Client Start Streaming Operation

Using the Polyv client to start a live stream offers broad compatibility across various live streaming scenarios. In terms of viewing formats, it supports: video-only, document + video, and portrait mode. For application scenarios, it supports marketing, conferences, training, classrooms, and more. It allows flexible layout of the live stream screen, supports switching between multiple scenes, enables the addition of multimedia, images, documents, and other materials, supports external capture cards, and also features AI background removal, AI beauty effects, 17-person video co-streaming, and more.

This document provides functional usage instructions for the Polyv 4.x version of the live streaming client.

Download

Windows (64-bit) Client Download Link: https://soft.polyv.net/rc/PolyvLiveSetup64.exe

win (32-bit) Client Download URL: https://soft.polyv.net/rc/PolyvLiveSetup.exe

Mac client download link: https://soft.polyv.net/rc/PolyvLiveSetup.dmg

Notes on Using the Client on Mac

Registration and Login

Register a Polyv Account and Obtain the Channel ID and Password

Polyv registration URL: https://my.polyv.net/v2/register

After successful registration, enter PolyLive and create a new channel. Upon success, you will be prompted with the channel number and password.

Log in to the client using channel number and password

Obtain the channel number and channel password for the live broadcast from the management backend to log in. If logging in with the channel number, the identity is that of a lecturer, who can start and end the live broadcast. If logging in with a sub-channel, when the maximum number of people allowed to connect in that channel is 0 (i.e., the co-streaming feature is not used), the client can be logged in and used in conjunction with the backend cloud director function. If logging in with a sub-channel and the maximum number of people allowed to connect in the channel is 1 or more, the client cannot be logged in.

Environment Recommendations

Hardware Preparation

Recommended Computer Hardware Configuration:

System: Windows 7 and above, macOS 10.13.6 and above

Graphics Card: Dedicated 2GB GPU or higher

CPU: i5 or above

Memory: 4GB or more

Optional Hardware:

Shooting: External camera, camera + capture card

Radio: Lavalier microphone, headset microphone, professional microphone

External audio: headphones, external speakers

Scene: Green, Red, Blue Curtains

Network: Ethernet cable, 4G network aggregator

Main Interface Overview

The 4.x client supports two types of live streaming templates: video-only and document + video. The main differences are as follows:

Pure Video Template

Document + Video Template

Difference Between Pure Video Template and Document+Video Template

Mode Switching

The client has up to three options for different usage methods.

1. Live-only mode: Suitable for scenarios that do not require live co-hosting, such as large events (primarily filmed with HD cameras) and HD screen recording for educational live streams.
2. Live + co-hosting mode: Designed for live streams that require audio/video co-hosting calls while accommodating a large audience of listeners.
3. Recording mode (not available in document or video templates): Intended for scenarios where live streaming is not needed, but video recording is performed using the client.

​

How to Perform Device Debugging

Click the Device Debugging button at the top of the client. A pop-up dialog will appear.

​

Note: For pure video templates, the camera is not activated by default. During device debugging, only the microphone and speaker are available. You can click the camera function in the left sidebar or add a camera in the media area to activate the device.

Camera

Camera Selection: Click on [Camera] in the left-side function navigation bar, and select the corresponding device based on the video feed you need to stream. If a security guard prompts a dialog box, please choose "Allow"; otherwise, the software will not be able to successfully add the camera.

When the host does not wish to show their face, under the document + video template, you can select [Image] as the camera source. In this case, the audience will see the host's video content displayed as an image. You can click [Add Image] to change the image source.

​

Camera Image Flip
Some devices may have issues with left-right or top-bottom flipping after being added. In such cases, click to flip horizontally, and click to flip vertically.

Camera Capture Parameter Modification: Click to enter advanced property editing. Some devices may require adjustments to capture parameters such as size, frame rate, or format to obtain the correct image. These modifications can be made in the advanced property editor. In most cases, no changes are needed, and the default parameters can be used.

