StreamLive ProStarting soon and be right back screens for a live
Open your live on a "Starting soon" screen and cover breaks with "Be right back" in the browser studio: picture or looping video, music, mute, and coming back.
A "Starting soon" screen is just an input that is on air when the live begins, and a "Be right back" screen is the same idea during a break. In the browser studio you add a picture or a looping video as an input, put it on Program before you press Go live, mute your microphone, and later Take your camera to come in. There is no ready-made template and no countdown tool: you bring the picture or the video, and the studio puts it on air.
Before you start
- The picture. A 1920x1080 PNG or JPG with your text, for example "Starting soon" and the show name. That size fills the 16:9 broadcast with no bars. Details: Show an image on screen during a live stream.
- Or a looping video with music. An MP4, MOV or WebM that already holds the picture and the music. This is the simplest way to have music under the screen, because a video carries its own sound: Play a video file during a live stream.
- A countdown, if you want one, has to be part of that video. The studio has no countdown tool.
- Rights to the music. Networks act on music you do not own.
- Any plan, including the trial.
Steps
- Open the studio. Choose Live stream, start a new live and pick Browser Studio. Set up your camera and channels as usual.
- Add the screens as inputs. In the bar open Add input and press Media file. Add the "Starting soon" file and the "Be right back" file. Each gets its own tile.
- Make a video loop. For a video, open the gear on its tile. On the General tab, under Playback, set When it goes on air to Start from the top and At the end to Loop. Check that the Sound button on the tile is on.
- Put "Starting soon" on air before going live. Click its tile so it waits on Preview, then press Take (Space). It is now on Program, the picture the live will open with.
- Mute your microphone. Click Mic in the bar so it says Mic muted. Your microphone is heard whatever is on screen, so without this the viewers hear you getting ready.
- Go live. Press Go live. Viewers see the screen and hear its music.
- Come in. Click your camera's tile so it waits on Preview. Unmute the microphone in the bar, then press Take. The screen fades out and you are on.
- For a break, do the reverse. Click the "Be right back" tile, press Take, then mute the microphone. To come back, put the camera on Preview, unmute, and Take.
Other ways to build the screen
| Way | Good for | Where |
|---|---|---|
| A picture as an input | A still card, silent or with your voice | Add input, Media file |
| A looping video as an input | Movement and music in one file, a countdown | Add input, Media file; At the end: Loop |
| A picture playlist | Several cards that change by themselves, for example sponsors | Add input, Playlist: Present slides in a live stream |
| A picture on an overlay channel | Covering any camera at once, without switching inputs | Overlay numbers on the tile: Overlay channels 1 to 8 and their keys (F1 to F8) |
If you talk over music, the Audio window in the bar can lower media and music while you speak (Duck media/music under speech): Sound in the browser studio: levels, mute and noise filter.
Good habits
- Prepare the inputs before every live. After the page is reloaded, files have to be picked again; their settings come back by name.
- Use Preview. Whatever you click goes to Preview first; only Take puts it on air (Preview, Program, Take and Cut explained).
- Unmute before you Take back, not after. Then your first words are heard.
- Keep the break short and say it on screen, for example "Back in 5 minutes", so viewers stay.
What can go wrong
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Viewers hear you behind the screen | The microphone was not muted | Click Mic in the bar until it says Mic muted |
| The screen has no music | The Sound button on the video's tile is off, or the file has no sound | Turn Sound on; check the file in a player |
| The video stopped on its last frame | At the end is set to Stop | Set At the end to Loop |
| The live opened on the camera, not the screen | The screen was on Preview, not on Program | Press Take before Go live |
| Bars on the sides of the picture | The picture is not 16:9 | Export it at 1920x1080 |
| Your first words after the break are missing | You unmuted after Take | Unmute first, then Take |
Frequently asked questions
Does the browser studio have a starting soon template?
No. You add your own picture or video as an input and take it to air before you go live.
Is there a countdown timer?
No. If you want a countdown, make it as a video and add that video as a looping input.
How do I play music under the starting soon screen?
Use a video file that contains both the picture and the music, set it to loop, and keep its Sound button on.
How do I make sure viewers do not hear me during the break?
Mute your microphone with Mic in the studio bar when the break screen goes on air, and unmute it just before you take your camera back.
Can I use the same screen in the next live?
Yes. Keep the files in one folder and add them again at the start of each live.
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