Not sure this is the right streaming method for you? See Live Streaming Options in Jomablue for a comparison of all available methods before continuing.
What Is the Simulated Live Stream Block?
Simulated Live Stream is a Block that plays pre-recorded content on a schedule, as if it were happening live. Viewers don't have play or pause controls.
Why choose Simulated Live Stream:
• Gives producers control. Content is recorded and edited before the event, so mistakes are fixed before viewers see them.
• Adds scheduling flexibility. Record sessions any time before the event.
• Keeps the live feel. Viewers experience the anticipation and structure of a live session.
Captions: Simulated Live Stream supports open captions, which are part of the video and always visible. AI Closed Captions and Vocabularies aren't available for this Block.
How It Works
A Simulated Live Stream is made up of several components working together:
• Video File: the file that plays back as the "live" stream.
• Simulated Live Block settings: sets up the Container that runs the stream.
• Simulated Live Container: the server that plays the video back as a live stream.
• Streaming Service: makes the Container's output available as an .m3u8 stream URL, an HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) playlist.
• Simulated Live Block on your Canvas: the player that plays the .m3u8 stream in Jomablue Community.
A failover system handles unlikely stream failures. Another Container activates automatically and continues playback from the same point, so the stream carries on as if live.
Video File Requirements
Share these requirements with your video editor or production team.
All uploaded files are validated against these requirements to ensure consistent playback.
We recommend adding pre-roll and post-roll footage of at least 15 minutes each, before and after your session content. Without them, the stream starts or stops abruptly, which viewers may mistake for a streaming error. The Experience Rating flags pre-roll under 10 minutes.
Video
• Resolution: 1920x1080 @ 25fps or 30fps
• Video codec: H.264 AVC1
• H.264 profile: High
• Bitrate: 2500–4500 kb/s recommended
Audio
• Codec: AAC (LC) Stereo
• Bitrate: 256 kb/s recommended
File
• Max file size: 20GB
• Max length: 6 hours
• Format: MP4 recommended
Before your event, produce a short test video with your final production settings and check playback using Jomablue's preview tools.
Setting Up a Simulated Live Stream Block
Uploading Your Video File
Upload your video file under Community > Files. Check that it meets the Video File Requirements first.
Adding a Simulated Live Stream Block to a Canvas
1. Go to the Jomablue Portal and log in with your email address and password.
2. Click Canvases under Community in the left-hand menu.
3. Click the Canvas type where you want to add the Block (Lobby, Session, Vendor, or Page).
4. Locate the specific Canvas and click Edit.
5. Click Layout.
6. Within a Flex, click Add Block. In Select Block Type, choose Simulated Live (not Live Stream or Self Hosted Live Stream), then click Save.
7. The Block appears in the Flex as "Untitled". Click the pencil icon (Configure the block) to open it.
Apply the settings below.
Video File Settings
• Select Video File: choose the file this Block will play.
• Video File Duration: the total length of the file, including pre-roll and post-roll.
• Video Pre-roll Duration: how much pre-roll the file contains.
Why pre-roll duration matters: pre-roll duration tells the Block when to start streaming. For a 9:00 AM session with a 30-minute pre-roll, streaming starts at 8:30 AM. If pre-roll duration isn't set, viewers may see "stream not running" errors until the session start time.
Stream Content Settings
• Content Start Time: the date and time the actual session content should begin.
• Poster Image: a placeholder image shown when the video isn't playing. Recommended size: 3840 x 2160px.
• Auto-play: off by default; we recommend keeping it off.
• Automatically Poll For Progress: periodically checks whether the player is progressing and resets the stream if it isn't.
• Progress Polling Interval: how often the player checks progress. Defaults to 0 seconds.
• Simulated Live Stream ID and External Live Stream ID: generated automatically.
Activating the Block
A new Block is inactive. To show it to attendees, open the Details tab, set Active to Yes and click Save.
Available Interactions
The Simulated Live Stream Block includes the following interactions:
• playback_started: fires when the stream begins playing.
• chunk_played: fires each time a one-minute portion of the stream has fully played.
• time_watched: total time a viewer has spent watching the stream. If a viewer watches on two devices at once, the total is twice the expected amount.
• first_playback: a timestamp (in the event's timezone) marking when the first playback_started interaction fired.
Experience Rating
The Experience tab shows whether your configuration is set up for a smooth viewer experience before your event goes live. A fully configured Block shows an Excellent rating.
The tab shows:
• An overall rating of the expected viewer experience.
• A breakdown of your current configuration, flagging any potential issues.
• Tips for improving the experience, based on Jomablue's built-in rules.
• A timeline of each Transition in the Block and the gaps between them.
Where You'll See Warnings
If a Block has at least one experience rule warning, you'll see a warning badge in a few places:
• Next to the Edit button in the Canvas view.
• Next to the Layout tab in the Canvas Detail view.
• Next to the Edit button for the specific Block, in the Canvas Layout view.
• On the Experience tab itself, in the Block Detail page.
Note: every newly created Block shows a warning until it's fully configured. This is expected, not a sign that something's broken.
Rating Severity
• Low: valid but not optimal (for example, insufficient pre-roll time).
• Medium: affects how polished the stream looks, for example a "stream not found" message before pre-roll starts.
• High: will cause content to fail or be hidden entirely (for example, content starting before the Block is revealed).
Experience Validation Rules
Pre-roll length must be set
High
Pre-roll should begin before the Block is visible
Medium
Pre-roll should be at least 10 minutes long
Low
Content start must be set
High
Content start should be after Block reveal
High
Content start should be after Canvas reveal
High
Content start should be before Block hide time
High
Content start should be before Canvas hide time
High
Simulation end should occur after the Block disappears
Medium
Simulation end should be at least 2 minutes before the Block disappears
Low
Continue To
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Jomablue Live Streaming - if you want an actual live broadcast rather than pre-recorded content played out as live.