​

Chroma Keying: Click to enter, then click to enable chroma keying. This automatically removes the background from a camera feed that has a solid-color backdrop. The client supports green, blue, and magenta backdrops. If the automatic background removal result is unsatisfactory, you can fine-tune the parameters. Chroma keying is suitable for seamlessly combining a camera feed with documents or screen-shared content into a polished scene. You can enable a background image to modify the chroma key background. If high precision is not required, you can also select [AI Auto Chroma Keying] (requires contacting sales to activate) for one-click automatic chroma keying. AI chroma keying only supports capturing feeds within 720p resolution; feeds exceeding this resolution will have no effect. Click to enter advanced property editing. In [Camera Capture Parameters], you can change the device input type to Custom and modify the [Device Resolution] parameter to within 720.

​

Beauty Filter
Click to enable the beauty filter. Effects include skin smoothing, whitening, rosy complexion, and sharpening. It can also be used together with filters. The beauty filter only supports video capture at resolutions up to 720p. No effect will be applied if the resolution exceeds this limit. Click to access advanced property settings. In the [Camera Capture Parameters], change the device input type to Custom and adjust the [Device Resolution] parameter to 720 or lower. If the beauty filter option is not visible on the client, please contact sales to enable it.

Microphone

​

If the selected microphone is working properly, you will see a level bar moving when you speak. If not, try switching the microphone device or modifying the system settings.

Adjusting the microphone volume will affect the volume heard by the viewer.

If the external environment is noisy, you can increase the noise reduction level. However, this may also cause the sound to become sharper and the volume to be lower. Please adjust accordingly.

If the input sound is too low, you can increase the microphone boost, but this may also cause audio clipping. Please adjust it appropriately.

Speaker

​

According to the software instructions, click to play an audio clip. If you hear sound locally, the speaker is working normally. If no sound is heard, you can switch the speaker device source or adjust the system speaker settings. The speaker functions differently in different client modes:

1. In live-only mode (when the number of co-hosts is set to 0 during channel creation in the backend), adjusting the speaker volume affects the volume of the computer's system sound heard by the audience. For example, if there is other music playback software on the computer, turning down the volume will result in the audience hearing the music at a lower volume.

2. In live + co-hosting mode, adjusting the speaker volume affects the local device's external playback volume. Turning down the volume will make the sound quieter for the local user, while the sound heard by remote users remains unaffected. If you want remote users to hear the system sound from the computer, you can enable the [Capture System Sound] feature in the settings.

Status Display

​

When hovering over the signal tower area, the current network status, CPU usage, and frame drop rate will be displayed. When a user starts streaming with poor network conditions, the live streaming push will be directly affected, and viewers will not be able to clearly see or hear the streamer. The network status will show as "Poor Network." In this case, the user needs to switch to a different network before starting the stream.

How to Use the Documentation

Note: After uploading, all PPTs will undergo transcoding. A small number of PPTs may have partial content compatibility issues after transcoding. Please refer to Suggestions for Uploading PPTs.

Note: Under the pure video template, the document does not support the transcoding of animated PPTs.

Note: The document can be uploaded first in the admin backend; the client does not need to upload it again and can apply it directly.

Documentation for Using Pure Video Templates

Add Document
Click Document in the left navigation bar , or in the right-side resource function menu, go to Resources > Scene > Material > + > Cloud Document to open the document addition dialog. You can upload local document courseware to the server. After switching computers, log in to the same channel without re-uploading; you can directly use the already uploaded document courseware.

​

After the courseware document has been successfully uploaded and applied, the document property control function will be displayed in the live preview area. Click to switch to a different document. You can drag the horizontal scroll bar to quickly flip through pages, or click to flip one page at a time. Only one document material is supported per scene. When a document is added for the first time, it will automatically fit the entire preview window.

​

Switch to Whiteboard: After adding document materials, you can click the [Whiteboard] button next to the document name to switch to using the whiteboard. The system provides 50 whiteboards by default.

Using the Pen Annotation Tool
After adding document materials, select the document and click the Pen button to expand the pen tool. You can now draw lines and annotate on the document. The annotations will be recorded on each page of the document or whiteboard and streamed live to the audience. Once the pen annotation feature is enabled, the document material cannot be dragged or repositioned within the preview area. Click the Collapse Pen button to restore the ability to drag the document material.

Using Documents Under the Document + Video Template

Add Document: Click the Document button in the left navigation bar to open the document selection pop-up. Click Upload Courseware to upload a new local document. By default, the document is transcoded without animations. After successful transcoding, click Apply to use the document. If you check Keep PPT Animations before uploading, the transcoded document will include animations from the PPT. Since documents with animation transcoding are more complex, the transcoding process takes longer—please be patient.

