Troubleshooting live events

Before a live event

Make sure all endpoints are reachable in your network

network-endpoints

Make sure you have enough upload bandwidth

When producing/streaming a live event via RTMP(S), it’s possible that the internet upload bandwidth at the site pushing the live stream might not be enough. Low upload bandwidth might result in dropped frames or issues in the live video itself which may result in playback issues for viewers.

Make sure that your upload speed for the machine and network pushing the live stream is higher than the bitrate you set for the live stream. If you are outputting a 5 Mbps stream from your encoder but your upload bitrate is close to or lower than that, you could run into problems not being able to upload your stream fast enough.

If you have upload bandwidth issues, here are a few things you can try:

1. Use a hard-wired ethernet connection for any machine you are pushing the stream from to avoid any drops in Wi-Fi

2. Lower the encoding bitrate of your live feed to a value well below your max upload speed

Preparing your network for many concurrent viewers

During live events many people will be joining to watch your event live. This could put a strain on your network and internet download bandwidth. You need to assess your current network infrastructure and ensure that people within your corporate network will have the bandwidth needed to watch a live event. To help reduce internet traffic needed for live events there are two options:

1. Configure existing cache proxies within your network to cache videos from Microsoft Stream.

2. Use a third-party eCDN video delivery solution to optimize video traffic.

See video delivery in Microsoft Stream overview for more info.

I can't create a live event

There are permissions across Microsoft Stream, Yammer, and Microsoft Teams that a user needs to be able to create a live event depending on which service you are using for the live event.

1. Check that the Microsoft Stream admin has enabled you to create live events. Learn more

2. Check with your administrator that you have a valid Microsoft Stream license that allows the creation of live events.

Microsoft 365

• You can only create live events from Yammer groups that are Office 365 Group connected. If you have a Yammer group that's not connected to an Office 365 Group, you won't be able to use live events in that group.

• The user needs to be an admin of the Yammer group.

• The user needs to be enabled for "live event scheduling" in Microsoft Teams.

• If the user is going to create "external app or device" events they need to have permission to create live events in Microsoft Stream.

• Ensure you have a valid Office 365 license license that allows the creation of live events in Microsoft 365.

How do I get my live event to show up in Yammer?

If you want your event to show up in Yammer, then you need to create the live event starting in Yammer. See feature comparison by service and event type for more information.

How do I get my live event to show up in Microsoft Stream?

If you want your event to show up in Microsoft Stream you can either:

• Create the live event starting in Stream.

• Pick "external app or device" for the type of event when creating it for Yammer/Microsoft Teams.

See feature comparison by service and event type for more information.

How do I get my live event to show up in Microsoft Teams?

If you want your event to show up in Microsoft Teams you can create your event from either Yammer or Microsoft Teams. See feature comparison by service and event type for more information.

Why can't I edit my live event in Microsoft Stream?

If you created your live event from Yammer or Microsoft Teams and picked "external app or device" as the type, then that event shows up in Microsoft Stream. However, until the event is done, you can only make changes to the event (title, permissions, date/time) by editing the event in Microsoft Teams. This is because during this time period the live event info is sourced from the Microsoft Teams event associated with it.

Make sure viewers have permission to watch the event

YAMMER

• If your Yammer group is public to the organization then you won't need to worry about permissions for the live event. Everyone in the organization will be able to watch the live event.

• If your Yammer group is private, then you'll need to make sure that everyone who needs to watch the live event is a member of your Yammer group. Make sure that you have someone on hand before and during the event to approve member requests. It can be common for people to not be part of the Yammer group but realize they need access to watch the live event.

MICROSOFT TEAMS

• Live events from Microsoft Teams have a few different roles for permissions on the event itself (Organizer, Producer, Presenter, Attendee).

• See Microsoft Teams live events overview for more information.

MICROSOFT STREAM

• If your live event started in Yammer or Microsoft Teams then the permissions for the live event before and during the event are from the event in Microsoft Teams.

• If your live event was created directly in Stream, then the permissions can be set in Stream. Owners can edit/produce the event and viewers will just be able to watch the event.

• See creating a live event in Microsoft Stream for more info.

• See permissions and privacy for general information about permissions in Microsoft Stream.

Producing a live event

I don't know how to setup my encoder.

The easiest way to get started is to follow the instructions outlined from the encoder setup.

My encoder is not connecting to the server ingest URL.

• Check that you have pushed Start setup on the producer page and waited until you are in the pre-live state. You will only be able to push from your encoder after the setup is ready to receive.

• Check that the RTMP(S) URL is correctly entered as the output of your encoder.

• If a stream key is required for your encoder, you can fill this in with any string, for example "stream".

