Test every stream in the web app and the mobile app before attendees arrive. Brella only loads your provider's player, so the test shows whether the embed URL, the access settings and the provider's embedding rules work together.
Before you start
You need to be an organization admin or an event admin to change streams.
To test as an attendee, join the event in the app with an account that is registered for it. Admin rights alone do not give you the event's streams in the app.
Start the broadcast or publish the video at the provider. Brella shows whatever the provider's player shows, including its offline screen.
Where to find it
Admin panel: Content > Streams, Streams tab.
Web app: Stream (or the name you gave it) in the left menu.
Mobile app: Menu > Stream (or the name you gave it).
Test a stream
Open Content > Streams and check that the switch next to the stream title is on. Off hides the stream from everyone, including you.
If Who can watch this stream? is Specific lists, make sure your test account is on one of the selected lists.
Open the web app, go to Stream and select the stream. Check that the video plays, the sound works, and the Chat tab and side-panel tabs appear if you set them up.
Repeat in the mobile app. The player is a 16:9 box as wide as the screen, with the tabs below it. The mobile app loads the player as a mobile browser, so the provider can serve it a different player. For a Twitch stream with a
parentparameter, this test shows whether Twitch plays in the mobile app.If the event has several streams, select the title above the player and switch between them.
If a session has a Stream/Video Url, open the session in the web app and select Watch now. The video plays on a page inside Brella. If the player stays blank, the provider blocks embedding; use its embed URL. In the mobile app, Watch now opens the URL outside Brella.
Give attendees access only when the test passes. See Test without showing the stream to attendees.
Test without showing the stream to attendees
A stream with its switch off is hidden from everyone, including your test account. To test a stream that attendees must not see yet, limit it to a list instead:
In People > Lists > Custom, add your test account to a custom list that has no other members.
In the stream's row, choose Specific lists and select only that list.
Select Save changes. If the event has started, confirm with Yes.
Turn on the stream’s visibility switch.
Refresh the app for your test account and check that it can open the stream.
Refresh the app for an attendee outside the test list. Check that the stream is absent before starting the test.
Test the stream.
When ready, set Who can watch this stream? to Anyone or the lists attendees need.
Select Save changes, confirm with Yes if prompted, and refresh the attendee view.
To check what attendees see, use a second account that is registered as an attendee and open the app in a private browser window or on another device.
Test viewings count in the stream analytics like any other viewing. Use a time frame that excludes your tests when you read the figures.
Delay and video quality
Brella does not add delay and does not change the video. The player, its buffering and its latency belong to the provider.
Live streams arrive with a delay set by the provider's encoding and delivery. Check the provider's documentation and settings for latency options.
The viewer's connection adds buffering. Advice for viewers: use a wired connection or stay close to the Wi-Fi access point, close other video calls and downloads, and avoid networks shared by many people.
Compare the delay with a direct view of the provider's page. If both show the same delay, Brella is not the cause.
Troubleshooting
The player stays empty in Brella but plays on the provider's page
The URL is not an embed URL, or the provider blocks embedding. See Resolve live streaming issues.
The Stream page is missing in the app
Content > Streams > Settings > Use streams is off, or your test account has not joined the event.
"Stream not available" after a change
You hid the stream or removed the test account's list while the stream was open. Go back to the stream list and open it again.
RTMP or stream key requested by the provider
Brella has no ingest. Enter the RTMP address and key in your encoder or streaming software. Brella only needs the resulting embed URL.
Get help
Select Support in the top bar of the admin panel to open a chat with Brella. It attaches the event you have open.