​

Using the Whiteboard
When the default software opens, the whiteboard feature is displayed, with 50 whiteboards available for use by default.

Switching Between Documents and Whiteboard
Once a document has been added, a tab with the document name will appear on the right side of the whiteboard. Clicking on this tab allows you to switch to another document.

​

Document Zoom, with a minimum zoom level of 100% and a maximum zoom level of 200%. Click the percentage to quickly reset to 100%. Click to zoom out, and click to zoom in.

Document Page Turning
You can click the Expand button to display the page navigation, quickly turn pages to locate a specific whiteboard, and click again to collapse the navigation.

Alternatively, when hovering the mouse over a document or whiteboard, left and right page-turning buttons appear, which can be clicked to turn pages.

​

Additionally, when the mouse focus is on the software, you can press the left and right arrow keys to turn pages.

Pen Annotation
On a whiteboard or when a document is applied, there is a pen tool at the top of the canvas. Hold down the rightmost side of the toolbar to drag and reposition the pen tool. Click to collapse the pen tool, , and click again to expand it. The pen tool options from left to right are: Drag Canvas, Laser Pointer, Freehand Pen, Rectangle (Circle), Arrow (Line), Text Input, Undo, Redo, Eraser, and Clear Current Page.

​

​

Switch Document and Video, click the [Switch] button to swap the positions of the document and video. Click again to restore. When the user has the role of host or presenter, the switch will also be synced to the viewer side.

​

Full-Screen Document Display: When the document is the main view, click the [Full Screen] button to maximize the document. This is suitable for scenarios where you need to display the document locally via screen projection for a live audience. Click or press ESC to exit full-screen mode.

How to Use Screen Sharing

Using Screen Sharing in Pure Document Template

Differences in Screen Sharing Methods
The client offers three screen sharing methods. Generally, using "Desktop Live Streaming" is sufficient.

1. Desktop Live Streaming: Suitable for most screen-sharing live streaming scenarios. When activated, the client interface collapses into a top function bar, preventing the host from seeing a looping screen. More operations can be accessed via the top function bar, such as turning on the camera, toggling the microphone, interacting with users, switching to share another screen, or switching to region sharing.

2. Desktop Window: Suitable for multi-monitor setups. When activated, it works similarly to adding a document resource, automatically fitting the preview screen in full screen. You can adjust the position and size in the preview area.

3. Software Window: Suitable for live streaming scenarios where only a specific software window needs to be shared, without the entire desktop. When in use, do not minimize the shared software window; otherwise, the broadcasted software screen will display the last static frame before it was minimized.

Switch to Desktop Live Streaming, click the [Screen Share] button in the left function navigation, select [Desktop Live Streaming], and the client software will collapse into the style of the top function bar.

Add Desktop Window: You can click the [Screen Share] button in the left-side function navigation and select [Desktop Window], or in the right-side resource function bar, go to [Resources] - "Scene" - Material [+] - [Desktop Window] to add a shared desktop screen. By default, it automatically fits the full screen to the preview window. After successful addition, you can change it to another screen (if multiple monitors are available) in the properties area.

​

Add Software Window: Click the Screen Share button in the left-side function navigation, then select Software Window. Alternatively, in the right-side resource function bar, go to Resources > "Scene" > Material + > Software Window. A software window selection dialog will appear, allowing you to choose the software window to share. Note: Some software windows cannot be captured by the operating system, and thus cannot be retrieved by the live streaming client. In such cases, consider using desktop live streaming or desktop sharing as a solution.

Using Screen Sharing with Document + Video Templates

Using Screen Sharing
Click the Screen Sharing button in the left-side function navigation. The client software will then collapse into a top function bar style. More operations can be accessed through the top function bar, such as turning on the camera, toggling the microphone, displaying chat & members, using interactions, enabling co-hosting, and switching sharing.

How to Insert Multimedia

Add Multimedia
Click the Multimedia button in the left function navigation bar , or in the right resource function panel, go to Resources > Scene > Material + > Multimedia (material addition is only supported in pure video templates). This will open a system dialog box, guiding you to select the multimedia video you want to play.

