You can now set a Live Schedule to repeat over a date range, or select specific dates/days of the week you wish it to go live. Additionally you can seamlessly add caption support to your live schedules.

Automate Your Recurring Live Schedules

Imagine setting up a month’s worth of recurring training sessions or product demos in just a few clicks. Our new scheduling logic makes this a reality.

Here’s how it works: Simply set a start and end date (within a 30-day window), choose the time, and then specify which days of the week you’d like to go live (e.g., Tuesdays and Thursdays only). It’s set-and-forget scheduling at its best.

This is a great for anyone who wants to:

• Automate Targeted Broadcasts: Need to run a product demo every weekday morning for a two-week product launch? Simply select the date range, tick Monday to Friday, set the time once, and you’re done.
• Maximize Training Efficiency: Schedule a compliance training video to air every Monday and Wednesday afternoon for the next four weeks, ensuring all employees have multiple opportunities to watch live.
• Create Consistent Programming: Run your weekly “What’s New” segment every Friday morning for the entire month, all scheduled in a single action.

Now with Wider Caption Support

In our ongoing commitment to accessible streaming, we are introducing support for a wider range of caption formats, including WebVTT. This allows you to easily add captions to your live schedule, ensuring a better and more comprehensible experience for every viewer. In addition there is no language limitation, all languages CJK, Arabic, Hindi, etc are supported.

The benefits of adding captions to your live streams are clear:

• Increased Accessibility: Provide an essential viewing experience for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing.
• Improved Comprehension: Captions are proven to aid understanding, especially for viewers in noisy environments, those for whom the broadcast language is not their first, or anyone who benefits from visual text reinforcement.
• Wider Audience Reach: Cater to the growing number of viewers who watch videos in sound-sensitive environments, like offices, libraries, or on public transit.

These new features are available to our enterprise customers currently using our Live Schedule feature. If you wish to test out Live Scheduling, just reach out to our sales team!

The post Live Scheduler Update: Recurring Events & Captions appeared first on StreamShark.

This powerful new tool seamlessly integrates with your live stream, enabling real-time audience engagement like never before. Whether you’re hosting a virtual event, company all hands, or online conferences, polling adds a simple yet impactful way to gather feedback, spark interaction, and increase viewer participation.

Why Polling?

Live Polling joins our suite of interactive tools, including Live Calls to Actions, Chat, Q&A and Live Reactions. With polling, you can:

• Collect instant audience feedback
• Drive real-time interaction during your stream
• Foster two-way communication across platforms
• Maintain a smooth viewing experience on all devices and browsers

Easy Setup, Instant Engagement

Setting up a poll is quick and intuitive. You can create polls ahead of time with up to 10 response options, and launch them during your live event with just a click. Designed to work flawlessly across devices, polling keeps your audience engaged without interrupting your stream.

Want to see it in action? Check out our demo video below to explore how easy and effective live polling can be:

Available Now on Business Plans and Above

The Live Polling feature is now available to all StreamShark users on Business plans and higher. If you have any questions or need help getting started, our support team is always here to assist you.

Ready to make your live streams more interactive? Start using Live Polling today and engage your audience like never before.

The post Boost Engagement with Live Polling appeared first on StreamShark.

StreamShark’s Live Call-To-Action (CTA) feature takes this to the next level by enabling broadcasters to display interactive prompts that inspire immediate viewer responses.

Whether driving traffic, encouraging sign-ups, or promoting exclusive content, Live CTAs are a powerful way to create a dynamic streaming experience.

What Are Live CTAs?

Live CTAs are interactive banners displayed within your live stream player, designed to guide viewers toward specific actions. These could range from visiting a website, to accessing a download, all seamlessly integrated into your broadcast. By delivering CTAs at the right moment, broadcasters can keep their audience engaged and focused on key objectives.

StreamShark’s CTAs are customizable, and easy for viewers to interact with, ensuring minimal disruption to the streaming experience.

Activating Live CTAs During a Broadcast

Live CTAs are activated within your Streaming Event during the broadcast. Once activated, they appear in the live player within seconds, catching viewers’ attention without being intrusive. CTAs can include a title, message, action button, and optional image for added visual appeal.

Viewers can interact with the CTA by clicking on the button to complete the desired action or dismiss it if they choose. Once a CTA is dismissed, it’s no longer visible, ensuring a streamlined viewing experience.

Why Use Live CTAs?

