Switching / mixing using Epiphan Live
The Live Switcher view in Epiphan Live is a simple interface that lets you live switch between layouts while streaming and recording. To learn how to create different layouts for a channel using the Admin panel, see Configure a custom layout for a channel.
Switching between layouts using one of the switcher interfaces does not dynamically update what you see in the other switching interfaces (i.e. Epiphan Live and the Admin Panel). You must manually refresh the other interfaces separately to reflect the current state.
Stream, record, and monitor using the Dashboard interface
The dashboard in Epiphan Live is where you can do confidence monitoring, as well as start and stop streaming and recording for your channels.
Configure Dashboard panels
You can customize each Dashboard panel to display a specific channel, input source, or video output for live confidence monitoring. Panels can also be set up to display system information:
CPU load (%)
Quantity of streaming connections
The current streaming bandwidth (bitrate)
Automatic file upload status (enabled or disabled). see Automatic file transfers.
Storage available on Unify.
Other logged in operators and admins must refresh their web browsers to see the latest changes to the Dashboard.
Configure Dashboard panels
Log in to Epiphan Live .
Tap the drop-down menu that appears below the panel and select the channel, source, or output to display. The label says "None" if the panel is not yet configured.
When a channel is selected, streaming and recording control buttons appear below the panel. You can control streaming and recording of that channel using those buttons.
(Optional) To choose between displaying 2 or 4 panels, tap the 2x|4x icon that appears in the upper-right corner of the panels area.
Tap Save.
You can navigate between separate sets of Dashboard panels by selecting the circle icons along the top of the first row of panels.
Monitor video and audio input sources using Epiphan Live
Use the Dashboard to monitor your video and audio inputs. The video inputs section of the Dashboard lists all inputs and displays the video resolution.
A green dot means that the video source is connected and a signal is received.
A yellow dot means that a signal is not being receiving from the source.
A triangular warning icon means there is a source configuration issue that needs attention.
Tap the name of a video input to open the source details in a thumbnail view, including warning information if applicable.
The configured audio inputs appear in the Audio inputs section of the Dashboard.
A grayed-out audio source means that the audio source is not used in any channels.
A triangular warning icon means there is a source configuration issue that needs attention. Click the audio source name to display the warning message.
A green dot means the source is connected and the accompanying VU meter shows the audio level.
The audio VU meter uses quasi-peak ballistics with samples averaged every 10 ms. The maximum average in each 100 ms period is displayed as a series of colored bars. The following table describes the levels at which the meter changes from green to yellow and red.
Table 4 Audio VU meter levels
| Color | Decibel range |
|---|---|
| Red | 0 to -9 dBFS |
| Yellow | -9 to -18 dBFS |
| Green | -18 dBFS and lower |
Show or hide inputs in the list
You can pick which video inputs display in the Dashboard view. Just tap the Video inputs or Audio inputs header and then check the checkbox next to the name of each source you want showing in the Dashboard view. Tap **Save **when you're done. The Dashboard input list updates automatically.
Control streaming and recording using Epiphan Live
From the Epiphan Live Dashboard, you can control streaming and recording for channels using the buttons in the Channels section. When a channel is not currently streaming or recording, the buttons are gray and their respective timers are set to 00:00:00. If streaming isn't configured for a channel, the streaming button displays as Not set.
The left-most button with the "signal" icon starts and stops streaming for the channel.
The right-most button with the circle icon starts and stops recording for the channel.
If multiple streams are configured for a channel, a pair of control buttons is displayed for each stream.
Click the channel name to open a preview thumbnail view.
When you're ready to start streaming and recording the channel, tap the streaming and recording control buttons. Tap the buttons a second time to stop streaming and recording.
The streaming button turns blue when the channel is streaming and the timer's clock increments.
The recording button turns red when the channel is recording and the timer's clock increments.
Streaming and recording control buttons also appear below the Dashboard monitoring panels when they're configure to display a channel. You can use those control buttons to start and stop streaming or recording for a channel too.
If the stream fails to publish, the streaming button flashes blue and displays ERROR. Check the streaming settings for your channel using the Admin panel.
About the Switcher interface
Access the Switcher interface by clicking Projects in Epiphan Cloud, then clicking Switcher for the project. Alternatively, open the Admin Panel and click Epiphan Live in the top right corner.
The Projects page only appears in Epiphan Cloud if you have already created an Epiphan Unify Project. For more information, see Subscribe to an Epiphan Unify plan and Create a Unify project.
Table 5 Elements in the Switcher view
| Number | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Channel selector | The list of channels configured on Unify. Select a channel and switch between the different layouts that are configured for that channel. |
| 2 | Menu icon | Displays links to the Dashboard view and the Admin panel when clicked. |
| 3 | Preview panel | Displays a preview of a selected layout, which is outlined with a green border. When you click the **Switch **button, this preview layout becomes the live layout. |
| 4 | Live view panel | Displays the active "live" layout that is currently being streamed or recorded. The live layout is outlined with a red border. When you select the **Switch **button, this live layout is replaced with the layout that's loaded in to the Preview panel. |
| 5 | Layout carousel | Displays small previews for all layouts contained within your selected channel. Select a layout from the carousel to add it to the Preview panel. Note that the layout selected for the Preview panel has a green border and the layout in the Live panel has a red border. |
| 6 | Switch button | When selected, the layout in the Preview panel replaces the layout in the Live panel and is immediately reflected in your active stream and recordings. |
Switching while live streaming and recording using Epiphan Live
The Switcher interface lets you easily live switch between custom layouts with a simple click.
Switch layouts while live streaming and recording
Log in to Epiphan Live. The Dashboard view opens by default.
Tap the **Menu **icon in the upper-right corner of the Dashboard screen and tap Switcher to open the Switcher interface.
Tap the field beside the "Switcher" header and select a channel. The field is blank if this is your first time configuring the Switcher. Channels with only one layout are grayed-out and cannot be selected for switching.
All the layouts for the selected channel are displayed in a carousel along the bottom of the screen. The layout that is live is displayed in the Live panel on the right side of the interface, see About the Switcher interface.
In the carousel, tap the layout that you want to switch to next. That layout is loaded into the Preview panel.
Tap the **Switch **button to switch the layout that is currently in the Preview panel to the Live panel. The layout that was in the Live panel moves to the Preview panel so that it's ready for the next time you switch.
To load a different layout into the Preview panel, tap another layout in the carousel.