User Guide - nicnacnic/restreamer-dashboard GitHub Wiki

Dashboard Overview

Congratulations on being selected as a restreamer! Your job consists of managing the ins and outs of the stream, maintaining the best quality possible and fixing issues if they arise. Your duties include choosing the appropriate layout for the game/runner, resetting the timer, changing the active game, setting the audio levels, and monitoring the stream. If you come across any bugs or issues with the dashboard itself (not the stream!), please let your marathon organizers know, and if they can't solve the problem, open an issue in the issue tracker.

Please note that this is only a general overview of the dashboard, your marathon might have different procedures than what's listed here. Please check with your organizers, most likely they have a document complimenting this guide on their specific procedures.

Scenes

This is where the magic happens! Here, you'll be able to control what appears on the stream, such as the layout, active run, timer, and more!

OBS Preview: A preview of the OBS preview window. This is NOT LIVE, therefore you can adjust the scene without the viewer noticing.
OBS Program: A preview of the OBS program window. This is what the viewer is currently seeing.
Stream Status: Displays the status of the stream. Green means the steam is live, white means the stream is offline.
Recording Status: Displays the status of the recording. Red means that OBS is recording, white means that OBS is not recording.
Transition: Press to transition between the preview and program windows.
Cut: Press to cut between the preview and program windows.
Emergency Transition: Start an Emergency Transition. View the Emergency Transition section for more information.
Auto Record: Displays the status of Auto Record. View the Auto Record section for more information.
Scenes: A collection of available layouts. Press any button to change the layout in the preview window.
Custom Scenes: A collection of custom layouts, defined by your marathon organizers. Works the same as the normal layouts.
Twitch Name/RTMP Stream Key: Enter the runner's Twitch name or RTMP stream key here, and select the quality (Twitch only). Hidden are the apply and reload buttons.
Twitch Control: This controls what shows up on Twitch for the current stream name and game.
Timer Control: This controls the timer on the layout. View the Timer Control section for more information.
Run Control: This controls the active run on the layout. View the Run Control section for more information.

Audio

From here you'll be able to control the audio levels of individual sources. Due to a limitation, live feed of the audio meter is not available, so you'll need to use the Twitch feed.

OBS Preview: A preview of the OBS preview window. This is NOT LIVE, therefore you can adjust the scene without the viewer noticing.
OBS Program: A preview of the OBS program window. This is what the viewer is currently seeing.
Audio Mixer: This is where you can control audio levels on a per-source basis. Use the slider to adjust volume, and use the mute buttons below to toggle muting.

Monitoring

This is where you'll be spending most of your time waiting for the next run to set up. Sit back, relax, and chill with the Twitch feed, including the live chat (if enabled).

OBS Preview: A preview of the OBS preview window. This is NOT LIVE, therefore you can adjust the scene without the viewer noticing.
OBS Program: A preview of the OBS program window. This is what the viewer is currently seeing.
Twitch Feed: If enabled, this displays a live Twitch feed of the marathon.
Twitch Chat: If enabled, this displays the live Twitch chat of the marathon. To be able to chat, you must be logged into Twitch.
Bitrate Graph: This shows the bitrate over the last minute.
OBS Stats: This shows the same information as the OBS stats window.

Features

The dashboard provides a lot of features to make managing the stream a lot easier. For more information, contact your marathon organizers.

Emergency Transition

If there's ever a problem with a runner live-on-the-air, and you need to switch back to intermission, this is the button to press. It will automatically switch to intermission and transition the scene, without you having to do it manually. It will also continue the recording if Auto Record is active. Note that it will NOT stop the timer, you still need to do that manually.

Once you've pressed this button, the button will be disabled. When you've solved the problem, you'll need to manually select the game layout and switch back using the regular transition buttons, at that point the Emergency Transition button will become available once again.

It is highly recommended that you use this button in case of a problem, instead of switching manually. For one, it's much faster, and also keeps the recording alive if Auto Record is active.

