Participating in a Broadcast Meeting
In a broadcast meeting, most participants are audience members who cannot contribute to the meeting. A few presenters conduct the meeting and interact during the meeting while the audience members watch and listen.
Audience Members
When you are an audience member in a broadcast meeting, you can watch and listen to the presentation, but you cannot interact during the meeting.
Available Features for an Audience Member
Broadcast meetings are useful when a very large number of people need to attend the meeting, but do not need to present or interact during the meeting. For example, a broadcast meeting is usually the best choice for a company-wide meeting with hundreds of attendees. The features listed below are available to anyone who attends a broadcast meeting.
As an audience member, you can:
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View the presentation. You can view the following information during a meeting:
- A shared screen or program
- A whiteboard presentation
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Poll questions: You cannot send poll questions or respond to them, but you can view the questions, and, if the Moderator allows, you can also view the results. To view a poll, click the Poll tab and then select the appropriate question from the "Questions asked" drop-down box. If results are available, they appear underneath the question. (To make polls appear in their own dialog box automatically, choose View - "Display Web Pages and Polls in New Window.")
Tip If you select the "Display Web Pages and Polls in New Window" menu item, poll questions sent by the Moderator appear in their own window. Poll questions that you select on the Poll tab do not appear in their own window.
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Web pages: You cannot send Web pages, but you can view the pages that the Presenters send. To view Web pages, click the Web Pages tab, select the appropriate page from the "Web page" drop-down box, and click Go. The Web page appears in its own browser window. (To make Web pages appear in their own browser window automatically, choose View - "Display Web Pages and Polls in New Window.")
Tip If you select the "Display Web Pages and Polls in New Window" menu item, Web pages sent by the Moderator appear in their own window. Web pages that you select on the Web Pages tab do not appear in their own window.
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Chat text: Click the Chat tab to read the text that the Presenters enter. Although you can read the text, you cannot enter text. However, you can select, copy, and save the chat text.
Note If you attend a broadcast meeting late or leave the meeting and then rejoin it, you will not receive any chat text, Web pages, or polls that you missed.
Tip The Interaction tabs flash briefly to alert you to new content, such as shared poll responses or chat messages.
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Watch the video and listen to the audio.
Note If the meeting includes a telephone conference call, you must use the Meeting Details page to attend the call and listen to the audio in the meeting.
- Control the volume of the meeting audio. To increase the volume, move the slider bar farther to the right. You can also choose Tools - Increase Speaker Volume or Tools - Decrease Speaker Volume. Continue selecting either of these menu items to increase or decrease the speaker volume in small increments.
- Mute your speakers. Choose Tools - Mute My Speaker, or select the check box in front of the speaker icon.
- Pause the video so that you can no longer see it. Choose Tools - Pause Remote Video (a check mark appears), or click the Stop button. Other participants will still see the video.
- Play the video. Choose Tools - Pause Remote Video to remove the check mark, or you can click the play button.
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Float the video windows. To view Sametime video in a separate browser window, you can "float" the video windows to separate them from the Meeting Room. To float the video windows, click the Float Video Windows button
or choose View - Float Video Windows. When the video windows are floating, you can move them anywhere on your computer screen. To return the video windows to the Meeting Room, click the Float Video Windows button again or choose View - Float Video Windows to remove the check mark.
- View the meeting details. Choose Meeting - Meeting Details to see information about the meeting, such as the duration of the meeting and the files attached for the meeting. You cannot see the participants in the meeting.
- Change the Meeting Room layout. Use the View menu to arrange the Meeting Room to suit your needs. You can view or hide the audio/video column, the Interaction Tabs (for chat, send Web pages, and Polls), and the audio controls. You can also fit the shared area to the window, make the shared area occupy the full screen, and return the Meeting Room to the default layout.
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Display Web pages and polls in new windows. Choose View - "Display Web Pages and Polls in New Windows" to display new questions in a separate dialog box and new Web pages in a separate browser window. If you are already viewing a Web page or question in a new window, the window switches to display the new content. For example, if you are viewing a Web page in its own browser window and the Moderator sends a new Web page, your browser window automatically switches to the new Web page.
Note Tallied poll responses are not displayed in a separate window. You must view responses on the Poll tab.
- View status messages in the status bar of the Meeting Room. The status bar includes important information about the meeting. For example, you can view the status bar to determine whether you have missed any meeting information or whether there is new content in one of the Interaction Tabs (such as a new Web page in the Web pages tab).
- Choose Meeting - Leave Meeting to exit the meeting.
Unavailable Features for a Broadcast Meeting
Because audience members in a broadcast meeting only need to watch and listen, some Sametime features are unavailable for audience members.
As an audience member, you cannot:
- Send and respond to polls.
- Send Web pages.
- Raise your hand.
- Draw on the whiteboard.
- Share and control screens.
- Transmit audio and video.
- Enter text in Meeting Room chat.
- Edit files.
- Switch between the whiteboard and screen sharing.
- Ask for permission to edit/share.
- See the whiteboard Pointer Tool.
- See the initials of the person controlling the screen.
Presenters
The creator of a broadcast meeting chooses presenters for the meeting. The Moderator is automatically a presenter. The Moderator grants permissions to the other presenters so that they can draw on the whiteboard, share or control a screen, start instant meetings, and use computer audio and video. Only presenters can interact during the meeting. For example, presenters can respond to polls, raise their hands, and view Web pages.
Loss of Information
During a broadcast meeting, you might notice any of the conditions listed below. Unfortunately, these conditions are a normal part of broadcast meetings.
- The audio might cut out for a couple of seconds, so that you do not hear what someone in the meeting says. (If the audio cuts out for more than a couple of seconds, you might be experiencing audio difficulties.)
- The video might pause for up to 15 seconds, so that you do not see a new image or you do not see the person who is currently speaking move. If the video pauses for longer than 15 seconds, you might be experiencing video difficulties.
- The whiteboard or screen-sharing presentation might appear to pause so that you do not receive any new information. This situation can last up to 45 seconds; after that time, you will begin receiving information again. If you do not receive information for longer than 45 seconds, try pausing the video. When you pause the video, you free up network bandwidth so that you can receive more meeting information from the server.
- You might not receive 100 percent of the chat text, sent Web pages, or polls in a meeting.
Tip The status bar displays messages about lost information. If you lose some chat text, the chat area in the Meeting Room includes a message about the lost text.