Live CTAs bridge the gap between passive viewing and active engagement. They allow you to:

• Drive Immediate Action – Prompt viewers to visit a landing page, sign up for updates, or access resources.
• Reinforce Messaging – Highlight key takeaways or exclusive offers during the broadcast.
• Enhance the Viewer Experience – Introduce interactive elements that make the stream more engaging.

Use Cases for Live CTAs

Live CTAs are highly versatile and can be adapted to a variety of scenarios to enhance engagement and drive immediate viewer action.

For example, during a product launch or demonstration, CTAs can prompt viewers to visit a product page or sign up for pre-orders, capturing excitement and converting interest into action. Similarly, in webinars or educational sessions, CTAs can direct attendees to download materials, complete a survey or register for future events, extending engagement beyond the live stream.

Best Practices for Effective Live CTAs

To maximize the impact of your Live CTAs, consider the following tips:

• Keep It Simple – Use clear and concise messaging to communicate your intent effectively.
• Use Eye-Catching Visual – Incorporate compelling images to draw attention to the CTA.
• Be Strategic – Time your CTAs to align with high-impact moments in the broadcast.
• Maintain Relevance – Ensure your CTA aligns with the event’s theme and audience interests.

Additional Insights for Broadcasters

• Overlapping CTAs – Activating a new CTA will replace the current one, ensuring only the most relevant prompt is displayed.
• Viewer Flexibility – CTAs remain visible until viewers dismiss them, giving ample opportunity for engagement.

StreamShark’s Live CTAs offer a seamless way to enhance audience engagement during live streams. Whether your goal is to drive conversions, promote content, or simply keep viewers engaged, this feature provides the tools to make your live events more interactive and impactful.

To explore how Live CTAs can elevate your next event, visit StreamShark’s support article on Live CTAs.

The post Introducing: Live Call-to-Actions. Instant engagement, right when it matters most. appeared first on StreamShark.

That’s why we’re thrilled to announce the launch of our Live Reactions feature, a dynamic tool designed to transform passive viewers into active participants.

Live reactions are now enabled for all StreamShark accounts. Please reach out to us if you have any feedback!

What Are Live Reactions?

Live Reactions allow your audience to express their emotions in real-time during a live stream. Think of it as the virtual equivalent of applause, cheers, or laughter that you’d experience in a physical event. As attendees watch your live stream, they can send reactions that float across the screen, creating a vibrant and interactive atmosphere. This immediate feedback not only energizes the event but also provides you with valuable insights into audience engagement.

Why Live Reactions Matter

Enhance Audience Engagement

Engagement is more than just a buzzword; it’s the difference between a memorable event and one that’s quickly forgotten. Live Reactions invite your audience to participate actively, making them feel seen and heard. This interactive layer transforms viewers from passive observers into engaged participants, increasing their connection to your content.

Real-Time Feedback

Understanding how your audience feels at any given moment is invaluable. Live Reactions provide instant insights into what’s resonating with your viewers. Did a particular point in your keynote spark excitement? Are attendees thrilled about a new product announcement? The flurry of reactions gives you immediate feedback, allowing you to gauge the event’s impact as it unfolds.

Create a Sense of Community

One of the challenges of virtual events is replicating the communal atmosphere of in-person gatherings. Live Reactions help bridge this gap by showcasing the collective responses of your audience. When attendees see a wave of reactions, they feel part of a shared experience, fostering a sense of community and belonging.

Visual Appeal

Let’s face it—static screens can get dull. Live Reactions add a dynamic visual element to your live stream, making it more engaging and enjoyable to watch. The floating reactions animate the screen, capturing attention and adding an element of fun to your event.

Key Features of Live Reactions

While we won’t dive into the technical setup, it’s worth highlighting some of the standout features that make Live Reactions a game-changer for your events.

Customizable Experience

We understand that every event is unique. That’s why Live Reactions are customizable to match the tone and style of your event. Whether you want to stick with the default emojis or select emojis that align with your brand or theme, the choice is yours.

Playback Controls

When configuring reactions, you can specify the location of the reactions displayed on the video player, set the maximum height that reactions reach before disappearing, and choose whether to allow users to hold to enlarge reactions.

Privacy Controls

Respecting user preferences is paramount. Attendees have the option to customize their experience by hiding their own reactions or those of others, giving them control over how they engage with your event.

How Live Reactions Elevate Different Types of Events

Virtual Conferences and Webinars

Maintain high energy levels throughout your conference by encouraging attendees to react to keynote speeches, panel discussions, and Q&A sessions. Live Reactions can help keep participants engaged over longer periods, combating virtual fatigue.

Product Launches

Generate buzz and excitement during product reveals. As you unveil new features or services, watch the screen light up with reactions, amplifying the moment’s impact.