The added multimedia will automatically enter fullscreen and adapt to the preview window. Once the multimedia is successfully added, the multimedia property operation panel will appear.

​

Replace Multimedia – If a multimedia video has already been added, click [Switch Multimedia] to replace the multimedia video to be played.

Multimedia Loop, with the following modes: Single Loop, Sequential Play, Loop Play, No Loop (default). Click the icon to switch between different loop modes.

Hear Multimedia Sound Locally. By default, when the client plays multimedia, the sound is not played out loud for the streamer currently pushing the stream. Due to differences in computer audio hardware or the possibility of the sound being re-captured by the microphone during local playback, this can cause echoes for the audience. If it is necessary for the streamer to hear the multimedia sound locally, you can turn off the local mute button by clicking . The prerequisite is that after turning off local mute on your test computer, there should be no echo on the audience's end.

Note: It is recommended that the bitrate of inserted multimedia files does not exceed 10Mbps, the resolution does not exceed 1920 x 1080, and the frame rate does not exceed 30fps. Before starting the stream, please use a video compression tool to process the files before adding them, to avoid live streaming issues caused by low computer performance.

How to Connect with the Audience via Live Mic

The co-hosting feature is only available in the live streaming + co-hosting mode. Please ensure that the number of co-hosts in the channel created in the backend is greater than 0.

Supported Platforms for Co-hosting
The client must select the live streaming + co-hosting mode, and the co-hosting feature can only be enabled after the live stream starts. Co-hosting is only supported in Scenario 1. See the table below for supported platforms:

Enabling and Disabling Co-hosting
After the live stream starts, click the [Co-hosting] button in the left toolbar to open the co-hosting dialog. Click the [Start Co-hosting] button in the pop-up; the button will turn red and display as [End Co-hosting]. On the viewer side, a co-hosting request feature will appear. If a user applies, you can see the [Go on Stage] button in the member management panel on the right. Click [Go on Stage] to start an audio/video call with the viewer. During the process, closing the co-hosting pop-up will not interrupt the co-hosting; only clicking [End Co-hosting] will terminate the call with all users who have gone on stage.

​

​

​

Change the way of co-hosting. Once co-hosting has started, the co-hosting method cannot be changed. The default is video co-hosting. To switch to audio co-hosting, you must first end the current co-hosting session. Audio co-hosting is typically used when the audience does not need to show their face or when the network conditions are poor.

Change Video Layout
When you need to cast the local client screen to an offline live audience, you can switch the video layout to a tiled layout so that the audience sees all participants in equal-sized windows. Changing the video layout here does not affect the layout seen by online viewers watching the live stream. To modify the layout for online viewers, go to Settings > Other Settings > Mixed Stream Layout.

How to Manage Members

In the two modes—live streaming only and live streaming + co-hosting—the scope of member management functions differs.

1. In live-only mode, members can be muted or removed.
2. In live + co-hosting mode, members can be muted, removed, have their microphone or camera toggled (for users already connected), removed from the stage, granted or revoked presenter permissions, granted or revoked annotation permissions, set as the primary view, or globally muted.

Special Members
Instructors, teaching assistants, administrators, and guests are all special roles. They have a special title identifier and cannot be muted or kicked out. Correspondingly, the audience consists of regular members who can be managed by instructors, teaching assistants, administrators, and guests.

Search Members: Enter a keyword for the member's nickname, click the search button, and the system will match a list of members whose nicknames contain the keyword. The host can then further manage them.

​

Obtain the guest sub-channel number and password. In the document + video channel, under the admin panel - role management, you can add a guest and retrieve the guest's sub-channel number and password.

​

Host Permission: In the live streaming + co-hosting mode, within a channel, the instructor always has host permission, and guests can be granted host permission by the instructor. Once host permission is obtained, the user can operate documents, synchronize page turns with others, use the drawing pen, share screens, play multimedia, and initiate interactive features. Granting host permission automatically grants drawing pen permission. The instructor can only authorize host permission to one person at most.

Pen Permission: In the live broadcast + co-hosting mode, within a channel, pen permission can be granted individually to guests who have already joined the stage. This allows the user to annotate on the current document or whiteboard, but not to turn pages. The instructor can grant pen permission to multiple users, but the number must not exceed the number of users on stage.