Auto Record

This feature makes it easier for organizers to post their marathon VOD's to YouTube, by automatically stopping the recording while on the intermission scene, and starting it again when a run starts. To check if Auto Record is on, look below the Emergency Transition button for the status.

There is nothing special you have to do, this feature kicks in automatically if enabled. Just use the Transition/Cut buttons as normal. You can always check the status of the recording by looking at the icon above the Transition/Cut buttons.

Additionally, if Auto Record is on, and the Emergency Transition button is pressed, the dashboard will automatically continue the recording for later analysis. Therefore it it highly recommended to use the Emergency Transition button in case of a problem instead of switching the scene manually.

Timer Control

This panel controls the run timer seen on-stream. It is your duty to start and stop the timer during a run. If you start and stop the timer with the same delay, the timer will be accurate.

The buttons, from left to right, are as follows: Play/Pause, Reset, Stop/Finish, Forfeit, and Undo.

Play/Pause: Use this button to start the timer, and pause it in case of a problem.
Reset: After a run has finished, press this button to reset the timer.
Stop/Finish: When a run is complete, press this button to stop the timer.
Forfeit: This is the same as the Stop/Finish button, but normally you won't use it.
Undo: If you stopped the timer at the wrong time, press this button to continue the timer. The amount of time that you lost while stopped will be added back.

For races, you'll only have the Play/Pause and Reset buttons on the main timer, the remaining three buttons will be next to each player to individually control their time. The main timer will stop once all players' timers are stopped/finished.

If you need to change the time displayed for one reason or another, first stop/pause the timer, then you should be able to edit the time in the box. Make sure to press Enter to save!

Run Control

This panel controls the active run seen on-stream. It is your duty to change the active run (in a timely manner) during intermissions.

The buttons, from top to bottom, are as follows: Return To Start, Play Next Run, Run Search, Run Index.

Return To Start: This sets the run to the first run present in the run index. Please do not press this button unless asked by organizers.
Play Next Run: This button, shown as a play button and the next run name, changes the active run to the next run in the run index.
Run Search: If you need to search for a run in the run index, this is where you would do it. Note it only searches by game name.
Run Index: This is the list of runs that are in the schedule. For each run, it displays a bunch of information about the run, see below.

If you expand any run in the Run Index, it will show a bunch of information relating to that run.

Player(s): This shows all runners participating. It does not show commentators.
Category: The category of the run.
Estimate: The run estimate.
System: The system the run is played on.
Final Time: This shows the final time of a run, and only appears on past runs.
Host: The host during the current run. Depending on the NodeCG version, this may or may not show anything.

Below this information, there is a play button. Press it to play that run, regardless of the last run. Use this button in the case where you need to skip a run.

You do not have access to change any run information. If you need to change run information, such as mistakes, please contact your event organizers.

Dashboard Tutorial

This simple tutorial covers the basics on ending runs, setting up runs, and what to do during runs. As a reminder, your marathon might have different procedures than what's listed here. Please check with your organizers, most likely they have a document complimenting this guide on their specific procedures.

Ending A Run

When logging into the dashboard for the first time, using the username and password provided by your organizers, you'll land on the Home page. You'll want to be on the Scenes page, so click on the menu on the top right, and click on Scenes (it's the icon with an image!). When you get there, this is typically what you'll see, the timer running, the game already selected, and the run playing out in the program window.

The first thing you’re going to be asked to do is to end the current run. You should be ready at any time to stop the timer when the previous run ends. When the runner says “TIME!”, press the Stop/Finish button in the timer panel. This should stop the timer.

If the Intermission scene isn't already showing in the preview window, select it in the scenes panel. Once the runners and host are done talking, hit the Transition button located between the Preview and Program windows. This should move the Intermission scene to the Program panel, with a short transition in between. If Auto Record is on, the recording should stop at this point.

