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Multicast Video: Dashboard - controlling your channel
Multicast Video

Multicast Video: Dashboard - controlling your channel

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Applies to: Multicast Video. Not sure which panel you have? See Which radio or video panel do I have?

The Dashboard is the first page you see when you open the panel. From here you start and stop your channel, see what's playing, how many people are watching and how much of your package you've used. It also has all the details you need for live broadcasting and FTP. To get back to the Dashboard from any page, click Main → Dashboard or the logo at the top left.

If you see an announcement box at the top, it's a message from us to all customers (e.g. about planned maintenance).

The four cards at the top

CardWhat it shows
Total VideosAll the videos in your account, whatever their status.
Ready for StreamVideos that have finished optimizing and can go into a playlist.
PlaylistsHow many playlists you have.
ScheduledHow many active schedules you have under Schedule.

If some videos are still optimizing, you'll also see "N Videos optimizing. Will be available soon.". Once they finish, they are counted under Ready for Stream.

The "Stream Control" card

This is the most important card on the page. It contains:

  • Status: green Active when the channel is playing, grey Stopped when it's stopped.
  • What's playing now (only while the channel is playing): a Playlist badge with the video's title, duration, resolution and thumbnail. When you broadcast live from OBS or other software, you see a LIVE badge and "Live Broadcast - Streaming from OBS/Encoder".
  • Viewers now and Peak today: how many are watching right now and the highest number today.
  • Bitrate: the current bitrate compared with your package maximum (in kbps).
  • Storage: how many GB of your package's space you've used.

The bars are green below 70%, orange from 70% to 90% and red above 90%. If the bitrate is red while you're live, lower the bitrate in OBS or whatever software you use, so it's equal to or below your package maximum. If storage is red, delete videos you don't need (see Managing videos). Status and bitrate refresh by themselves every few seconds.

The control buttons

ButtonWhen it appearsWhat it does
StartWhen the channel is stoppedStarts the channel.
StopWhen the channel is playingStops the channel. Viewers see that the channel is offline.
RestartWhen the channel is playingStops the channel and starts it again. Needed after changing some settings (e.g. Output Settings) or when something gets stuck.
Next (⏭ icon)When the channel is playingSkips the current video and moves to the next one in the playlist.
Reload (↻ icon)When the channel is playingRe-reads the active playlist so the changes you saved are picked up.
LiveAlwaysTakes you to the Live page for live broadcasting.

Starting the channel

  1. In the Stream Control card, click Start.
  2. In the "Είστε σίγουροι;" (Are you sure?) window asking "Start the stream?", click Ναι (Yes).
  3. You'll see Action successful. After a few seconds the status changes to Active and the video that's playing appears.
  4. To see the picture in Live Preview, refresh the page (F5).

The channel keeps playing when you close your browser or switch off your computer.

What plays when you click Start

  1. The active playlist (the one marked ACTIVE NOW under Playlists).
  2. If it's empty, the playlist with the Default badge.
  3. If that's empty too, all your ready videos, newest first.

Only videos with the status Ready play. If you have an active Restream or you are broadcasting live, those take priority over the playlist (see First steps, section "What your channel plays, and in what order").

Important: only the Start button starts a stopped channel. The Schedule and a playlist's Activate button only change what plays while the channel is already running.

Stopping and restarting

  1. Click Stop or Restart.
  2. Confirm with Ναι (Yes) in the window that opens.
  3. Wait for Action successful and for the status to update.
Careful: Stop takes the channel off air for all viewers, also stops any recording in progress, and the channel stays off air until you click Start again. If you just want to "unstick" something, use Restart instead, which only interrupts the picture for a few seconds.

Skipping a video

Click the Next button (with the ⏭ icon) next to Restart. It doesn't ask for confirmation. You'll see "Video skipped" and the next video starts within a second.

Updating the playlist that's on air

If you changed the active playlist (added, removed or reordered videos), first click Save List on the playlist's page, then the Reload button (↻ icon) on the Dashboard. See Playlists.

Live Preview

The Live Preview card shows the channel the way viewers see it, with a Live or Offline badge. When the channel is stopped it says "Stream Offline".

  • The preview status is checked when the page loads. If you've just clicked Start, refresh the page to see the picture.
  • The picture is a few seconds behind what you send. That's normal; see Output quality and latency.

History, viewers and recent videos

  • Playback History: the last 12 videos that played. The public page button opens your channel's public page in a new tab. If nothing has played yet, it says "No history yet".
  • Viewer Locations Map: a map of where your current viewers are, plus a Current Viewers list. Details takes you to the full viewers map (see Statistics and viewers map).
  • Recent Videos: your 12 most recent videos. All takes you to the Videos page. If you haven't uploaded anything, click Upload now.

Streaming Information

The Streaming Information card has the details for live broadcasting and playback. Each value has a copy button next to it; use it instead of typing.

FieldWhat it isWhere you use it
RTMP URLThe server address for live broadcasting, in the form rtmp://[domain]:1935/liveIn OBS/vMix, in the "Server" field.
Stream KeyYour channel's personal keyIn OBS/vMix, in the "Stream Key" field. Don't share it.
HLS URLYour channel's link for viewers, in the form https://[domain]/stream/your-username/index.m3u8In players, apps, Smart TVs and directories.
Max BitrateYour package's maximum bitrate (kbps)Set OBS so it doesn't exceed it.
Max ViewersHow many viewers can watch at the same time—

[domain] is your server's address; copy it exactly as shown in the panel. For the full live broadcasting process see Going live with OBS or vMix.

Security: anyone who has your Stream Key can broadcast on your channel. If you think your key has leaked, generate a new one under Settings → Stream Settings and update OBS. See Account settings.

FTP Access

The FTP Access card shows the login details for FTP software (e.g. FileZilla): Host, Port (usually 21), Username (your panel username) and Password (your FTP password, which is different from your panel password). The Manage files button opens the FTP Files page. See Uploading with FTP (FileZilla) and Import.

Messages / Common problems

Message or problemWhat to do
Already runningThe channel is already playing. Refresh the page to see the correct status.
Stream not runningYou clicked Next or Reload while the channel is stopped. Click Start first.
Container failed to start / Failed to start containerThe channel couldn't start. Wait a minute and try again. If it happens again, open a support ticket.
Cannot connect to LiquidsoapThe channel isn't responding to commands. Click Restart.
Account not activeThe service is suspended. See Paying a proforma invoice.
Connection errorYour browser couldn't reach the panel. Check your internet connection and refresh the page.
Status is Active but the preview says "Stream Offline"Refresh the page; the preview is only checked when the page loads.
A video I didn't expect is playingCheck which playlist is ACTIVE NOW and whether a schedule changed it (see Schedule).
Viewers can't see the channelSee My channel isn't playing or keeps freezing: what to check.
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