engagement tool added to the console will appear here.  Hover over the tool to see the Highlight or Center option.  All tools can be highlighted, and some can be centered. 

The highlighting and centering behavior will carry over when the live webinar converts to on-demand.

Note: The highlighting and centering of engagement tools are currently not supported for mobile viewers.  

Highlight

• If the tool is already open on an attendee's console, it will glow for approximately 10 seconds. If it is minimized, the icon in the menu dock will glow and bounce. The highlight color cannot be customized.

Center

• This will center the tool in the console for the audience. If the tool is minimized in the console dock, it will automatically open and be centered. If the tool is already open, it will be moved to the center.
• When a tool is centered, the rest of the console will dim for 10 seconds to draw your attendees' attention to the center of their screen.
  • A centered tool can also be minimized by the presenting team. Ten seconds after centering the tool, the option to minimize it will appear.

Below is a breakdown of which tools can be highlighted and centered for the audience.

	Highlight	Center
Ask a Question	X
Book Meeting	X	X
Book Meeting with Calendly	X	X
Certificate	X
Chapters	X
Chat	X
Contact Us	X
Donate	X	X
Drift Chat	X	X
Engage on Facebook	X
Help	X
Media Player	X	X
Member Resources	X	X
Member Survey	X	X
Presentation	X
Reactions	X
Refer Colleague	X
Register Today	X	X
Request Demo	X	X
Share Experience	X
Speakers	X
Start Free Trial	X	X
Take Action by Segment	X	X
Take Test	X
Text with Banner	X
URL	X

Preview

The Preview window will display the next item in the storyboard by default, allowing the presenter to see what's coming before sharing it with the audience.

The Preview window is a personal view for each individual presenter. It does not affect what other presenters see.

The Preview window can also be used to view poll results while the live audience is answering the poll question.

Attendee Chat

If the Attendee Chat tool has been added to the Console, you can use it in Elite Studio to communicate with your audience.

 

Find more information on the Attendee Chat tool. 

Breakout Rooms

If the Breakout Rooms tool has been set up on the Console, you'll be able to use it in Elite Studio.

Find more information on the Breakout Rooms tool. 

Lower Third Banners

Lower Third Banners can be pushed during your live event and will display in the Media Player. Click Push to activate the banner and Remove to remove it.

Note: Lower Third Banners can only be created by Producers, either before or during an event.

Help Agent

The Help Agent provides immediate, contextual assistance to the presenting team from an ON24 AI Agent without requiring you to leave the studio view. If the Agent cannot answer a question, you will be directed to the Knowledge Center.

Note: You must be logged in to a Webcast Elite account to access the full repository of Knowledge Center articles.

The Help Agent is enabled by default and appears in the bottom-right corner of Elite Studio. If you don’t see it, the Producer most likely disabled it. To re-enable the Help Agent, the Producer must open Setup > Assign Tools and select the Help Agent checkbox.

Presenters may enter their question, and if the Agent does not have an answer, they will be directed to the appropriate Knowledge Center article.

Supported Languages for the Help Agent

• English
• Spanish
• French
• German
• Portuguese
• Chinese
• Japanese
• Korean
• Arabic
• Russian

Pulse Check

A Pulse Check may be pushed to the audience to allow a presenter to ask a question verbally and quickly assess audience participation and understanding.  

Attendees will see a thumbs up/thumbs down icon to answer the question.

Submit a support ticket if do not currently have this feature and would like it enabled. 

Ending an Event

Once the webinar has concluded, click the End Event button.

Events will not automatically stop at the end of the duration; the End Event button must be pressed. Elite Studio does have a 30-minute grace period after the duration, so don't worry if your event runs a few minutes over; however, this should not be used as standard practice. This period should not be used to extend the duration, and 'Stop Live' should always be used at the end of an event. If you need to extend an event, please contact support before the scheduled end time.

Once you click End Event, a confirmation window appears. Clicking End Webcast will disconnect the presenters from the live audience and stop the webinar recording.

Note: Stopping a webinar permanently ends the webcast. Once a webinar has been stopped (even if it was stopped accidentally or prematurely), it cannot be restarted.

Tablet Users

Using a tablet to present is essentially the same as presenting from a desktop; however, the Elite Studio tool layout is fixed (tools from the right panel cannot be pushed to open in the live view on tablets). Use the Presenter Link to access the session. Typically, this will have been emailed to you.