Once the transition has finished, and the preview and program windows have swapped, you can unmute your mic, and tell the host and runners that they are off the air. At this point, it is now safe for the runner to end their stream, and for the hosts/commentators to disconnect from the Discord call.

Setting Up A Run

Once you have transitioned to the Intermission scene, you can start preparing for the next run. First, reset the timer, by pressing the Reset button in the timer panel, then play the next run by pressing the Play Next Run button in the run control panel. This should set the timer to zero, and change the next run in both the preview and program windows.

Next, enter the runner’s Twitch name or RTMP stream key in the input panel. If there is only one runner, leave the other three text boxes blank. If there are multiple runners, such as in a race, enter all the runner’s names/stream keys in the text boxes. You'll normally want to leave the quality on Source or 720p, depending on the type of run. When you’re done, press the button with the checkmark, and the runner’s stream should show up in the preview window.

If Twitch says The broadcaster has indicated that this channel is intended for mature audiences, you’ll need to ask the runner to disable the Mature Content setting in their Twitch Dashboard. It can be found in Dashboard > Preferences > Channel. If there is a Twitch Ad, let it play before continuing.

Finally, select the appropriate layout in the scenes panel, as given to you by the setup person. Make sure the crops in the preview window are correct, the setup person should have already checked this. If an organizer asks you to use a custom layout, select the appropriate layout in the custom scenes panel.

Before you transition over to the run, make sure everything looks right in the preview panel. If there are any issues, now is the time to fix them! If you run into a problem that you can't solve on your own, contact the organizers of your marathon.

Now, you can just wait for the host, runners and commentators to get ready. When everyone is ready, give a 3, 2, 1 countdown, then press the Transition button. This should move the scene to the Program panel, with a short transition in between. Make sure to mute yourself on Discord, so you're not heard on the stream!

Be prepared to start the timer when the runner or host gives a countdown. You can do that by pressing the Play button under the timer.

Switch to the Monitoring tab using the menu in the top-right, then sit back, relax, and enjoy the run! Be prepared to stop the run if anything goes wrong though. There are troubleshooting steps below.

During A Run

During a run, you shouldn't have to do much, but be on alert just in case something goes wrong. Pay attention to the OBS stats at the bottom, if there's an excessive amount of dropped frames or the stream goes offline, it's probably a good idea to let the organizers know so they can sort it out.

If someone's audio is too loud or too quiet, for example if the hosts are inaudible, switch to the Audio tab and adjust the audio levels accordingly. During races you can also switch the game audio source here.

Remember, if there's a problem that requires you to go back to intermission, it is highly recommended that you use the Emergency Transition button instead of switching the scene manually.

Troubleshooting

The Twitch/RTMP feed is blank!

Please make sure you entered the channel name/stream key correctly.

The preview and program windows aren’t loading!

Give the windows a couple seconds to load, you might have to press play in both of them to see the live OBS feed. If it’s still not working, reload the page, otherwise contact your marathon organizers if it still refuses to work.

The runner’s stream went blank!

First thing’s first, transition back to the intermission scene. Make sure to pause the timer as well! Then, unmute yourself in Discord and stop the run. Most likely it’s not the runner’s fault on this one, it’s probably a network error. To reload everybody's streams, just press the Refresh button in the input panel. If the stream comes back up, great! Make sure the runner and host are ready, then transition back to the correct scene. Resume the timer after the countdown.

The runner’s stream quality is bad!

If using Twitch, the issue is most likely not the runner’s stream, but a Twitch auto-quality problem. Because of a Twitch limitation, if the quality settings on the dashboard are above the stream's max quality, it will default to 360p. For example, if you selected 720p60, but the stream is only in 720p, Twitch will set the quality to 360p. Just lower the quality in the dashboard, or set it to Source.

If using RTMP, the issue is probably on the runner's side. Try refreshing the stream, otherwise contact your organizers.

I have an issue that isn't listed here!

If you're issue isn't listed here, please let your marathon organizers know.