If you’ve just registered for one of our webcasts or online training - thank you! To make sure you get the best experience, please take a few minutes to read the technical guidance below - it could make a big difference.

Fresh Media Safety - Webcasts - Technical Information

After much testing of webcasting services, we’ve opted for Livestorm to deliver our online webinars, meetings and training. It has been a very reliable service so far and we really like that our clients / trainees don’t have to download any apps or other software to join our online events. They can join right from their web browser. That makes it much easier to access and enjoy our content. But we’ve learned that no single webcasting service is perfect and - technology being what it is - there can still be technical issues with our online events.

 

Things to know:

The webcast will take the form of a live presentation with a video stream of the host and on-screen text / images. All pretty standard. You (as an attendee) will NOT have to share your camera or microphone to join this webcast. You won’t be seen on screen. You will have the opportunity to take part through the on-screen Q&A box - this is text-based messaging which will be available to all participants. If you enter a message in this box, all other attendees will be able to see your question / comment and your first name only - but not your surname, company, email or other identifying information unless you include that information in your chat message. If you prefer to send a private message to the Host, you have that option available too.

If you’re familiar with webcasts, internet voice & video calling or video conferences, then you’ll know that there are often technical glitches which can affect the quality of the meeting or call. Usually, these are tolerable and temporary e.g. a bit of video lag or a little audio drop-out here and there. Often, they are noticeable at the start of the meeting but then settle down in the first minute or two. But sometimes they persist and make the meeting frustrating or even impossible to follow - but there’s a lot you can do to avoid this happening.

Things to check IN ADVANCE of the webcast:

  • Is your internet / wifi connection working and stable? You’ll need at least 5 Mb/s download speed to be able to attend our webinars. This is rarely a problem on most modern networks but it is worth checking your internet / wifi settings and speed. We can’t recommend any one speed test in particular but there are many free online broadband speed tests available - just search on Google.

  • Is your web browser up to date? Check you’re using the latest version.

  • Are you using a desktop / laptop or are you on a mobile device? Our webinars usually work okay with iOS and Android devices but there is often a lag and users sometimes report other technical issues. So, for the BEST experience, use your desktop or laptop computer (Mac or PC) and an up-to-date web browser e.g. Chrome, Firefox or Microsoft Edge. Safari generally works well too but there can be occasional issues - so use one of the others if they are available to you. They are all free to download and easy to find on Google.

  • Sometimes the simplest things cause problems - check the audio level on your headphones or speaker! Have you Muted the audio on your computer and forgotten to Unmute? Worth checking.

  • Sometimes firewalls and corporate internet security set-ups can cause issues with webcasts. These are obviously out of our control and you might want to talk to your IT Support - but if you’re not sure about your network set-up, some of our users have found the following test useful https://tokbox.com/developer/tools/precall/

 

If you have technical problems DURING the webcast:

  • Double check your internet / wifi connection and also your audio set-up (speakers / headphone connection and sound level). Have you accidentally left your sound on MUTE or at a very low level?

  • If problems persist, they are often resolved by simply REFRESHING / RE-LOADING the page.

  • If you’ve joined the webcast but are still experiencing problems - there is an on-screen help button which will link you to further technical information.

  • If you are able to see the webcast but are having audio problems which aren’t fixed by a) checking your headphones / speaker / sound level or b) re-loading the web page - you can listen to the webcast on Dial In - please see the following page for further help: https://support.livestorm.co/article/110-dial-in

 

Sources of further support:

Our webcast service provider Livestorm has some useful technical guidance in the section ‘Attendees’ on this page:

https://support.livestorm.co/article/39-issue-audio-video-troubleshooting#attend

 

BUT SOMETIMES IT STILL DOESN'T WORK!

Despite our best endeavours, very occasionally it just doesn’t work for individual attendees. It could be a problem on our side, your side or the internet might just be having a bad day. Who knows? If you’ve tried all of the above and it just isn’t happening, then PLEASE do let us know - we can send you useful information about the webcast content (so you’ll still get something out of it) and the feedback really does help us improve the quality of our services. And of course, you’ll be able to join the webcast or training free of charge the next time we run it.

Please send your feedback to techsupport@freshsafety.co.uk.