• Check the status of your internet connection to ensure that your encoder is correctly connected and online.

• You may have network security or firewall related settings that may be blocking the output of your connection.

• Your encoder may not be supported with Microsoft Stream. Check out the list of tested encoders.

I can't seem to get RTMPS to work.

1. Some encoders may support a different implementation that is not supported by Microsoft Stream. Check out the list of tested encoders that work with Microsoft Stream.

2. Not all encoders or versions support RTMPS. Check with the manufacturer or software creator to see what they support.

I tried to start setup, but it seems to be taking a long time.

In general, it can take a few minutes to get the setup going before you can start pushing your encoder. It is possible if the service is busy that this can take longer to get going, so it is recommended that you give yourself ample time to start the setup before your scheduled live event.

I tried to start setup, but there are too many events going on.

If the maximum number of concurrent active events is reached, a Microsoft Stream admin has the ability to stop other events to make room for higher priority event. Check out the live events administration.

I can't see producer preview.

1. It may take around 30 seconds for the producer preview to appear after you've started streaming from your encoder.

2. Make sure that that encoder is connected to Microsoft Stream.

3. It can sometimes help to refresh the page in Microsoft Stream. You may be asked if you want to leave the page; this will not affect your live event.

4. Some networks may block access to content. Ensure that your network security and firewall settings allow RTMP(S) protocol and the required domains are in the allowed list. It can help to try to see if it works on a different network environment, independent from a corporate network, VPN or locked down network.

My feed looks bad, poor quality, or glitchy.

1. Check your upload bandwidth from the machine you are pushing the live stream from. Low bandwidth can cause dropped frames, poor quality, or a glitchy looking video stream. You need an upload bandwidth that is higher than the bitrate you are streaming at.

2. Ensure that you are using the recommended encoder settings for Microsoft Stream. See configuring encoders for live streaming for more info.

3. Check that the audio/video coming into the encoder doesn't have any issues. The source audio or video feeds routed to the encoder could have issues itself, which would result in a bad experience sent out to viewers.

4. Check the CPU load on your encoder. You may be maxing out your CPU with the source content and/or with the bitrate you are trying to push. If the CPU load is too high, try reducing the complexity of your live feed overlays/content or reduce the bitrate you are streaming at.

5. Ensure that your encoder is up to date. If it's a hardware encoder, ensure you have the latest firmware updates. If it's a software encoder, make sure you are running the latest version.

6. Try resetting or restarting your encoder. Note that if you do this during a live stream your viewers will see an error during playback while your encoder is restarting. After you restart live streaming from the encoder, viewers will have to reload the page to get the live stream again.

I started my live event, but didn't connect my encoders.

If you started your event and the encoder is not connected, you and your viewers may have a bad viewing experience. Ensure that your encoder is connected and the preview is coming through before your start your live event.

I ended my live event from my encoder, but viewers are seeing an error.

Select Stop event before disconnecting your encoder. If you already disconnected your encoder, you can still click Stop event, but viewers may see an error.

My viewers are seeing issues.

1. If a single viewer is reporting an issue, ensure that viewer has enough bandwidth and is on a good internet connection to watch the event.

2. If multiple people within the same network are having issues, you may be experiencing network congestion related issues. Learn more about eCDNs as one possible solution to this problem.

3. Many times, when multiple viewers are seeing an issue, it actually related to the encoder feed.

• Check that the encoder is properly setup to the specifications outlined in the encoder setup, and configured correctly.

• Ensure that you have enough upload bandwidth to stream. You can try reducing the bandwidth from the encoder output.

• Sometimes resetting the encoder helps, but note that you must maintain the same settings when reconnected. Audience members may see an error or glitch in the live event.

For other common playback errors when viewing the preview, or to find out how to report an issue, see Understanding playback errors.

I, or my viewers, can't hear the video

1. Check that the encoder is sending audio.

2. Check that the audio device is plugged in.

3. If on Windows, make sure the correct audio device is selected and unmuted.

4. If using Internet Explorer 11, and you are unable to unmute the player, go to Settings  > Internet Options > Advanced, and then to the Multimedia section and ensure Play sounds on webpages is selected.

5. If there was an encoder disruption, some browsers or devices may not be able to recover and playback the audio correctly.

6. If you select, As soon as encoder is set up, then navigate back to the producer page, you might see the warning message, "Your scheduled time has passed". You can ignore it.

I need more help with setting up my live event.

You can leverage the Microsoft 365 Live Events Assistance program, which is in public preview. Its goal is to help customers walkthrough a first time live event set up as well as to provide assistance for an upcoming live event. For more information, please refer to the live events assistance documentation.

Common error codes

See more information aboutplayback-related error codes.

Other messages