Live Performances and Concerts

Artists can feel the audience’s energy even through a screen. Live Reactions allow fans to show their appreciation in real-time, creating a more connected and immersive performance.

Educational Sessions

Teachers and educators can gauge student engagement and understanding through reactions, making virtual learning more interactive and responsive.

Benefits for Event Organizers

Actionable Insights

The volume and type of reactions can provide valuable data. Identify which segments of your event are hitting the mark and which might need adjustment. This real-time feedback is a powerful tool for making on-the-fly enhancements and planning future events.

Increased Retention

An engaged audience is more likely to stay for the entirety of your event. Live Reactions keep viewers interested, reducing drop-off rates and ensuring your message reaches as many people as possible.

Brand Enhancement

Offering an interactive experience sets your event apart and reflects positively on your brand. It shows that you’re innovative, audience-focused, and committed to delivering high-quality experiences.

Get Started Today

Integrating Live Reactions into your events is straightforward, and our team is here to support you every step of the way. Elevate your live streams, engage your audience like never before, and make your events unforgettable.

The post Introducing Live Reactions: Elevate Your Live Events with Real-Time Audience Engagement appeared first on StreamShark.

Imagine quickly redirecting viewers to a backup stream during a glitch, or simply keeping an eye on both streams at once. These enhancements are designed to provide you with greater control and flexibility, ensuring a seamless streaming experience for both you and your viewers.

Dual Stream Preview: Monitor Primary and Backup Streams Simultaneously

One of the most requested features from our community is now live! With our new dual stream preview capability, you can now monitor both your primary and backup streams simultaneously. This feature allows you to ensure that the backup stream is functioning correctly and the feed being sent is accurate. No more surprises if your primary stream encounters issues—now you can verify the integrity of your backup stream in real-time.

Priority Stream Selection: Choose Which Stream Takes Precedence

When using a backup stream, we’ve introduced the ability to select which stream you want to be the ‘priority’ stream. This means you can designate the stream that will be the first to load for your viewers. The non-priority stream will act as the backup, ready to take over if necessary.

Furthermore, this feature forces all current viewers onto the selected priority stream, ensuring a consistent and controlled viewing experience.

The advantage of this feature becomes evident in scenarios where an encoder sends a stream to our ingests that seems valid but, upon manual inspection, is found to be garbled or problematic. With the priority stream selection, you can manually intervene and reroute viewers to a working stream quickly and efficiently, maintaining the quality of your broadcast.

How to Use These New Features

To set which stream has priority, follow these steps:

1. Create a streaming event with a backup ingest selected.
2. Go to the ‘Workflow’ tab where you’ll see your primary and backup streams listed.
3. Use the new interface to preview both primary and backup streams simultaneously.
4. Select which stream you want to be the priority by clicking the ‘Set as Priority’ button next to the desired stream.

By enabling these features, you can ensure that your live streaming events are more robust and resilient than ever before. You can read our full support article here.

Conclusion

These updates are part of our ongoing commitment to enhance your live streaming experience with StreamShark. By giving you the tools to monitor and control your streams more effectively, we aim to make your live events smoother and more reliable.

Stay tuned for more updates, and as always, happy streaming!

The post Workflow Enhancements: Dual Stream Preview and Priority Stream Selection appeared first on StreamShark.

Our upcoming update is designed to streamline your broadcasting experience by eliminating the need for manual adjustments during live streaming events.

What is a Simplified Event?

Simplified events consolidate the entire experience into a single phase, doing away with the separate pre-event and post-event stages. This change simplifies the process, eliminating the need to manually switch between phases.

However, this simplicity comes with a few limitations: the option to loop videos or display splash images during the pre/post-event phases is removed, and automatic transitions to DVR recordings at the event’s conclusion are no longer available.

If these features are important to you, the ‘Standard’ event type remains available.

Is it Compatible with DVR-Enabled Events?

Indeed! The new event type introduces an ‘Event Reset’ function, enabling events to be returned to their initial setup automatically. This feature also allows for the automatic reset of an event if it doesn’t receive a live stream within a specific timeframe.

Why Choose Simplified Events?

There are various reasons to use this feature, such as:

• Managing live streaming for a company where end users are unfamiliar with adjusting RTMP settings.
• Hosting recurring events without the need to alter the video player’s embed code.

When Can I Get Access?

We’ll be rolling out access to this feature in the coming weeks. When you have access you will be able to select ‘Simplified Event’ from the ‘Event Type’ when setting up a new streaming event. If you have any questions, or wish to get early access, please email support@streamshark.io or reach out to your account manager.

