# How to run a live-streamed event and sell the replay in Continuum Learn

> In Continuum Learn, you create a live event with its own watch page, stream to it from OBS or your browser, charge for access, and let viewers watch the replay afterwards.

An event is a live broadcast with its own watch page. You set it up once under **Create > Events**: add a schedule, choose where the video comes from, decide who can watch and for how long, then go live. When the stream ends, the recording becomes the replay, ready to watch on demand. (To sell recordings on their own, see [selling webinar recordings](https://cont-resilient.jwdev.tech/sell-webinar-recordings).)

Events are separate from courses. Learners find them on their own watch page, not inside a course.

> **Who can do this:** team admins and authors can create and run events under **Create > Events**. Streaming itself needs to be switched on for your platform. If a session says streaming isn't configured, contact support.

## Before you start

- Decide the **format**: a single live session, or a multi-session event (for example a conference over several days).
- Have your **poster image** ready. A trailer video is optional.
- If you want to charge, decide your **access options** (live only, replay only, or both) and prices. Selling needs payments to be connected for your team. If you're not sure, contact support.
- Streams are delivered to viewers in HD, up to 720p. Send your best quality from your encoder; viewers get the rendition that suits their connection.

## Create an event

1. Go to **Create > Events** and click **New Event**.
2. Choose **Live Event** (a scheduled broadcast with a replay) or **On Demand** (pre-recorded videos only, no live stream).
3. Type a **Title** and click **Create Event**. The event opens on its **Details** tab.

![The Events list with cards showing type, status and streaming source](https://cont-resilient.jwdev.tech/images/help/live-streaming/01-events-list.png)

The list shows each event's type, status, date and viewer count. Use the filters (**All**, **Live**, **On Demand**, **Draft**) or the search box to find one. The top of the page summarises watch time and unique viewers over the last 30 days.

### Add the details

On the **Details** tab:

| Card | What to fill in |
|---|---|
| **Details** | **Title**, **Short Description** (shown on cards) and **Description** (shown on the watch page). |
| **Schedule** | **Start Date & Time** and **End Date & Time** for a single session, plus the **Timezone**. For several sessions, use **Manage Sessions** (see below). |
| **Media** | **Poster Image** (upload it with **Upload Image**) and an optional **Preview Video / Trailer** (**Upload Video**). You can also add a **Portrait Video**, shown to viewers whose screen is in portrait orientation. |

Click **Save Changes** when you're done.

### Choose the page layout

The **Page Layout** card on the right sets how the watch page looks. Pick one and the preview updates as you go.

![The Page Layout card showing the four layouts and a live preview](https://cont-resilient.jwdev.tech/images/help/live-streaming/02-layout.png)

| Layout | Best for |
|---|---|
| **Standard** | The default: a wide player with event details beside the description. |
| **Cinematic** | A full-width, dark, theatre-style player. |
| **Split** | Player on one side, details on the other. |
| **Minimal** | A simple centred page with the player and description. |

Click the cog under the preview to simulate how the page looks when the event is **upcoming**, **live** or in **replay**, and for a viewer who **Has Access**, has **No Access**, or is a **Guest**.

## Build the programme with sessions

Every live event has one or more sessions. Open the **Sessions** tab to plan them. Each session shows on the watch page as part of the programme.

1. Click **Add Session**.
2. Open the session and fill in the **Session Title (optional)**, for example "Day 1 - Workshops", plus **Start Date & Time** and **End Date & Time**.
3. Choose the **Streaming source** (see the next section).
4. Drag the handle on the left to reorder sessions.
5. Click **Save Changes**.

![The Sessions tab with three sessions listed in order](https://cont-resilient.jwdev.tech/images/help/live-streaming/03-sessions.png)

Each session has its own **Status**. Leave it on **Auto (use schedule)** and it is live during its time window and ended afterwards. Choose **Scheduled**, **Live**, **Ended** or **Cancelled** only if you need to override that.

If two sessions are live at once, viewers see a chooser so they can pick a room and switch between them.

## Choose where the video comes from

Each session has its own **Streaming source**:

| Source | What it is |
|---|---|
| **AWS IVS** | A stream channel managed by Continuum. You send video to it from OBS or from your browser. This is the option with built-in recording, so the replay appears automatically. |
| **Cloudflare Stream** | Paste a **Cloudflare Stream embed URL**, or create a managed live input on the **Stream** tab. |
| **Vimeo** | Paste a **Vimeo embed URL** (the `player.vimeo.com/video/…` form). No stream channel is needed. |

Depending on your plan and setup, some sources may not be available. If a session says AWS IVS isn't configured, contact support.

