How Can I See Video That's Currently Encoding?

Encoders receive content from your camera or switcher and send it to the cloud. When your encoder is on and running, you can use Studio to see what it is uploading to the cloud. The live video will appear on the Encoder Videos page and be on a 5-10 second delay from live.

How Can I See the Content My Encoder Is Capturing?

Make sure your encoder is powered on. Studio will display a green “started” status when it is encoding. You can confirm on your Dashboard page or your Encoders page in Studio.

To view the content that’s currently being encoded:

1. Navigate to your Media > Encoder Videos.
2. The video that’s encoding will be in the top-left slot. 
3. Click the video.
4. Press play on the video to see the content that’s currently being encoded to the cloud. If you scrub all the way to the right, the player will say “Live”. The content shown is on a 5-10 second delay from live. 

Troubleshooting

If the player is showing an error when trying to play your live encoder video, check the codec you chose to encode with or the audio channel configuration. If you see a buffering wheel, it’s because the live video is on a shorter delay than web events or streaming to physical locations.

What if my web browser doesn’t support the live video?

An error appears when your browser doesn’t support the audio or video properties of a video. 

There are three reasons you might see this error.

You’re encoding with the HEVC codec 

HEVC is the standard codec used when streaming to a multisite location but only the Safari web browser supports it. To see the video, use the Safari web browser on a laptop or desktop computer. 

If that doesn’t work or you can't use Safari, start a web video or playback content on your decoder to see it.

1. Start a web video

If you have a Live Streaming subscription, create a web video. When you create a web video, the content is converted to the H264 codec and two channels of audio. You’ll then be able to see the event in Media > Web Videos.

1. Navigate to Media > Encoder Videos.
2. Hover over the encoder video you want to create a web video from and click the actions icon  > Start a Web Video. 

   

3. Configure the details for your web video. Learn more

If you’re just testing the video, don’t configure any content destinations. If you do, the video will broadcast to those destinations. 

4. Click Start.
5. You’ll be able to see the video in the next screen. Click the player to begin watching it. 

When you start a web video, it will become the active content for the web channel it’s stored in. Remove the web video to revert to the previous active content (Learn more).  You can also manually change a web channel’s active content by starting or trimming a web video (Learn more). 

2. Play back the content with your decoder

If you have a Multisite subscription, load the encoder video to your decoder (Learn more). You'll then be able to see the content play back. 

1. Click the event you want to broadcast in the Events tab.
2. Click Select Event. 
3. In the modal that appears, choose whether or not you want to clear the disk cache.
4. After the event begins to load, click Play at the bottom the screen.
5. The content will begin playing back.

Learn more about managing and navigating the decoder interface.

You’re using more than two channels of audio 

You’ll also get this error when encoding more than two audio channels. To see the video:

1. Start a web video

If you have a Live Streaming subscription, create a web video (Learn more). When you create a web video, the content is converted to the H264 codec and two channels of audio. You’ll then be able to see the event in Media > Web Videos.

1. Navigate to Media > Encoder Videos.
2. Hover over the encoder video you want to create a web video from and click the actions icon  > Start a Web Video. 
3. Configure the details for your web video. Learn more

If you’re just testing the video, don’t configure any content destinations. If you do, the video will broadcast to those destinations. 

4. Click Start.
5. You’ll be able to see the video in the next screen. Click the player to begin watching it. 

When you start a web video, it will become the active content for the web channel it’s stored in. Remove the web video to revert to the previous active content (Learn more).  You can also manually change a web channel’s active content by starting or trimming a web video (Learn more). 

2. Play back the content with your decoder

If you have a Multisite subscription, load the encoder video to your decoder (Learn more). You'll then be able to see the content play back. 

1. Click the event you want to broadcast in the Events tab.
2. Click Select Event. 
3. In the modal that appears, choose whether or not you want to clear the disk cache.
4. After the event begins to load, click Play at the bottom the screen.
5. The content will begin playing back.

You’re using an iOS device

iOS doesn’t support audio or video properties of encoder videos. Use the Safari web browser on a laptop or desktop computer.

What if I see a buffering wheel when trying to load my video?

When trying to load an encoder video, you may encounter a buffering wheel. The most common reason a buffering wheel appears during a live encoder video is that it’s on a 5-10 second delay. Depending on your upload bandwidth, the short delay can cause the encoder to fall behind on its upload.  

Your audience doesn’t see encoder videos - they won’t see this buffering wheel.  For end-users to see content, you’ll need to create a web video or with multisite, have a decoder pull content from an encoder channel to a physical location. Web videos have a two-minute delay and multisite is on a custom delay based on user preference.

To solve the buffering wheel:

• Increase upload bandwidth or resolve current network issues with your internet service provider.
• Set aside more dedicated bandwidth for the encoder than you currently have. For example, limit the bandwidth to guest Wi-Fi or remove it entirely when encoding. 
• Wait for the encoder to catch up. For example, if your encoder is one minute behind in the upload, you’ll need to wait one minute for the content to load.