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Getting started with multilingual broadcasts

Clevercast allows you to send a broadcast that contains multiple audio streams and turn it into a multilingual live stream. This is possible using the SRT and the RTMP broadcast protocol.

  • The ability of the SRT protocol to add multiple audio tracks to a broadcast makes it very suitable for multilingual live streaming.
  • The RTMP protocol lets you send a broadcast with a stereo channel for 2 languages (panned L+R) with any encoder. More than 2 languages (max 7) is only possible using OBS Studio.

This tutorial explains how to create, configure and manage events to receive such a broadcast and convert it into a multilingual live stream, allowing viewers to select their preferred audio language in the embedded player.

This tutorial applies to enterprise and webinar plans. Skip step 1 for webinars, since an event is automatically created when you create a webinar.

1 Creating an event

Select the Live > Events menu. On the events page, press the Create Multilingual Event button in the sidebar. In the popup dialog, enter the following info and press Create:

Start by selecting one of the multilingual broadcast protocols. This can be one of:

  • SRT broadcast (Clevercast as listener): the broadcast should contain multiple audio tracks and/or channels. In this case, your encoder is the SRT caller and Clevercast is the SRT listener (see this non-exhaustive list of encoders). This can be combined with adding closed captions through Clevercast.
  • RTMP stereo broadcast with 2 languages (L+R): RTMP broadcast of a video with a single audio track. The audio track contains a stereo channel with the 2 languages panned L+R. This is possible with any encoder (see examples).
  • RTMP 4.0 surround broadcast: RTMP broadcast of a video with a single audio track. The audio track contains a 4.0 surround sound channel with 4 languages. This is currently only possible with OBS Studio.
  • RTMP 7.1 surround broadcast: RTMP broadcast of a video with a single audio track. The audio track contains a 7.1 surround sound channel with 7 languages. This is currently only possible with OBS Studio.

The popup dialog also requests the following info:

  • an event name (for your own information only)
  • select the origin of your broadcast
  • select the Default Language. This is the language being broadcasted to Clevercast. If the floor audio contains multiple languages, you can select 'Original'
  • select the Streaming Resolutions. Clevercast does cloud transcoding for adaptive bitrate streaming. Make sure the highest resolution doesn’t exceed the resolution in which you are broadcasting.

Note that a multilingual RTMP broadcasts is only possible from Europe. If you are broadcasting from another continent, use SRT instead.

2 Configuring the event

When you press the Create button, Clevercast creates the event and redirects you to its detail page. The event page allows you to do the following:

  • Copy the event’s embed code from the Management tab to your website or 3rd party platform.
  • On the Audio Languages tab, you can still change your default and additional languages.
  • On the Appearance tab, you can upload a poster image and show a countdown timer in the embedded player (among others)

Depending on your plan, you may also be able to:

  • add closed captions to your live stream on the Caption Languages tab (only for SRT broadcasts). If the event also contains AI closed captions or speech translation, you should also (at least) read this tutorial.
  • add per-language simulcast targets on the Simulcasting tab

See the Event section of the enterprise manual for more details about the different tabs and their functionality.

3 Configure encoder and test broadcast

Configure your encoder by using the settings on the Broadcast tab. See the encoder configuration guide and example configurations for specific encoders. Respect our broadcast guidelines as much as possible.

When you are ready to test, go to the Management tab and set the event status to Preview by pressing the Set to preview button. This is required to make Clevercast accept your broadcast.

Start your broadcast. After about 18 seconds (due to HLS latency) you should be able to see the live stream in the Preview Player on the Management tab.

Note:

  • if the event also contains AI closed captions or speech translations, see this tutorial.
  • if you encounter an issue while testing, check our troubleshooting guide. If you can't resolve it, contact us while you are still broadcasting.

4 Starting the live stream

When the event is about to start, go the Management tab and press the Start event button. We recommend to start the event at least two minutes before the live stream begins. This allows the player to start buffering and ensures that nobody misses the start.

When you start the event, Clevercast also starts recording the live stream. So, starting the event in time also ensures that the cloud recording is complete.

The embedded player automatically detects the status change and makes the live stream visible to your participants. You can also see the live stream in the Public Player on the Management tab. If you want to display a message in the embedded player, use the Service Message on the Management tab.

5 Pausing the live stream (optional)

You can set the event status to Paused during breaks. The embedded player automatically detects this, and shows a poster image or message (see the Appearance tab). While the event status is Paused, you can continue to broadcast.

Of course, you can also leave the status to Started during breaks. The advantage of using Paused is that Clevercast stops recording when the event is paused, and starts a new recording when the event is restarted. This way, you have separate recordings for each session.

Note: make sure to also respect the two minute grace period for HLS latency when changing your event status from and to Paused.

6 Stopping the live stream

After the live action has ended, wait at least two minutes before setting the event status to Ended, by pressing the Change Event Status button and selecting End event. The embedded player automatically detects this and shows a poster image or message to your viewers (see the Appearance tab) instead of the live stream.

Clevercast automatically completes the cloud recording and converts it to an MP4 file. You can download it via the Events > Recording menu. If your plan includes VoD, you can publish the recording to Video on-Demand.