By SideQuest · Practical meeting guides
Does SideQuest support a public broadcast with private presenter AI?
The local Broadcast preview pairs an invited presenter stage with a public, watch-only audience. Signed-in presenters share private, text-only Presenter Q and backstage messages. Viewers would not need accounts and would receive only the live stage. This mode is not released; the workflow below explains its built behavior and helps you plan, rather than offering a live broadcast to start today.
Choose a format that works without audience participation
Start with a narrow promise: a 15-minute product walkthrough, a conversation between two presenters, or a demonstration of one workflow. Write down what a viewer should understand by the end. Prepare a beginning, a demonstration, and a closing takeaway instead of relying on audience questions to carry the session.
The preview has no public chat, audience question queue, published Q answers, or promotion from viewer to speaker. If participation is essential to the event, that is a different requirement. Plan a separate feedback channel you already use, or choose an available collaborative or Interview room for a small invited conversation.
Separate presenter invitations from the public link
In the built workflow, the host creates a Broadcast room and invites presenters. Presenters sign in; their invitation grants access to both the stage and the room’s private Q conversation. Company membership does not make someone a presenter. Share presenter invitations only with people who should have that complete access.
The public viewing link leads to a waiting page until the host goes live. Before that transition, it does not expose the room title or presenter details. A signed-in outsider following the public link remains a viewer, with the same watch-only permissions as someone without an account.
Use backstage preparation to make the public part clearer
Presenters enter backstage with microphone and camera off. They can use backstage messages and text-only Presenter Q to prepare. Decide who introduces the topic, who demonstrates, and who watches the clock. Confirm which microphone, camera, and screen share should be enabled for the audience.
A useful preparation prompt is: “Turn this demonstration into three clear steps. List any claim that needs a source or an example.” Another is: “Suggest a plain-language explanation of this workflow for someone seeing it for the first time.” Check the draft before putting those words on stage.
Presenter Q and backstage text remain private in the interface. Screen sharing still publishes the screen or window you select, so keep the private workspace outside that view. The private channel cannot protect something you deliberately include in a shared screen.
Treat Go live as a real change of audience
The host’s Go live action requires confirmation. Enabled stage microphones, cameras, and screen shares then become public. Invited presenters can contribute media, but only the host can go live, end, invite, or remove presenters. The viewer experience is watching and listening, not entering the backstage room.
Rehearse a simple sequence before depending on this format: state the question, show the workflow, summarize what changed, and tell people where to go next. Keep the closing takeaway visible long enough to read. Because recording is outside this version, do not promise an automatic replay or a recording link afterward.
Budget for the actual session limits
The built limit is 256 viewer sessions in total, not 256 simultaneously tested viewers. Returning with the same valid viewer cookie reuses a session; another browser or cleared storage may consume another slot. This enrollment bound is not evidence of audience capacity under load. Presenter membership retains the existing 64-member room limit.
A Broadcast room lasts up to eight hours from creation, including preparation. Ending is final: there is no pause, restart, or conversion of the audience into speakers. Presenters retain read access to their saved conversation. Plan a new room for another session, and do not create the room long before its intended start.
Common questions
What has been verified so far?
Local automated tests, a production build, browser fixtures, and real LiveKit provider checks with synthetic presenters and viewers have passed. The provider checks used an in-memory application fixture; they do not establish deployed end-to-end behavior, production closure-task delivery, or audience load. No release date is promised here.
Can I use Interview as a public broadcast today?
No. Interview provides invitation-only guests and viewers with host admission. It can support a small invited session, but it does not provide Broadcast’s public distribution model.
Will public viewers see Presenter Q or captions?
The built preview exposes stage audio, video, and screen shares only. Backstage messages, captions, Presenter Q, and saved private work are not public viewer feeds.