Set as Primary View: In the live streaming + co-hosting mode, when a specific user on the mic is set as the primary view, they occupy the main position in both the host and viewer screens, highlighting the focus of attention.

Member Operation Permissions Table in the Live + Co-hosting mode, see the table below:

Note: The pure video template does not support syncing document whiteboard page turns with others, nor does it allow multiple people to write or draw on a single document simultaneously.

Scenes and Materials

Note: This feature is only supported in the pure video template.

Scenario: Multiple scenes can be added to a live stream, with each scene representing a specific visual content. During the live broadcast, you can switch between different scenes. For example, before the official live stream begins, the audience can watch a warm-up video scene; once the live stream officially starts, you can switch to the event shooting scene. Each scene can have multiple materials added to it.

Materials: The basic elements that make up the live stream content, including cameras, screen sharing, multimedia, documents, images, text, and more. Multiple materials can be added to the same scene to compose the desired画面. For example, in a teaching scenario, both the teacher's document and camera can be displayed simultaneously. When a material is in a draggable and editable state, its border is red. When a material is selected but not draggable or editable, its border is blue.

​

How to Use Multi-Scene Switching

Note: This feature is only supported in the pure video template.

Multi-scene switching functionality solves the need to present multiple visual contents to the audience during a single live stream. For example, before the official live stream starts, only a warm-up video needs to be played; after the stream begins, document content should be displayed; during the stream, an exciting lottery screen is required; and near the end, QR codes for subsequent event registration and follow-up attention need to be shown. To meet these event requirements, you can create 4 scenes, pre-add visual materials and layouts for each, and during the live stream, simply focus on the switching sequence.

Add Scene: In the right-side resource panel, go to Resources > Scenes and click + to add a new scene under the current one. The newly added scene contains no materials by default.

​

Switch Scenes: Double-click "Scene X" to edit the scene name. Click on a scene name to switch between different scenes. When switching to a specific scene, the content displayed in the preview window is what the audience sees in the live stream.

How to Use Image and Text Materials

Note: This feature is only supported in pure video templates.

Add Image – Used to add watermarks or backgrounds to live streams. Multiple image materials can be added within a single scene. In the right-side function resource area, go to [Resources] → "Scene" → Material [+] → [Image]. After adding, the image automatically fits the full screen of the preview window. Supports common image formats such as BMP, JPG, PNG, and GIF. Once the image is added successfully, you can edit its opacity in the properties area.

In the preview area, hold down the Alt key and drag to crop the image.

In the preview area, hold down the Shift key while dragging to freely stretch the image.

​

Add Text, commonly used to display announcement information to the audience. In the right-side functional resource area, go to [Resources] - "Scene" - Material [+] - [Text]. After successfully adding text, a red selection box for the text material will appear in the upper left corner of the preview window. In the properties area, add the text to be displayed and modify text properties such as font, font size, color, direction, and whether to scroll.

​

How to Edit the Content Layout of the Screen Preview Window

Note: This feature is only supported in pure video templates.

If a live stream is in progress, the content in the preview window is exactly what is being broadcast. Therefore, editing the size, position, and layout of various materials within the preview window directly affects the viewing experience of the audience.

Adjust the order of material layers. For example, if the live broadcast画面 shows a PPT with a camera overlay, there are at least two materials (each material represents a layer): the PPT document layer and the camera layer. The camera should be above the PPT; otherwise, the PPT may obscure the camera. To adjust, go to the right-side resource function menu, select Resources > Scene > Materials. Click on the material whose layer you want to change (the text turns blue when selected), then drag it up or down to reorder the layers.

​

Adjust the position of a material in the preview by selecting the material you want to adjust. At this point, the material should display a red border (indicating it is editable and draggable). You can then drag it to the desired position in the preview. If it is difficult to select due to too many materials, you can choose the material you want to adjust in the resource menu's function area under "Add Material," and then drag it in the preview area.

​

Adjust the visibility of materials in the preview screen. Select the material you want to adjust. In the resource function menu bar, next to the material addition area, click the eye icon to hide the material's visibility in the screen. Click it again to unhide it.

