Microsoft Teams Live Events
Due to the recent restrictions in travel between states and overseas, live conferences and seminars are destined to be put on hold in the near future. Now you can quickly stream meetings and live events to large audiences anywhere in the country or across the globe using Microsoft Events. Microsoft Teams live events is an extension of Microsoft Teams meetings that enables you to schedule and produce events that stream to large audiences online. The event is produced using Teams, which is a flexible, lightweight option to create an event where you can invite presenters and panelists to participate in their own devices. You produce the live event using an external hardware or software encoder via Microsoft Stream. This allows you to watch videos from across your organization in the Stream application or in other applications you use every day, on any device. You would use this option if you already have a production setup (for example, media mixers) that supports streaming to a Real-Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP) service. This method is typically used in auditorium events, such as town halls, where a stream from a media mixer is broadcast to the audience.
Roles Needed Stream a Live Event
There are usually four roles required to use Microsoft Events to stream meetings and live events quickly.
- Organizer
- Producer
- Presenter
- Attendee
Organizer
The organizer schedules a live event that also manages the event and ensures the event is set up with the right permissions for attendees and the event group. Their duties generally include:
- Creating a live event.
- Setting up attendee permissions.
- Select the production method.
- Configures all event options (for example, the moderated Q&A)
- Invites the attendees.
- Selects event group members.
- Manages reports generated after the event is over.
For a comprehensive list of what is entailed to be a live event organization here is an organizer checklist
Producer
The producer acts as a host and makes sure the attendees have a great viewing experience by controlling the live event stream. Their role includes:
- Starting and stopping the live event.
- Shares their own video.
- Shares participant videos.
- Shares active desktop or window.
- Selects the layouts.
Presenter
The presenter presents audio, video, or a screen to the live event, or moderates the Q&A session. Presenters can only share audio, video, or a screen (desktop or window) in live events produced in Teams.
Attendee
Attendees mean the viewers. They watch the event live or on-demand, using DVR controls, either anonymously or authenticated. They can fully participate in any question and answer sessions.
Who Can Create Live Events
To be able to create a live event, the organizer and producer need to ensure you have the following:
- A Microsoft 365 Enterprise E1, E3, or E5 license or a Microsoft 365 A3 or A5 license.
- Permission to create live events in the Microsoft Teams admin center.
- Permission to create live events in Microsoft Stream (for events produced using an external broadcasting app or device).
- Full team membership in the organization, it can’t be a guest or from another organization.
- Private meeting scheduling, screen sharing, and IP video-sharing turned on in Teams meeting policy.
If in doubt, contact your IT administrator who will be able to provide you with more information.
Who Can Attend Live Events
If an event is public, then anyone who receives the link can attend the event without having to log in. However, if the event is restricted to people within your organization, specific people, or groups, anyone attending the event will be supplied with login details and will be required to login accordingly. If the event is produced in Microsoft Teams, they’ll need a license that includes Teams. If the event is produced externally, attendees will need a license that includes Microsoft Stream. Attendees will need to enable third-party cookies in their browsers to watch a live event.
The Benefits of Using Microsoft Events
Since the way the world is doing business has changed since the onset of the coronavirus, you can deliver live and on-demand events within Microsoft 365 to enhance your communications, set up company meetings with attendees in multiple locations, and provide training with events of up to 10,000 people.
You can store all your videos in one place wherever you are any time and on any device. You can make your digital communications more impactful by delivering high-quality messages that capture personality and emotion through video. Events allow you to increase engagement and knowledge retention for training and education purposes enabling everyone to contribute with peer-to-peer information sharing.
Imagine the impact of streaming a live event across the globe from Sydney or anywhere in Australia. This is the capability Microsoft Events offers. To find out more if Microsoft Events and Microsoft 365 is right for you, speak to an expert at Sydney Technology Solutions by calling 02-8212-4722 or email [email protected].