The post Introducing: Simplified Events appeared first on StreamShark.

Chrome version 105.0.5195.52 was released on the 30th of August 2022. One of the changes from this update introduced an incompatibility of MSE workers with some versions of the popular video player library, VideoJS. This caused video playback to fail on this specific version of Chrome. A significant number of online video service providers were impacted due to this change, and unfortunately, StreamShark’s Video on Demand (VoD) service, which leverages VideoJS libraries, was one of them. The StreamShark Event and Live Scheduler platforms were not impacted.

The Chrome team was made aware of the reported issue and a subsequent version 105.0.5195.102 was released with the incompatible feature rolled back to temporarily address the issue. An ongoing fix has been applied to future versions (m106+) by the Chrome browser team so this issue will not recur.

The related Chromium issue link has detailed tracking and chronology of the bug on Chrome’s side.

Chrome’s staged release rollout meant only viewers with the updated Chrome browser were impacted. New Chrome release rollouts are staged over time so that any early issues that arise can be addressed before they reach all users. Viewers using older versions of Chrome along with other browsers like Safari, Firefox, or IE Edge were not impacted.

After reports from our customers about the issue on the 1st of September, StreamShark Engineering team carried out an immediate investigation, and identified that a VideoJS 7 player library upgrade could mitigate the Chrome bug, and a patch was rolled out on the same day. With the player library upgrade in place, and the Chrome team rolling back the impacting change for the current version m105 and future versions m106+ we do not anticipate any further impact to our service from this issue.

If any StreamShark viewers are still encountering this issue from your end on Chrome, clearing the browser cache, and forcing a Chrome update (Help -> About Chrome), and hitting Relaunch once the update is complete, should be effective to get playback working as normal.

The post StreamShark VoD player impact due to Chrome update 105.0.5195.52 [resolved] appeared first on StreamShark.

Everyone loves a good report – especially your boss.

In the high-stress world of enterprise video, failure’s not an option. Oftentimes, the best way to measure and improve is to look into the numbers and analytics. The more information that IT and marcom teams have, the better they’ll be able to optimize the quality and delivery of their carefully-crafted content. Plus, more reporting means you’ll be able to share and communicate your value to management.

At StreamShark, we want to empower your team with the data-driven insights to continuously improve your company’s video content experience. We’re an end-to-end solution for enterprise video, from software to hardware. That means StreamShark does more than host your livestreams and VOD – we’re a trusted partner for all things video.

That’s why we’re highlighting our market-leading analytics and reporting tools. We offer five marquee features, including two brand new capabilities and a successful partnership with another industry leader.

These tools give StreamShark users:

• A single control panel to view how your content is being consumed
• A top-down view of the ROI of all your content
• Robust search/sort capabilities to dive deep into metrics and dashboards
• Easy downloads and integrations for streamlined sharing of data and reports

Let’s take a look at these five data-driven features:

[NEW] Account-wide metrics

StreamShark users can now parse account data by time period. You can see metrics like events run, viewership and peak viewership for particular stretches, and easily share that data. Analyzing past performance is a great way to tweak strategy for the future.

For example, users can search for data specific to all their Town Hall or All-Hands meetings over the past 12 months. Or sort for engagement metrics on all Tuesday and Thursday live streams to see which days garner more eyeballs.

[NEW] Stream health & logging

As you likely know, A LOT can go wrong when you’re running an enterprise live stream video event. The StreamShark team has been working closely with our customers to develop real-time health insights so that every aspect of your event is covered.

Our enhanced stream health and logging dashboard gives event operators all the key information at their fingertips. Operators can double check their live push, check the current health of the stream, and capture the full life cycle of the event from pre to post. This includes logging all actions that any operators take during an event for post-event analysis.

Report: SSO per user

The single sign on (SSO) per user report is great for both 1.) a deeper analysis of engagement and 2.) a security audit. Every single employee’s access is logged and reported, with accompanying analytics.

StreamShark users can see which users have been viewing content, which viewers have had multiple viewing sessions, what devices have been used for content consumption, and more. You can segment even data by department (ex. C-Suite). This data can be particularly useful if  your organization has any security concerns with your video content.

Report: Viewer management per user

The viewer management per user report is very similar in function to the SSO report. StreamShark integrates into identity management systems like Okta and GSuite for larger enterprises. If you’re running a smaller operation, StreamShark’s viewer management system provides a robust level of insight on a per user basis.

