The Video Center lets you upload an unlimited number of pre-recorded videos up to 8GB each and add closed captions in over 30 languages, powered by our built-in captioning and translation solution, Webex Events Closed Captions & Translations. 🎊 After uploading videos, embed the videos in Sessions, Live Stream features, speaker, sponsor, and exhibitor profiles, and Custom List items as Simulive or Video on Demand content.
💡 Keep in mind, Webex Events Simulive requires a Webex Events Streaming credit, so you must select a team the first time you select Simulive in a feature. Video on Demand is free to use!
Contents
Simulive and Video on Demand defined
Simulive is a combination of the words "simulated" and "live". Simply put, it means pre-recorded video presented at a specific time as if it were live content. Attendees must join the stream at the right time to watch the whole video, and they may not realize the content isn't live unless you tell them. 🤫
Video on demand is pre-recorded video that always starts at the beginning, and viewers can access it at their leisure.
💡 Keep in mind, if you use Video on Demand for Session recordings, attendees still have to wait until the Session end time to access the video.
Uploading to Video Center
The Video Center tab is available after you publish your Event App. Before you upload a video, here are a few considerations to keep in mind:
All uploaded video files are converted to MP4 format. Uploading MP4 video files saves time since they take less time to be converted.
Upload speed depends on the size of the file and the speed of your internet connection.
Conversion time is generally 1/6 the total length of the video file. For non-MP4 video, it may be longer.
In some cases, upload time may take up to 1.5 x the length of the video when Closed Captions & Translations is activated.
Each video you upload must be no more than 1920x1080 resolution and 8GB or less.
If you try to upload a video that exceeds 1920x1080 pixels, the upload will fail. For larger videos, we recommend reducing the resolution with the software you used to produce the video. If you don't have access to the original software, you could use a third-party solution like HandBrake to scale down the video's resolution.
In your Event navigation bar under ‘Event App’ (or 'Community' in a Community), click Video Center. On the Video Center page, click New Item.
In the modal that appears, enter a File Title that clearly identifies the video and helps you easily find it when adding it to a Session or a Live Stream feature. Next, click the Browse button to select the video file you want to upload from your computer.
Turn Captions & Translations on if you want the video to have closed captions. Webex Events Closed Captions & Translations automatically generates captions and translations in over 30 languages. Closed captions and translations become available when Video Center content is added to a Live Stream feature or live stream Agenda session. Attendees can activate captions synced to your video content in their selected language.
💡 Keep in mind, you should decide if you want Captions & Translations for Video on Demand content before you click 'Upload'. You won't be able to turn on Captions & Translations after content used for Video on Demand is uploaded to the Video Center. For Simulive content, however, you can turn on Captions & Translations when you add the video to a Live Stream feature or Session. We'll cover this in more detail later in this article.
Once you've selected the video, click Upload, and the modal will close. As a video goes through the uploading process, continue to queue more files for upload if needed. The Status column shows whether the video is Queued, Complete, or Uploading/Converting.
Videos with closed captions turned on display a CC icon next to the File Title.
Click the Settings (⚙️) icon next to a video to take one of several actions, depending on its status. The following table shows the available actions for each status:
Status | Action |
Complete | Edit, Preview, Delete |
Uploading, Converting, Queued | Cancel |
Failed | Delete |
💡 Keep in mind, if a video upload ever fails, simply try the upload again. If the video still won't upload, reach out to Webex Events support for assistance using the chat bubble at the bottom right corner of this screen.
Using Video Center content for Simulive and Video on Demand
Now that you've uploaded some content into Video Center, use it for Simulive and Video on Demand in your Event App or Community features. Let's briefly explore each place that supports Video Center content.
💡 Keep in mind, some VPN tools block Simulive content from playing. Cisco's AnyConnect VPN doesn't. If your company or attendees may be using a VPN, check that Amazon IVS is accessible with the VPN enabled.
Sessions and Live Stream features
When you create a Session or Live Stream feature, select Webex Events Simulive as a live stream provider and Webex Events Video on Demand as a recording provider.