Notes: 

• Beta screen share is available for iPads. This feature will be enabled by request only. Please contact Support for details. The ON24 Screen Share app must be downloaded from the app store. Screen sharing is not available in Safari v15 or older or on any other operating system.
• Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge are the suggested browsers for presenters.  Firefox has limited support (Breakout Rooms, Forums, and NextGen Live Video are not supported with Firefox).
• The Q&A Moderator role is not available for tablet users

Tablet System Requirement

∙ Windows 10 — Latest version of Edge, Chrome, or Firefox

Breakout Rooms, Forums, and NextGen Live Video are not supported in Firefox.

∙ macOS 10+ — Latest version of Chrome or Firefox

Breakout Rooms, Forums, and NextGen Live Video are not supported in Firefox.

∙ iPadOS 16+ — Safari or the latest version of Chrome. Use the device’s built‑in webcam (FaceTime camera access is not supported).

∙ iPhone devices are not supported.

∙ Android tablets — Latest Android OS with the latest version of Chrome

Best Practices and Troubleshooting

• Confirm all presenters are using a supported browser (Chrome, Firefox, or Edge). Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge are the suggested browsers for presenters.  Firefox is supported (Breakout Rooms, Forums, and NextGen Live Video are not supported with Firefox); however, Edge and Chrome may have a more consistent experience.
• Make sure ON24 has access to your microphone and camera within the browser - see an example.
• A test run on the same device and at the same location (network) as the live webinar is recommended.
• Use of AirPods may disrupt connectivity; other headphone and mic options are suggested.
• Try connecting from a Virtual Private Network (VPN). If the issue persists after troubleshooting, it is usually related to network configuration, such as VPN or Firewall Settings.
• All presenters should have a stable, high-speed internet connection. Conduct a speed test on the device you are presenting from (laptop, iPad, etc.) to be used. 
• Refresh the page by pressing F5 (Command + R for Macs) or try another browser.
  • Refreshing the page will not end the webinar.
  • When refreshing and reconnecting, the microphone and camera are automatically ON when the new connection loads.
• Clear your cache to optimize browser performance.
• Close all unused applications and browser tabs. This is especially true of collaboration apps (Zoom, WebEx, Teams), which will use all available Central Processing Unit (CPU) resources.
• Reboot the computer if time permits.
• If these tips do not resolve the issue, please Contact Support so our team can work with you and your internal IT department to find a resolution.

Tablet/iPad specific

• Use the iPad in landscape mode to avoid issues advancing slides. If it's in portrait mode, an error will appear, and the slide view may zoom in, hiding the navigation buttons. To fix this:
  • Switch to Storyboard Organizer.
  • Zoom out to reveal the slide buttons.
  • Return to Live View—Elite Studio should work normally.
• Avoid minimizing the browser after connecting to Elite Studio, as it may disrupt the session. If it happens, close the tab and log back in using a new one.

Known Issues

• Someone on the presenting team (producer or presenter) must remain connected to the webinar by phone or webcam at all times. Otherwise, the live stream will stop and restart, resulting in two separate archives of the webinar.
  • If you are running a longer webinar and would like to take a break in the middle of the presentation, presenters can mute their cameras and audio during that time. All presenters should maintain their connections during the break and ensure their computers don't go to sleep or restart. Following these proactive measures will ensure the live stream isn't disrupted, and the webinar converts to on-demand correctly.
• Elite Studio is available and supports live webinars, including Broadcast Video and Live Video. Recording Simu-live, Sim-2-live, and On-Demand Presentations will continue to use the existing workflow through Elite Presentations.
  • For Simu-live webinars, presenters will record in Elite Presentations but will use Elite Studio to monitor the live webinar. Webcast Elite will switch automatically from Elite Presentations to Elite Studio 2 hours before the live event starts. Presenters can watch the webinar as it plays to the live audience and respond to questions in Elite Studio (text only) in real time. There is no dial-in number for the presenters to call, but they can communicate with their fellow presenters via Team Chat. Team Chat is only visible to the presenters. Highlighting and centering the Engagement Tools will not be available.
  • For Sim-2-Live webinars, presenters will record in Elite Presentations but will use Elite Studio on the live webinar day. Webcast Elite will switch automatically from Elite Presentations to Elite Studio 2 hours before the live event starts. Presenters can use the dial-in number provided in Elite Studio at any time and speak privately behind the scenes while the live audience watches the presentation. The audience will not hear the presenters until the rollover happens.