# Live stream on the gallery

> Show your YouTube live stream on the same gallery link and QR as the photos, with an optional countdown, a blinking LIVE tag, PIN or open access, and a replay afterwards.

Section: Events & galleries · Source: https://www.vowpix.in/docs/events/live-stream · Markdown: https://www.vowpix.in/docs/events/live-stream.md

Paste a YouTube live link into the event and the stream plays right on the gallery. Guests use the link and QR code you already shared, so there's no second banner to print and no extra link to send.

- **Before it starts:** a countdown (optional) with a **Remind me** button.
- **While it's live:** the player with a blinking red **LIVE** tag, volume and full screen. YouTube's live chat is never shown.
- **After it ends:** a **Replay** card above the photos, or nothing at all. You decide.

![Setting up a live stream in the event's Live tab: pasting the YouTube link, the check, start time, who can watch and saving](https://pub-53d2f40332f849028f57401c40448a94.r2.dev/docs/gifs/live-stream-setup.gif)

## Set it up

1. Open the event in the dashboard and choose the **Live** tab.
2. Make sure the switch at the top says **Showing on the gallery**.
3. Press **Add a stream**. Use the quick titles (**Wedding ceremony**, **Mehendi**, **Sangeet**, **Reception**) or type your own. Guests see this title.
4. Paste the **YouTube live link** ([how to get it](#get-the-youtube-link)). VowPix checks the link with YouTube straight away and shows one of these:
   - A green card with the stream's thumbnail and **This stream will play on your gallery**. You're done.
   - A red message explaining what's wrong, for example that embedding is turned off. A help window opens with the fix.
5. Set **Goes live at** to the scheduled start time, and **Lasts about** to how long the function runs (1 to 12 hours).
6. Choose [who can watch](#who-can-watch), [the countdown](#before-it-starts-countdown) and [what happens after](#after-it-ends-replay-or-hide).
7. Press **Save** in the bar at the bottom. Nothing changes on the gallery until you save.

> Tip: Add one stream per function. A wedding with Haldi, Sangeet and the pheras can have three streams. Guests see them as pills (Haldi · Sangeet · Wedding) and the right one goes live at its own time.

## Get the YouTube link

Schedule the stream in **YouTube Studio → Create → Go live** (or in your streaming software), then check three things:

1. **Visibility: Unlisted.** Only people who open your gallery can find it. **Private** streams can't play anywhere outside YouTube, so don't use Private.
2. **Allow embedding** stays ticked (Studio → the stream's settings → **Allow embedding**). If it's off, the stream only plays on youtube.com and VowPix shows "Embedding is turned off for this stream".
3. **Copy the link of the stream itself** with **Share → Copy**. It looks like `https://youtu.be/AbC123xyz45` or `https://www.youtube.com/live/AbC123xyz45`. Your channel's live page (`youtube.com/@yourstudio/live`) won't work, because it changes every time you go live.

Paste the link as soon as you schedule the stream, even days before. The link stays the same when you actually go live.

> Note: YouTube needs a channel to be verified before it can stream, and the first time live streaming is switched on it can take up to 24 hours to activate. Going live from the **YouTube phone app** also needs at least 50 subscribers. Streaming from a computer (OBS, a capture card or a hardware encoder) has no subscriber minimum.

## Who can watch

The photos always stay behind the PIN. This setting only decides who can watch the stream.

| | Anyone with the gallery link (recommended) | Only guests who enter the PIN |
| --- | --- | --- |
| On the PIN screen | The cover becomes the player, with **LIVE · No PIN needed to watch** and the event banner just below | The cover shows a blinking **LIVE** tag and **Enter your PIN to watch** |
| After entering the PIN | The stream is at the top of the gallery, above the photos | The stream is at the top of the gallery, above the photos |
| Good for | Relatives abroad, elders who struggle with PINs, big guest lists | Private functions where the link is in a large WhatsApp group |

**Example (anyone with the link):** Nani in London taps the WhatsApp link from the invite and the pheras start playing. She never has to ask anyone for the PIN.