## Set up your stream

Open the **Stream** tab. Each session has its own card.

1. Click **Create Stream Channel** on the session. This only needs doing once per session.
2. Choose a **Broadcast Method**: **OBS / External** or **Browser Studio**.

### Stream with OBS or other encoder software

1. On the **Stream** tab, choose **OBS / External**.
2. Copy the **RTMPS Server URL** and the **Stream Key**. Click **Show** to reveal the key.
3. In OBS Studio, go to **Settings > Stream**. Set **Service** to **Custom**, paste the server URL into **Server** and the key into **Stream Key**, then click **Apply**.
4. Click **Start Streaming** in OBS. The event goes live automatically.

Treat the stream key like a password. If it leaks, click **Reset Stream Key** and update your encoder.

### Stream from your browser

1. Choose **Browser Studio**.
2. Click **Allow Camera & Microphone** and pick your **Camera** and **Microphone**.
3. Choose a **Layout**: **Camera Only**, **Screen Only** or **Camera & Screen**. You can also share your screen and mute your microphone.
4. Click **Go Live**. Click **End Broadcast** when you finish.

### Test before the event

Click **See Preview** on the Stream tab to watch what viewers will see, and **Check Stream Status** to see whether the channel is **LIVE** or **Offline**, along with its health and viewer count. Stream a few minutes from your encoder the day before to check your audio, picture and connection.

## Publish, go live and end

The status buttons at the top of the event page (**draft**, **scheduled**, **live**, **ended**, **cancelled**) control what viewers see.

1. Keep the event on **draft** while you build it.
2. Switch it to **scheduled** when it's ready to be announced. Click **Preview** to open the watch page in a new tab.
3. Start streaming. The stream goes live automatically when your encoder connects, and the event shows as live.
4. When you stop streaming, the stream ends automatically. Once all sessions are done, the event as a whole ends.

If something goes wrong, the **Stream** tab has **Force Live** and **Force End** buttons. They are manual overrides for when the automatic switch doesn't happen. You won't normally need them.

## Charge for access

Open the **Pricing** tab and click **Add Product**. Each product is one option viewers can buy.

![The Pricing tab with a free registration option and two paid options](https://cont-resilient.jwdev.tech/images/help/live-streaming/04-pricing.png)

| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| **Product name** | What viewers see, for example "Live + replay". |
| Access type | **Live Only**, **Replay Only** or **Live + Replay**. On demand events only offer **Full Access**. |
| Price and currency | In **GBP**, **USD** or **EUR**. A price of 0.00 makes it free. |
| **Active** | Untick to hide the option without deleting it. |
| **Bundle only** | Only sold as part of a bundle, not on its own. |

Click **Save Changes** to apply your changes. If a bundle includes the event, it's listed under **Included in Bundles**.

If an event has no active products at all, it is treated as free: viewers see **Free Event** and a **Sign Up** button.

### How long access lasts

- **Live access** works while the event is on.
- **Replay access** lasts until the replay window closes, which is the number of days you set after the last session ends, or the same number of days from the moment someone buys, whichever is later. A late buyer therefore always gets a full window.
- If **Enable replay** is switched off for the event, access doesn't expire.

### Give someone access manually

On the **Access** tab, search for a person under **Grant Access**, pick the **Access Type** (**Live + Replay**, **Live Only**, **Replay Only**) and grant it. The table shows who has access, where it came from, when it was granted and when it expires. You can remove access from the same table.

Admins and authors can always open the watch page to check it, without buying.

## Chat and questions

Open the **Engagement** tab.

- **Enable live chat**: viewers can post messages while the event is live.
- **Enable Q&A**: viewers can submit questions that you can answer.

Click **Save Changes**, then use the **Messages** list below, or **Open moderation page** to keep it open on a second screen while you present. Filter by **All**, **Chat**, **Questions** or **Hidden**. For each message you can:

- **Pin** or **Unpin** it, so it stays visible;
- **Hide** or **Unhide** it, which removes it from viewers' view but keeps it for your records;
- **Delete** it;
- **Answer** a question. The answer you publish is shown to viewers alongside it.

Viewers see chat open when the event goes live.

## Replays

### Automatic recordings

When an IVS stream ends, the recording is added to the event automatically as the replay. Open the **Replay** tab to see it. It may show a processing status for a short time first, and viewers see "Replay processing" until it is ready.

