With Ticketsolve Rooms, you can seamlessly sell and host ticketed live-stream events or on-demand video content, connecting with your audience in a dynamic digital space.
This article is all about live-stream events. If you're looking for guidance on selling on-demand video content, click here.
When it comes to live streaming, Ticketsolve Rooms works with a wide range of video platforms, including YouTube and Vimeo. The only requirement? The platform must provide an embeddable HTML output, making it flexible and easy to use.
How Ticketsolve Rooms live-streaming works
Here's how the Ticketsolve Rooms live-streaming creates a seamless and secure experience for your live-stream events:
🖥️ The Room
A dedicated webpage, called the Room, is created for any event with the Room setting enabled. This is where your embedded video stream or content is hosted, ready for customers to enjoy.
🔒 Controlled Access
Access to the Room is managed through a unique access code.
- Customers receive their code in the Checkout Mailer and Upcoming Event Customer Alert emails, along with the Room link.
- The access code acts as their ticket, ensuring only authorised viewers can enter.
- To prevent sharing, you can set usage limits on each code.
⏰ Timing
The Room is only accessible at specific times:
- By default, access begins 60 minutes before the event starts, unless you've set a different opening time.
- Access ends when the specified duration for the event expires.
🎬 The Main Event
Once inside, customers can sit back and enjoy the live stream as it begins. It's as simple as clicking the link and entering their code!
How to create a Live-Stream Event
There are a couple of steps to getting your Ticketsolve Room Live-Stream set up, starting with building your event:
Create an Event
You'll first want to build an event like you would build any standard event. However, you must ensure that you specify the following:
1. The event Start Time (when the live stream will start).
Without a Start Time, access to the room will cease at midnight on the event date regardless of the duration.
2. The event Opening Time (when customers can access the Room).
Without an Opening Time, the Room will default to being accessible from 60 minutes before the start time.
3. The event Duration in minutes (how long the live-stream event should be available to customers).
Without a Duration, the Room will become inaccessible from the moment the event starts.
Important
It is vital that you set the Start Time and Duration for your Live Stream Event to ensure customers can access the Room without issue.
Activate the Room
To ensure customers receive the Room link and access code when they book, you'll need to activate the Room for your event. Here's how:
1. Navigate to your event settings by going to Manage > Shows > Runs > [Your Event].
2. Open the Settings tab.
3. Locate the "room_enabled" setting and enable it (blue tick).
4. Click Update to save your changes.
Add Room content and styling
1. Navigate to your event settings: Manage > Shows > Runs > [Your Event].
2. Open the Settings tab.
3. Find the "room_html" setting.
4. Embed your video stream or content here. Platforms like YouTube and Vimeo provide embed codes that you can easily copy and paste.
5. Add styling to your Room using the same "room_html" setting. If you have HTML styling ready, paste it here to customise the look of your Room. If you're not confident with HTML, consider asking a web developer for help or use the simple Room template we've included below to get started.
6. Click Update to save your changes.
Ticketsolve Tip
Room settings are available at the Account, Subdomain, Program, Show, and Event levels. To ensure your Room content is event-specific, we recommend using Event-level settings when creating Live-Stream Events.
Room styling template
We understand not everyone is comfortable with HTML coding, so we've created the following template code that can be used in your "room_html" setting to give the Room some basic styling. It includes:
- A customisable heading at the top.
- Large centre-aligned video in the middle.
- A customisable caption beneath.
All you need to do is copy and paste the code in the "room_html" setting, and then make sure you replace the heading, caption, and video URL with your own:
<div style="background-color: black; align-content: center; height: 100%;
width= 100%">
<div style="align-content: center" align="center">
<H1 style="color: white">Type video heading text here</H1>
<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/386033537" align="middle" width="1000"
height="563" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; fullscreen" allowfullscreen></iframe> <br>
<p style="color: white">Type video caption text here</p>
</div>
</div>
Here's an example of how it looks in the Room:
Manage access to the Room
Access to Rooms can be tailored to your preferences, offering as much or as little restriction as needed. By default, customers are limited to using their access code up to 6 times across 3 different IP addresses.
