Studio #
Studio is your live control room. It is where you watch your incoming feed, take the stream live for fans, keep an eye on how the broadcast is going, and bring it to a clean stop at the end. Think of it as the gallery for your match-day production.
Studio controls and monitors your broadcast. It does not capture the video itself: your camera and broadcasting software or hardware do that, then send the feed to MDL. Studio is where you take it from there.
Before you open Studio #
Before you start
- A stream already created and scheduled in the dashboard
- Your stream key set up and connected to your broadcasting equipment
- Your broadcasting equipment sending its feed, ideally a few minutes before kickoff
To open Studio, go to Streams, find the broadcast you are about to run, and select Studio. More than one person from your club can have Studio open for the same stream at the same time, so a producer and a camera operator can work side by side.
Monitoring your stream #
Studio gives you everything you need to keep tabs on the broadcast in one place. The layout has three areas: your controls, the live preview in the centre, and your viewer figures and health on the side.
The centre of Studio shows your incoming feed, which is the same picture and sound fans will see. Use it to confirm the camera angle, that the audio is coming through, and that the quality looks right before you go live. There is a short delay on the preview, which is normal for live video.
While you are live, Studio shows how many fans are watching right now, the highest number you have reached, and a running graph of viewers over time. This is the best way to see your audience build around kickoff.
A health indicator tells you at a glance whether the broadcast is steady. Green means all is well, amber flags a possible issue such as a wobbly connection, and red means a serious problem like the feed having dropped. Audio level meters show that sound is actually coming through.
Viewers now The number of fans watching at this moment. Updates continually through the broadcast.
Peak viewers The highest concurrent audience reached so far. A good headline figure for post-match reporting.
Stream health A traffic-light indicator of how stable the broadcast is, drawn from the feed your equipment is sending.
Audio levels Live meters showing sound is reaching MDL. Flat meters usually mean a muted or unplugged source.
Going live #
When the preview looks and sounds right, you are ready to make the broadcast visible to fans.
- ●
Confirm the preview
Check the picture and audio in the central preview. This is exactly what fans will get.
- ●
Select Go Live
When you are happy, select Go Live. Your stream becomes visible to fans on the web and in the apps, and your viewer figures begin to climb.
- ●
Settle in and watch
Keep Studio open for the whole match. Glance at the health indicator and viewer count from time to time so you spot any problem early.
Keeping fans informed during the broadcast #
If your channel supports it, Studio lets you send a short message to everyone watching, shown as a notice over the player. It is a simple way to mark a moment or pass on news without interrupting the action.
- A kickoff or kick-back reminder
- A score update or a goal call
- A heads-up about a short delay or a quality dip in bad weather
Ending the broadcast #
When the match is over, end the stream cleanly so the replay is saved correctly.
- ●
Stop your equipment
Stop the broadcast in your software or hardware so it stops sending the feed.
- ●
Stop the stream in Studio
Select Stop Stream. The broadcast ends for fans straight away.
- ●
Let the replay prepare
The recording is saved and added to your on-demand library, ready for fans who missed the live broadcast. You can leave Studio at this point.
To protect against a stream being left running by mistake, you can set an automatic stop time when you set up the broadcast. If you forget to stop manually, the stream ends on its own at that point.
There is no preview showing in Studio
This almost always means the feed is not reaching MDL yet. Check that your broadcasting equipment is running and connected, and that your stream key is entered correctly. See Stream keys.
The viewer figures have stopped updating
Refresh Studio in your browser. If the broadcast has already ended, the figures stop on their own, which is expected.
The health indicator keeps turning amber or red
This points to the connection between your equipment and the internet. A wired connection is far more reliable than wi-fi, and lowering your broadcast quality can help if your upload speed is limited.
Next steps