How an event runs

This page follows one event from the first button press to the record it leaves behind, so you know what to expect at each point and what the people reading are seeing.

Before you start

Nothing leaves the computer until you press start. The desk app says so under its main button: “Nothing leaves this machine until you start.” The level meter already moves while someone talks, so you can check the sound is arriving without going on air.

Anyone who opens the audience link before you begin sees “Off air” and the line “This event is not being broadcast right now.” Their page waits. They do not need to reload when you start.

Start

Press Start streaming in the desk app, or on the browser streaming page. The status changes to “Connecting” and then “Live”, and the line under the button reads “ — listening for “. From this moment the app sends what it hears.

On every phone that has the link open, the status turns to “Live”. Text appears as it is spoken: a line is shown in amber while the sentence is still being said, and settles into the ordinary text colour when the wording is final. The projector page and the caption overlay fill in the same way.

Share the link

The link and the QR code are under Links & QR in the app, and on your venue page in the portal. Put the code on the room screen before you begin, print it, or send the link ahead. Every venue’s link is permanent, so people who have it can keep it. See Captions on phones.

During the event

• Pause. Press Pause audio when open microphones are picking up the room rather than the speaker. Nothing is translated while paused; readers see “Paused” and the line “The translation is paused for a moment. It will start again shortly.” Press again to resume. A moderator can pause and resume too.
• Change the spoken language. Tap a language tile in the app, or use the moderator page. The change takes effect without restarting. See Spoken-language tiles.
• Watch what is going out. The Transcript window shows what was heard and what was sent, and the footer shows how many people are listening.
• A dropped connection. The app reconnects on its own and says “Back on air.” when it has. If it is back quickly the same event carries on and readers keep their text; after a longer gap a fresh event starts and their screens clear.

Stop

Press Stop streaming. The status returns to “Off air”. Readers see “Off air” again; their text dims and then clears. The projector page and the overlay clear after a short idle period.

Stopping between items costs nothing: you are charged only for the time the event is running, so stop and start as often as the day needs.

Limits to know

• An event runs for at most 8 hours in one go. Twenty minutes before the limit you are warned and can add 1, 2, 3 or 4 hours. If it reaches the limit it stops, and pressing start begins a fresh one.
• An event that has heard nothing and has nobody listening for 60 minutes stops by itself, with a warning 20 minutes before.

See The event stopped by itself.

What is kept afterwards

Your portal Overview lists each event under Recent sessions: when it started, how long it ran, and the peak number of readers. The venue’s Transcripts tab keeps what was said and how it was translated, for as long as your organisation chooses to keep transcripts. Billing shows the hours of captions and minutes of spoken translation it used, at the rate on your Billing page. See Transcripts and What you are charged.