General Page
The Live Playlist feature is used to broadcast simulated live events. All videos within the playlist are pre-recorded, but the presentation appears as if it is broadcasting live. Interactivity such as chat and Q&A can be truly live during the broadcast.
When utilizing the Live Playlist feature, it's very important to understand the best practices listed below to ensure your simulated live event is successful.
Live Playlist Best Practices
First time must be truly live
If the channel has never been used for a true live broadcast, a notification appears on the Live Playlist creation page indicating that a live broadcast is required. Before you can create your first Live Playlist on that channel, you must go live from an encoder or streaming app and broadcast for more than 2 minutes to establish the channel's first true live broadcast.
Videos in the live playlist
Each video that you add to the playlist must be longer than 2 minutes.
First video should contain a buffer
Because processing times can vary, a Live Playlist may start up to 2 minutes after its scheduled start time. For this reason, it is important that the first video includes a buffer, such as a countdown timer, holding slide, or background music. We recommend starting your actual presentation at least two minutes into the playlist. Your actual presentation should begin at least 2 minutes after the start of the playlist.
Add a closing buffer video at the end
It is a best practice to add a simple buffer video at the end of your Live Playlist, such as a slide with background music or a closing message. This provides a gradual transition for viewers and prevents the event from ending too abruptly, giving attendees time to exit while the buffer video is still playing.
A closing buffer video is also useful when transitioning from pre-recorded content to a true live broadcast on the same channel. The buffer helps maintain viewer engagement during the brief period required to switch from the Live Playlist to the live broadcast, creating a smoother viewing experience.
Video properties should match
Although you can add many different videos to the same Live Playlist in the order you want them automatically played (typically following your set agenda for the event), each video's properties should match the others in the playlist. For example:
- If one video has closed captions in both English and Spanish, then all videos in the playlist should have captions in both English and Spanish.
- All videos in the playlist should have the same resolution. For example, if one video is 720p, they all should be 720p.
The more identical your videos are, the lower the risk of issues as the playlist transitions automatically from one video to the next.
Turn live captioning off for the channel
For simulated live events, because the content is pre-recorded, captions come from the VOD files and do not leverage the IBM Captioning feature that is normally used when broadcasting truly live events. If your account includes the IBM Captioning feature, it's important that you turn it off for the channel you will be using for Live Playlists.
If you leave the IBM Captioning on, it will disable the captions you've set up on the VODs. It's a best practice to use VOD captions because you can edit them in advance to ensure they are accurate and free from misspellings.
Note: VOD caption settings can be found by editing the VOD and clicking on the Captions tab.
Was this topic helpful?
Document Information
Modified date:
14 September 2026
UID
ibm17283162