**Example (PIN only):** A private nikah for close family. The link is in a big group, but only relatives with the PIN can watch.

## Before it starts (countdown)

Switch on **Show a countdown** and guests who open the gallery early see a countdown to the start time (days, hours, minutes, seconds), plus a **Remind me** button that adds the stream to their Google Calendar. With the countdown off, they see the start time instead, for example "Starts Sat · 7:30 PM".

Times are shown to each guest in their own time zone, so family abroad see their local time.

When the countdown reaches zero the player appears on its own. Guests don't need to refresh.

> Tip: Running early? Press **We're live now** on the stream and save. The start time moves to now and the LIVE tag appears straight away.

## While it's live

- A red **LIVE** tag blinks next to the player. When the gallery is unlocked, a LIVE tag also shows in the header and jumps to the player when tapped.
- Browsers only allow videos to start muted, so the stream starts silent with a **Tap for sound** button below the video. One tap turns the sound on.
- YouTube's own controls handle volume, pause and full screen. On a phone, turning it sideways gives a full-screen view.
- Photos keep appearing below the stream as you upload them.

## After it ends: replay or hide

The stream counts as ended after the start time plus **Lasts about**. Under **After it ends**, choose:

- **Keep the replay on the gallery:** a **Replay** card above the photos. It only loads when someone taps it, so the gallery stays fast.
- **Hide it:** the stream disappears and only the photos remain.

## What guests see

![The guest side: the stream playing on the PIN screen, Tap for sound, the countdown inside the gallery, and the LIVE tag when the PIN is required](https://pub-53d2f40332f849028f57401c40448a94.r2.dev/docs/gifs/live-stream-gallery.gif)

| When | PIN screen | Inside the gallery |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Before the start | A small chip with the start time | Countdown or start time, and **Remind me** |
| Live, open to anyone | The player, the LIVE tag and the event banner | The player at the top, LIVE tag in the header |
| Live, PIN only | **LIVE · Enter your PIN to watch** | The player at the top, LIVE tag in the header |
| After, replay kept | **Replay of the live stream inside** | A **Replay** card above the photos |
| After, hidden | Nothing | Nothing, just the photos |

The **What guests see right now** preview in the Live tab updates as you change the settings, before you save.

## Free trial and plans

- **Free trial:** 5 live streams in total, across all your events. Each different YouTube link you save counts once. Changing the title or time of a saved stream doesn't use another one, and deleting a stream doesn't give the slot back. The Live tab shows how many you've used, for example **2 of 5**.
- **Paid plans (from ₹199):** unlimited live streams.

If you try to save a sixth stream on the trial, VowPix explains the limit and links to **My Plan**. See [Plans, free trial & add-ons](https://www.vowpix.in/docs/account/plans-and-trial).

## Problems

| Problem | Fix |
| --- | --- |
| "Embedding is turned off for this stream" | In YouTube Studio, open the stream's settings, tick **Allow embedding**, save, then paste the link again. |
| "YouTube says this stream is private or does not exist" | Set the visibility to **Unlisted** (not Private), or check you copied the right link. |
| "That's your channel's live page, not a stream" | Open the stream itself and use **Share → Copy**. |
| "We couldn't reach YouTube to check this link" | Usually a network blip. You can still save; open the gallery before the event to confirm it plays. |
| Guests see "Video unavailable" in the player | The stream was deleted, made private, or embedding was switched off after you saved. Fix it in YouTube Studio, or remove the stream. |
| The stream is muted or blocked part-way | YouTube can mute or stop streams that play copyrighted music (common at sangeet and DJ nights). Keep background music low near the stream's microphone. |
| The LIVE tag shows but the stream hasn't started | The player shows YouTube's "waiting" screen until you start streaming. Check the **Goes live at** time, or start the stream. |
| Nothing shows on the gallery | Check that the switch says **Showing on the gallery**, that the stream has a start time, and that you pressed **Save**. If **After it ends** is set to **Hide it** and the time has passed, the stream is hidden. |

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