This means if a customer shares their Room link and access code outside their household, they risk being locked out of the streaming event entirely.
Access to the Room can be restricted by as much or as little as you like using the "entry_checkin_limit" and "entry_ip_limit" settings at the Account, Subdomain, Program, Show and Event levels.
- "entry_checkin_limit": This setting determines how many times a link for the Rooms function or streaming product can be used by a single IP address.
- "entry_ip_limit": This setting determines how many IP addresses can use a link for the Rooms function or streaming product.
Ticketsolve Tip
To avoid confusion and ensure customers understand these restrictions, we recommend including a clear explanation in your Checkout Mailer and Upcoming Event Customer Alert emails. You can easily do this by adding it to the Event-level "email_note" setting.
Here's an example you can use:
Please do not share your Room link and access code. Multiple usage of the same link will result in all users being locked out of the streaming event. Your link should be used within your household only.
Confirm how customers receive their access code and Room link
Customers receive their Room link and access code via their Checkout Mailer - the Room link and access code should automatically pull through in MJML Checkout Mailers.
If you have the Pre-Event Customer Alert enabled for the event, you can also include it here. To add the Room link to these pre-event emails, you'll need to add the following merge field to your MJML template: {{ line.stream_checkin_url }}
If the link doesn't pull through in testing, or you're not using MJML templates, please contact Support.
Style the Room Door
To prevent customers from clicking their Room link too many times and locking themselves out before the event takes place, Rooms can only be accessed from:
- 60 minutes before the start time; OR
- the opening time set for the event
Customers clicking on the link before this time will be brought to a virtual waiting room known as the Room Door:
The Room Door can be styled using HTML to create a tailored experience for your customers. However, since Room Door content is managed at the Account or Subdomain level, any design or messaging should be generic enough to suit all events under your Account or Subdomain.
Keep in mind that the Room Door is also the page customers see if they lock themselves out by attempting to access the Room too many times. Consider including helpful information or FAQs here to guide them.
1. Go to Settings > Public Website Snippets in your Account or Subdomain level settings
2. Locate the "Room Door HTML" snippet.
3. Enter your HTML code, or use the simple Room Door template provided below to get started.
Room Door template
We've created the following template code that can be used to give your Room Door some basic styling, including an image at the top and informational text underneath.
All you need to do is replace the image URL and text with your own:
<p> </p>
<p><img style="vertical-align:bottom;" src="[URL from image uploaded
to your Subdomain]" alt="[image alt text]" width="600"></p>
<p><strong>Thank you for booking and welcome to our virtual foyer.</strong></p>
<p>Your link will become active X minutes before the event start time,
at which point you should refresh your browser, or enter your access code and
click “Enter room”.</p>
<p><strong>To ensure smooth access to the streaming event:</strong></p>
<p>Please do not share your link with anyone else, and;</p>
<p>- Please do not click your link excessively. Multiple usage of the link
will result in you being locked out of the event entirely</p>
<p><strong>FAQs:</strong></p>
<p>Enter questions and answers here.</p>
<p>If you require assistance or further information, please contact us
via [email address] or [telephone number].</p>Ticketsolve Tip
Before promoting your Live-Stream Event to customers, we would advise making a test purchase to ensure everything is in place and working correctly.
Live-Stream Event checklist
Event Setup: Create the event with a start time, open time, and duration to define when the Room will be accessible.
Enable the Room: Activate the "room_enabled" setting at the Event level to ensure the Room is functional.
Add Video and Styling: Embed your video content and apply HTML styling in the "room_html" setting at the Event level to customise the Room experience.
Style the Room Door: Add HTML styling to the "room_door_html" snippet at the Account or Subdomain level to customise the Room Door page.
With the above settings in place, your Live-Stream Event is ready to go on sale!
FAQs
The Place Bedford has kindly shared their Room Door page, designed in Mailchimp, and is happy for other Ticketsolvers to use the HTML source code to style their own Room Doors. To access the HTML, open the Room Door page here, right-click anywhere on the page and click “View page source”.
Hawk’s Well Theatre uses a holding video in their Room Door to relay instructions on how the stream process works and what to do when show time comes:
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