Partnership with HIVE QoE insights

We have a long term technology partnership with video comms platform Hive to deliver comprehensive Quality of Experience (QoE) insights to our users. These metrics provide a deep dive into the engagement and viewing experience. 

Additionally, the QoE insights are great for troubleshooting. Operators can analyze experience statistics and get an objective picture of any viewer issues. If said user is consuming content on a company network, for example, Hive’s QoE insights can help determine if that network is causing trouble with your enterprise live stream or VOD.

At StreamShark, we want you to have every possible metric and dashboard at your disposal. The more you can measure and analyze, the more you’ll be able to diagnose areas for improvement. Next time your boss asks for a report, we’ve got you covered.

The post Did You Know: StreamShark Offers Robust Analytics and Reporting Capabilities for Enterprise Video appeared first on StreamShark.

We have reviewed all potentially impacted instances, and cannot reproduce nor find any evidence of successful exploitation of this vulnerability across any StreamShark system after a detailed review of application, system and audit logs. We have patched all hosts containing the vulnerable library with a corrected version on 10 Dec 2021 (PM PST)

Timeline:

• 10 Dec 2021 (AM PST) CVE-2021-44228 published
• 10 Dec 2021 (PM PST) CVE library patched by StreamShark on all hosts containing vulnerable library
• 11 Dec 2021 (PM PST) Additional configuration changes on JVM made to further harden settings vs other potential vulnerability vectors

Dear Customers,

On 10 Dec 2021 (AM PST) StreamShark became aware of CVE-2021-44228 relating to potential vulnerabilities in the use of a common Java logging framework, Apache Log4j2. The impacted versions were between 2.10 =< 2.14.1

Across StreamShark’s own Java-based code, products and endpoints we have standardised on a different logging framework – Log4j2 is not used.

We also performed a detailed review across all other 3rd party libraries and services which are leveraged in the hosting and delivery of StreamShark services across our Event and Scheduler capabilities.

A 3rd-party software engine was identified as having a potentially vulnerable version of Log4j2 on a subset of our Live Event and Live Schedule ingests. These systems were immediately patched on the same day – 10 Dec 2021 (PM PST) with a corrected version of the library.

We have consulted with the vendor of the 3rd party software engine, who reviewed the details of this CVE in the context of their software to identify if there is a threat, and have not confirmed any active threat.

We independently performed our own reconnaissance of the 3rd party software engine and could not successfully replicate the attack vector or achieve success in exploiting this vulnerability on a host unpatched for this CVE. Regardless, as noted, we have patched all hosts containing impacted library on 10 Dec 2021 (AM PST). We also identified further configuration changes to harden against other theoretical but uncommon vulnerability vectors which were deployed on 11 Dec 2021 (PM PST)

We have reviewed all potentially impacted instances, and cannot reproduce nor find any evidence of successful exploitation of this vulnerability across any StreamShark system after a detailed review of application, system and audit logs. 

We continue to closely monitor the situation at hand as any new information comes to light. If further action is required, we will note it here.

Kind regards,

StreamShark Team

The post StreamShark Log4j2 Customer Advisory Regarding CVE-2021-44228 appeared first on StreamShark.

On Sunday, 11 October 2020 starting from 03:00 to 04:00 UTC we will be simplifying the method in which StreamShark users authenticate their live streaming events for all customers with dedicated Ingests. Over the course of this hour long maintenance window, be prepared for intermittent downtime of your dedicated live streaming servers.

This change will only impact the StreamShark dedicated servers. Enterprise customers using shared (multi-tenanted) servers were migrated to this authentication method in late March 2020. 

After this maintenance window is complete, users with dedicated ingests will no longer be required to authenticate using a separate username and password. Your events will instead leverage the inline authentication already present within the ‘Stream Name’ field. Any event created after the 29th March 2020 will have this authentication information already in the ‘Stream Name’ field and will not be impacted by this change. If you have an event pre-configured in your streaming software or hardware with a username and password set, these will be ignored, however this will not impact the authentication process.

This change will make it faster to set up streams within your live encoder, and it will also vastly increase the compatibility of StreamShark with a wider range of software and hardware live encoding solutions, as well as video conferencing solutions like Zoom.

You will be able to tell if the server you’re using has the new authentication method by looking at what’s displayed in the ‘Publishing URLs’ section of your ‘Event Overview’ tab. Below you can see how the ‘Publishing URLs’ section will look after the change.

Before:

After:

If you have any questions or issues please don’t hesitate to contact our support team by emailing support@streamshark.io or using the red support button inside the StreamShark dashboard.

The post Enterprise Product Update: Change to Streaming Events Authentication appeared first on StreamShark.