Stream a presentation or slideshow

Streaming a presentation usually involves some form of capturing a computer's screen. Depending on your encoding solution, you may also be able to do a picture-in-picture effect, in which the slides and presenter are shown at the same time. You will also want to be mindful of your audio output and avoid echoing.

While most software encoders have ways to accomplish this, we have suggestions on how to do this with our tools below.

In this article:

• Web-based production tool
• Livestream Studio

Web-based production tool page

The web-based production tool includes a Slides feature, which allows you or a guest speaker to upload slides and navigate through them during a presentation.

You can upload slides files in .pdf and .pptx formats and the files can be up to 100MB. Currently, only static images will be shown.

After creating your event, choose to stream via your browser. Then:

1. Go to the left sidebar of the web-based production tool page and select the Slides icon.
2. Click Add slides.
   
3. Upload your presentation file in .pdf or .pptx format.
   💡Tip: If you selected the wrong file and it starts uploading, click the (X) icon that appears in the placeholder to cancel the upload.
4. Hover over the slides and select the options icon (•••) to add those slides to a scene.
   
5. Once a set of slides is added to a scene, any speaker added to the same scene has the ability to navigate through the slide deck by using the arrows below the preview player.
   

Additional information:

• Any users added to the scene will appear in a picture-in-picture alongside the slides deck. This can be hidden by turning off their video feed.
  • The broadcaster can also go to Controls > Hide speakers to hide the camera view.
• As an alternative, the web-based production tool also includes a built-in screen-sharing feature allowing you or a guest speaker to share a browser tab, application window, or entire screen if preferred. Screen sharing is supported on Chrome, Firefox, and Safari.

Livestream Studio

For a more advanced setup, Livestream Studio for Windows and Mac includes numerous features to help you accomplish this. One software license is included with a ZenVideo Premium and Advanced memberships; three licenses are included with an Enterprise account with the Events feature added.

To bring your screen in as a source in Livestream Studio, you can use one of the following methods:

• Add the presenter as a Remote Guest (recommended): This works very similarly to the screen-sharing feature in the web-based production tool, and it does not require the presenting computer to be connected to your network or even in the same location, making this most likely the simplest solution.
  • Send the invite URL to your guest, which they should open in Google Chrome.
  • They can then select Share screen, select their screen sharing method ("Application Window" may be best for this use-case), and their screen will replace their camera.
  • This feature is detailed here.
• Use your computer's HDMI output to plug directly into Studio: Many laptops include an HDMI output. Use an HDMI cable to connect the presenting computer to an HDMI video capture device connected to the Studio computer. This method often requires converting the video signal coming in from the presenting computer.
• Screen capture from another monitor on your Studio desktop: If the presentation is going to be controlled from the same computer on which Studio is running, open the presentation in a second monitor and bring it in as input. Note this may tax your CPU.

For all of these, be sure to add the input within the software so that you can switch it into view when ready.

Once you get your presentation into Studio as an input, you may opt to show the presenter's camera input at the same time, known as a picture-in-picture. This will utilize the graphics overlay designer. We generally recommend keeping the presentation slides in most of the screen and having the presenter's camera smaller in an opposite corner, such as the image below:

Don't forget about audio. If you are using Studio, make sure you are familiar with how the built-in audio mixer works. For example, if the person presenting is using a microphone and using the remote guest feature, you should be sure to mute the "Remote" source and lock their microphone audio on (i.e. click the source's corresponding "Audio" button so it turns red) in the audio mixer. This way, your viewers will only hear one clear audio source when the presenter is speaking.

Keep in mind that regardless of your workflow or encoding solution, streaming a presentation should be tested and rehearsed before your event.