Introduction to Chat, Questions, and Q&A

Chat, Q&A, and question-answering features respond to the backend settings of this channel. In the admin backend, chat and Q&A are enabled by default, while question-answering is disabled. If you do not see the corresponding feature menu after logging into the client, please go to the live streaming backend to enable it.

Chat Feature is a public chat room that allows users to view and send chat messages, including text, emojis, and images. It supports muting likes and tip messages, enabling/disabling global mute (where regular members cannot chat), and quoting a user's message to reply.

​

Question Feature: Messages sent by the audience in the question section are only visible and replyable to special members, while other audience members cannot see them.

Q&A Feature: Messages sent by the audience in the Q&A are only visible to and can be replied to by special members. Instructors, teaching assistants, and administrators can either privately send responses to individual audience members or broadcast them to all audience members within the Q&A feature.

Introduction to Interactive Applications

PolyLive streaming client offers a variety of interactive features during live broadcasts, enhancing communication and engagement between hosts/instructors and the audience, adding fun to the live stream, and increasing audience participation.

On the left-side function navigation, click Interaction . A function pop-up will appear. If you cannot see the required interaction features, please confirm with your business representative whether this feature has been enabled.

​

Announcement Feature: After sending an announcement, a forced pop-up window will be displayed on the audience side, used for strong reminder scenarios.

Check-in Function: Counts the number of attendees within a specified time period.

Lottery Feature
Used to liven up the live stream atmosphere or increase channel engagement. Allows setting prize details, redemption information, etc., to improve prize distribution efficiency.

Answer Sheet Feature, used for in-class quizzes to reinforce learning content. Supports sending questions with only options or questions with both a stem and options.

Survey Function, used for exams in teaching or surveys in marketing. Supports multiple-choice questions and subjective questions.

Red Packet Rain, used to liven up the atmosphere in a live streaming room.

How to Use the Local Recording Feature to Save Live Stream Files

Note: This feature is only supported in pure video templates.

Polyv provides a cloud recording feature that automatically records during live streaming. After the live stream ends, the recorded content can be viewed and downloaded in the replay management section of the admin console. Additionally, it offers the ability to save recorded videos locally, eliminating the need for downloading.

Enable/Disable Local Recording
Go to Settings > Local Recording to enable the local recording feature. You can modify the default save path for recording files and the video format for recordings. When using local recording, ensure sufficient disk space on your computer for saving videos; otherwise, videos may not be saved properly. Note that using the local recording feature will increase CPU consumption on your local computer system. If your computer configuration is insufficient, it may severely impact the live streaming process. Be sure to test this feature before using it.

​

How to Set Required Encoding Parameters

Appropriate encoding parameters are especially important for live streaming performance. In most cases, the default parameters on the client side are sufficient to meet requirements. However, in the following scenarios, you may try adjusting the encoding parameters to achieve better live streaming results:

Screen Recording Live Streaming: If your live streaming scenario primarily involves screen sharing or screen recording, the most important factor for improving clarity is ensuring that the output resolution matches the resolution of the screen being shared. For example, if your monitor's current resolution is 1920 x 1080, set the resolution to 1920 x 1080 in the settings. Then, adjust the bitrate appropriately based on actual network requirements.

Business Roadshows, Conference Livestreams
In this scenario, the captured footage involves significant movement of people or large-amplitude changes such as dance moves. It is recommended to maintain a resolution of 1280 x 720, increase the frame rate to 25–30, and raise the bitrate to above 1000 kbps. Adjust the streaming quality appropriately to 2–3. If the livestream network is stable and the uplink is reliable, you can opt for a fixed bitrate to enhance clarity (supported only in livestream scenarios). The actual effect should be verified through on-site adjustment and monitoring after playback.

​

​

Channel Selection

When a hardware mixer is used on site, testing reveals that the host's voice is unclear when played through the phone's speaker, but can be heard normally when using headphones. This issue occurs because the left and right channel connections of the mixer are incorrect, causing the left and right audio signals to cancel each other out, resulting in unclear sound when played through the speaker. Without changing the mixer's wiring, this problem can be resolved by setting the audio channel to mono. In other cases, the default stereo setting can be used.

​

Common Issues with Client Broadcasting

Qt WebEngine LGPLv2.1 License Notice