![The Replay tab with replay settings and upload for a replacement video](https://cont-resilient.jwdev.tech/images/help/live-streaming/05-replay.png)

On the **Replay** tab:

1. Tick **Enable replay** to let viewers watch the recording after the event. Untick it if you don't want a replay.
2. Set **Replay available for (days)**. The default is 30 days.
3. Click **Save Changes**.

For a multi-session event, each session has its own recording, grouped by session.

### Replace the recording

To swap in an edited version:

1. On the **Replay** tab, choose **Attach to session**, or leave it as **Whole event (no session)**.
2. Click **Upload Replacement Video** and pick the file. Keep the tab open until it finishes.
3. When it is ready, click **Preview** to check it, then **Set as active**. The active replay carries an **Active** badge.
4. Remove the old recording with **Remove** if you no longer need it.

Where a replay is hosted with captions support, use **Captions** to upload a VTT file or auto-generate captions in a language.

### Chapters

On the **Chapter Lists** tab, click **Add Track** and give it a **Title**, an optional **Artist / Performer** and a **timestamp** (such as 12:30). Choose the **Session** first if the event has several. Viewers use the chapter list to jump to key moments in the replay. Chapters only appear on the watch page while someone is watching a replay.

### Supporting videos (on demand events)

On demand events have a **Videos** tab instead. Upload the **Main Video**, then add **Supporting Videos** such as slides walkthroughs or extras. Tick **Free** on a supporting video to let anyone play it without buying.

## What viewers see

Viewers open the event's watch page.

![An upcoming event's watch page with a countdown, access prompt and status chip](https://cont-resilient.jwdev.tech/images/help/live-streaming/06-watch-page.png)

- Before the event, they see a countdown, a status chip (**Upcoming**), the programme and an **Event details** panel with dates and format. **Add to calendar** downloads a calendar file.
- Without access, they see **Get Access** (or **Sign Up** for a free event). After buying, a strip confirms what they've unlocked, for example **Full access unlocked**, with the expiry date.
- While live, the player and chat appear, and the chip turns **Live**. Viewers can open a chooser if more than one room is live.
- After the event, the chip becomes **Replay** and the recording plays. When the replay window ends, they see that the replay is no longer available.

| Chip | Meaning |
|---|---|
| **Live** | Streaming now. |
| **Upcoming** | Not started yet. |
| **Replay** | Ended, recording available. |
| **On Demand** | An on demand event that's published. |
| **Ended**, **Expired**, **Cancelled**, **Draft** | Neutral grey chips for events that are over, withdrawn or not yet published. |

## Analytics

The **Analytics** tab shows, for a date range you choose: **Unique viewers**, **Watch time**, **Peak concurrent**, **Completions**, **Purchases** and **Revenue**. Below are charts of viewers over time, live concurrency, daily watch time split between live and replay, device and source, and where viewers drop off in the replay. A **Sales** table breaks down each product, and a **Viewers** table (filterable by live or replay) shows who watched and for how long. The Events list also shows an all-event summary for the last 30 days.

## Archive or delete an event

From the menu on an event card in **Create > Events**, choose **Delete** for an event nobody has access to. If people already have access, the option is **Archive** instead: the event is hidden and can be restored later.

## Frequently asked questions

### I've started streaming in OBS but the event doesn't show as live. What do I check?

Check that the **Server** and **Stream Key** in OBS match the Stream tab, and that the session's **Streaming source** is **AWS IVS**. Click **Check Stream Status** to see whether the channel is receiving video. If the key was reset, update OBS. If it still doesn't go live, use **Force Live** and contact support.

### Where is my replay?

Recordings appear on the **Replay** tab shortly after the stream ends, and can take a while to process. Check that **Enable replay** is ticked. If your session uses Vimeo or a Cloudflare embed URL, there's no automatic recording, so upload the replay yourself.

### Can I sell live access and replay access separately?

Yes. Add one product with **Live Only**, another with **Replay Only**, and optionally a **Live + Replay** product. Viewers choose when they click **Get Access**.

### How long do viewers keep replay access?

For the number of days set in **Replay available for (days)**, counted from the end of the event or from the purchase, whichever is later.

### Can viewers watch for free?

Yes. Either give the event no active products, or add a product at 0.00. Free events ask viewers to sign up first.

### Can I run an event without a live stream?

Yes. Create it as **On Demand** and upload videos on the **Videos** tab.