After selecting Webex Events Simulive from the 'Live Stream' field, select the Video File to be played, then set a Streaming Time at which the video will begin playing. If the video you selected was uploaded to Video Center with closed captions turned on, the Enable Closed Captions toggle is automatically set to 'Yes' with 'Webex Events Closed Captions & Translations' as the provider.
💡 Keep in mind, if you didn't upload the Simulive video with closed captions turned on and you later decide to, simply toggle Enable Closed Captions to 'Yes' and select a provider from the Closed Captions Provider drop-down. Our built-in closed captioning solution, Webex Events Closed Captions & Translations, works great with Simulive!
To add a Recording to a session or Live Stream feature, select 'Webex Events Video on Demand' as the recording provider, then select a video from the Video File drop-down. All videos uploaded to Video Center with closed captions turned on display a CC icon.
💡 Keep in mind, Webex Events Simulive works with Chat, Q&A, and Custom Tabs! Read our Agenda feature guide and Live Stream feature guide for details on implementing these.
Remember to click Save Changes when you're done!
If you're using Webex Events Simulive with a Session, you'll notice a Simulive Status next to it in the session list. Statuses include Scheduled, Started, Ended, and Failed.
💡 Keep in mind, if a Simulive session ever shows the Failed status, reach out to Webex Events support for help.
Speaker/Sponsor/Exhibitor profiles and Custom List items
Each of these features is very similar, and the process for using Simulive or VOD with them is the same no matter which one you're using.
💡 Keep in mind, closed captions and translations aren't available when using Video on Demand content for speaker, sponsor, and exhibitor profiles and Custom List items.
When you add or edit a feature item, you can select a Content Provider that embeds content or links to an external source. Select Webex Events Video on Demand to choose a file you've uploaded to Video Center.
💡 Keep in mind, the Content Provider field is only available if the feature is set to Grid View. Access the feature's settings on the Features page to change the view setting
After making any other changes to the to the item, click Save Changes. It's that simple! For a complete overview of using any of these features, refer to the following links:
Now let's explore the attendee experience.
Simulive and Video on Demand in practice
Sessions and Live Stream features
Just like with Webex Events Streaming or the Webex Events Production Studio, the 'Join Live Stream' button appears in the Agenda feature 15 minutes before the Streaming Time. For a complete overview of the attendee experience with Session live streaming, refer to our article about The Agenda Feature in Action.
With the Live Stream feature, Simulive video will simply begin playing at the chosen Streaming Time. For more information about the attendee experience with the Live Stream feature, refer to our Live Stream feature guide.
Sessions
Attendees who join a Session after the Simulive video starts won't start at the beginning of the video. For example, if the Streaming Time is 1pm, and an attendee joins the live stream at 1:05pm, they'll have missed the first five minutes.
Speaker/Sponsor/Exhibitor profiles and Custom List items.
When an attendee clicks on a feature item in the web version of the Event App, the Video On Demand content appears embedded in the middle of the screen with a sidebar showing all the other content you added to the profile. Attendees simply click on the video to play it. On the Mobile App, attendees tap the 'Video' button to open and play Video on Demand content in their device's default web browser.
Metrics
Just like with Webex Events Streaming or Webex Events Production Studio, you'll want insight on how many people watched your stream, and maybe even who watched and for how long. With Webex Events Simulive, you get the same data goodies you would with Webex Events Streaming, Webex Events Production Studio, and the Webex Events RTMP player.
From your Event App's Metrics page, simply click the Export Report button and select the Video Analytics option to download the report. For more information about the data included in the Video Analytics export, refer to our Event App and Community Metrics article.
💡 Keep in mind, Webex Events Video on Demand metrics don't appear in the Video Analytics export. The Event App Metrics page contains Video on Demand click data, however.
Now you know all about the Video Center and Webex Events Simulive and Video on Demand! Why not learn about using pre-recorded video in your live streams?
Questions? Chat Us or Email support@socio.events