JenniferMaker Livestream Tips

A livestream is a video being broadcast in real time. We often livestream events and workshops, as that allows our participants to interact with Jennifer and others at the same time, and it's fun and exciting. But if you are new to livestreaming, it can also be confusing or challenging, too. So here are tips to help you make the most of a livestream!

WHERE TO SEE OUR LIVESTREAMS

Most of our livestreams are held on our YouTube channel and/or Facebook page, and often at the same time. We may also offer a embedded video page for those who do not want to watch on either YouTube or Facebook, such as during Maker Academy Weekend (click here to see that page). Of all our livestreaming platforms, we feel YouTube is the most reliable.

AUDIO ISSUES

If you are having a problem hearing the audio of our livestream, make sure the video is not on mute (press the sound icon) and also make sure your computer or device's sound is turned up.

VIDEO ISSUES

If your video is breaking up, pausing, stopping, or just seems REALLY blurry altogether, try reducing your quality to 720p. You can also try refreshing your browser window or even restarting your computer or device. You may also need to move closer to your Internet source. If you cannot do that, press the Settings icon on the video and choose the lowest quality. If nothing else works, a replay will be available to watch immediately after the video ends.

COMMENTING ISSUES

If you're not able to see comments, make sure you're watching on either our YouTube channel and/or Facebook page, and make sure comments are enabled. If your screen is small, you may need to either fullscreen the video window, or scroll down to see the comments. Please also understand that sometimes the chat is very busy and can move quickly, but you can scroll back to see older comments if you wish. If you find the comments distracting from video, please watch the video in an embedded page, such as this one.

Note: In order to comment on our YouTube or Facebook livestreams, you will need to have an account and be logged in. Note that some of our YouTube livestream chats do require that you be a subscriber to participate -- you can subscribe to our channel here. You can also learn more about YouTube live chat here.

CLOSED CAPTIONING ISSUES

Not all of our livestream videos have closed captioning, simply because they are being presented in real-time and the platform we are on (YouTube or Facebook) may not support live captioning. If you need closed captioning and it is missing, please watch the video in Google Chrome and enable "Live Caption" in Settings > Accessibility (click here to learn more about Live Caption). Note also that captions will appear on the replay of our videos.

STAY PATIENT, STAY POSITIVE

We understand that issues can make a livestream challenging, but we ask that you stay patient and positive. Negative or frustrated comments in the chat can distract Jennifer and other participants. If you need help, please ask in the chat and we'd be happy to assist you. You may post a question in the chat, we just ask that you stay positive and patient.