How to set up a streaming event

TicketCo Media Services provides you with a paywall and authentication wall for your streaming events. For more information about this product, see our start pages here. This guide will give you a good overview of how to connect your broadcast to TicketCo, but if you are after a more thorough walk through, please check out our TMS Welcome Pack.

Getting started with streaming

You will need the following: 

1. A TicketCo account with streaming feature activated (if you are unsure whether this is activated, get in touch with support@ticketco.net).
2. Broadcasting software of your choice that supports the RMTP protocol, such as OBS.
3. Your own video and audio hardware.
4. A stable 12 Mbps upload connection. It's recommended that you have dedicated line for this as other devices and users on the same network can lead to reduced quality and lag on your stream. 
5. A computer connected to the network via ethernet. If you attempt to stream using a WiFi connection this can lead to severe lag and buffering times. 
6. A producer* 

*On having a producer:
You will need someone to produce your stream. This means collecting all the the different video and audio feeds in a broadcasting software and putting it together into a single feed that you show your audience via TicketCo. This task is not to be taken lightly as it is one of the biggest contributors to the quality of your stream. You might have someone in-house that can do this for you or you might have to bring in outside help, but having someone in a producer role is not something you can skip. 

Setting up your streaming event

1. Get access to your TicketCo account if you have not done so already. 
2. Set up an event with ticket types. If you are new to TicketCo you should check out this article on how to set up your event. 
3. You can initially set up your ticket types with Category: Ticket, but note you will change this setting a little later.
4. Go to Technical information and click on Create. If your event is longer than 4 hours, you will have to ask us to activate this for you, so send us an email to support@ticketco.net.
5. Go back to your ticket types and change the Category to Live stream. This is crucial as this is what gives your ticket buyers access to the stream. If you do not do this, your customers' tickets will not give them access to the stream.

Technical information

Under this tab, once you have created your streaming channel, you will find a video player and some different fields. You can monitor your stream on this video player - this will show you what your audience can see.

The Check Stream Link is the link directly to your stream, and the Producer Link is a link you can share with your production team which will give them access to this page.

When you activate your Start for 30 min test, you will see that the Primary and Backup Endpoints will contain the URL and Stream keys which you will need to input into your streaming software. Once the 30 minute test is over, these URLs and keys will expire, and the fields will show "not available yet".

These fields will repopulate one hour before your event start time. Note that the Stream key and URL for your actual event will differ from your 30 min test.

You can add in your producers' contact information on this page if you wish, meaning that we know to contact if we notice anything that might need changing with your stream. 

The ticket buyer journey

When someone has completed a purchase they will receive a text message and/or an email that looks something like this: 

For more information on how to view the stream they can click the "How does it work" button. We would like to take this opportunity to remind you that we also have a TV app that your audience can download. 

Broadcasting software

We recommend OBS as a free alternative broadcasting software which you can use to produce your stream. We would also recommend reading through the Production sections in our Welcome Pack which give you a thorough description of how to set up your broadcasting hardware and software.

Restricting who can view your stream

It's also important to consider who will be watching your stream, and you may want to restrict which countries your audience can view from. Remember to only select the countries where you have the rights to distribute the content. You will be able to add countries under the Geo-restrictions tab found next to Technical information.

Ready to stream

The stream will open 1 hour before the event start date/time set under Event details. This means that you can do some final testing at this time, and you can preview the stream under Technical information. You should also use the Stream Health tab to monitor your stream. Check out this article for more information about the Stream Health tab.

When you get to the event start date/time, those who have purchased a ticket will be able to join the stream. If someone tries to open the stream before the event start date/time they will see a countdown clock.