Technical Requirements to Use Livestorm

In this article, we will cover the basics of technical requirements for hosting events.

Compatible Browsers

Your attendees will be able to join your events on all major browsers including Google Chrome, Safari, Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, and Opera.

As a presenter, we strongly recommend you to use Google Chrome (always the latest version if possible). However, it is also possible to use Mozilla Firefox, Opera, Safari 12.1+, and Microsoft Edge 79+.

We really encourage you to use Chrome as a presenter though. Indeed, Chrome assures that the quality of the stream that you send out stays stable thanks to a technology called "Simulcast". It ensures overall stability to carry out your session, without any resolution or connectivity issues.

If you use a browser other than Chrome, even if you have a decent bandwidth yourself with your connection, when an attendee connects to the room with a lower bandwidth/unstable connection, it will also drop yours to match that attendee’s connectivity. This may result in a degraded resolution, and even kick you off the stage!

Livestorm will detect if you're not using a browser supporting Simulcast like Chrome, Safari, Edge, or Opera. You will see a 'Low' icon and the following message (by hovering over the icon) displayed at the bottom right corner of your stream and in the People tab next to your name.

You must use a desktop/laptop computer to share your webcam and screen. The same goes for anyone that you invite on stage to share their screen, webcam, or audio. However, you can use some versions of mobile/tablet devices to join the stage to share your webcam and audio.

Attendees who are not on Google Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Safari (12.1+), Edge (79+) on a computer OR who are on some versions of mobile/tablet devices will experience a 15-second delay due to browser/device limitations.

If you are on Chrome <60, Firefox <71, and Opera<60, make sure to update your browsers or you will not be able to access the platform (dashboard & room).

Livestorm Tip 👉 The best way to see all of this is to create a free account yourself and test it in your own environment! Learn more about our free trial or start a free trial with Livestorm.

Compatible Mobile/Tablet Devices

Livestorm is optimized to work on mobile/tablet devices including iPhone, iPad and Android devices. 

As an admin or contributor, to join the stage via mobile or tablet, make sure to use iOS >12.2 with Safari, iOS > 14.3 with Chrome & Firefox, or Android.

We do not provide a mobile app for one simple reason: everything works on your browser on desktop or mobile. Livestorm is responsive so it supports small screens as well. 

Compatibility Mode

Compatibility mode ensures that attendees get the audio and video on any network, device or browser. 

It's automatically turned on :

• if we detect an old browser or non-compatible browser or device.
• for any additional attendees when you have over 2800 attendees in WebRTC mode inside your event room (does not apply to team members or guest speakers).

Attendees enter compatibility mode automatically if:

• they are on iOS version between 12.2 and 14.3 with a non-Safari browser.
• there are already 2800 attendees or more in the event room. Additional attendees will be switched to compatibility mode.

What will happen then?

• They will not be able to be invited on stage.
• They will experience a 15-second delay (between what really happens and what your attendees actually see).

Compatibility mode can be turned on manually by clicking on Help (bottom left) or Encountering issues with audio or video (top of the chat) when you connect to an event as an attendee. This is recommended if attendees have video or audio issues because of their network.

Compatibility With China & UAE Network

Livestorm is currently working in the China area. However, in some cases, due to network restrictions, you may encounter longer latency or an inability to share your webcam in the worst case. Using a VPN might solve the issue. You might also want to use our RTMP feature if you don't need to invite people to speak on stage.

Our video platform is currently working in UAE, but it's not compatible with Etisalat due to ban restrictions imposed by the telecommunications provider. Etisalat has implemented certain regulations that prohibit access to certain VoIP and video services.

We strongly recommend you test the platform before hosting your live event from China or UAE. 👌

Setup Checking

If you are planning to host an event and be a speaker, we strongly suggest you check your setup beforehand. Thanks to our technical scan, you can easily check your setup (internet connection, browser, etc.). 

You can run the scan here: https://app.livestorm.co/connectivity-test

You must have green in the connectivity section as a result.

Also, pay attention to the quality section. You should have a B or above in both audio and video quality.

If this is not the case, you might encounter network instabilities. Try using a different network or another method for connecting (e.g Ethernet over Wi-Fi), and check out the below section.

Connection Speed

A minimum of 350kbs per downloaded/uploaded stream is necessary to join the room.

As a presenter, we recommend 5Mbps upstream for optimal results.

As an attendee, we recommend 5Mps downstream for an optimal experience.

Livestorm will downgrade your video quality and give priority to the audio if you don't have enough bandwidth. 

We do not recommend using 5G.

Livestorm Tip 👉 Run a speed test to check your bandwidth.

This is a test from our offices, we have a pretty good download speed. Our upload speed is good but not incredible, enough to send a good video stream.

Your connection speed is not the only factor. You have to also look for connection stability aka the number of people connected to that same connection. The connection stability will impact the number of packets lost during a live session. Therefore, try to use Ethernet over Wifi and ask your team to not saturate the network.

Firewall Settings

Livestorm works with WebRTC which is a rather new technology that might require some network configuration within larger companies with secured firewalls. 

Here are the items you will need to check with your IT department:

• Open TCP port 443
• Whitelist the following domains:
  • *.tokbox.com
  • *.opentok.com
  • *.livestorm.co
  • *.livestorm.io
  • *.intercom.io [if you would like our live chat support messenger]
  • *http://live-video.net|live-video.net [if you would like to use our RTMP feature]
• Let the websockets through and allow connections on wss://ws.livestorm.co and wss://plugins-ws.livestorm.co
• Open UDP port 3478

UDP is highly recommended over TCP for better quality audio and video. The protocol favors timeliness over reliability which is consistent with the human perceptive preferences; where we can fill in gaps but are sensitive to time-based delays. For the best possible experience, we recommend opening UDP ports 1025 - 65535.

• Emails delivery
  
  We recommend that your email provider or email management system authorizes the below domain names to ensure the delivery of emails being sent by Livestorm: 
  
  
  • livestorm-events.com
  • livestormevents.com
  • livestormemails.com
  • livestorminvites.com
  • livestorm-team.com
  • livestorm.intercom-mail.com

Once you're done with the settings you should be good to go! In case you run into any issues, here are some tips to troubleshoot:

As an attendee:

• If you cannot watch or hear the event: activate the compatibility mode. 
• If the issues persist please do a scan here: https://app.livestorm.co/connectivity-test and send us the results to help@livestorm.co.
• If the problem persists ask your IT to unblock web sockets, the 443 ports for video streaming and the WebRTC protocol. See section above "Firewall settings".
• In the meantime try joining from a different network like a 4G mobile network. Or dial-in to the event to get the audio.

As an admin:

• Run tests here: https://app.livestorm.co/connectivity-test and send us the results to help@livestorm.co.
• If the video starts loading after a while, your router might be blocking the video stream. Ask your IT to unblock web sockets, the 443 ports for video streaming and the WebRTC protocol. See section above "Firewall settings".

Livestorm Tip 👉 Pause your Google Drive sync or any other bandwidth-consuming apps during your event. 😉