Tips for Watching theStream.tv’s Live Shows

Some viewers may be a little confused when it comes to watching our live shows. I want to explain how it currently works, as well as where we’re headed so you can focus on enjoying the shows.

We have a special relationship with Justin.tv, the website the broadcasts our live feed. Our names are close so that throws some people off. theStream.tv (that’s us!) is a creator of original, live content. Justin.tv (that’s them!) is a platform that streams live video.

Right now, the majority of our live shows air at 11pm Eastern time (8pm Pacific time), but make sure to check our schedule for other shows in the line-up. We’ll be adding more shows both before and after this time slot shortly. You can use a time zone converter to find the correct time for your area.

The best URL to bookmark for watching our shows live is http://www.thestream.tv/live. At this time it still redirects to our channel on Justin.tv’s website. We pay a lot of attention to the chat room there so you’ll need a separate login for their website to view it. If you’d prefer to not sign up for Justin.tv, then you may want to just send us an @reply on Twitter since we check that constantly too. Our Twitter name is @theStreamDotTV.

We used to monitor every single last form of instant messenger service, but our poor chat techs just couldn’t keep up with all the services. It started taking away from their ability to participate in the show properly, so we’ve trimmed it down to just the chat room and Twitter.

I usually start the live feed ten to fifteen minutes before the show actually starts. This will give you some time to let the video and chat room load of you’ve got a slower computer. We stream in full 1080p resolution, so some computers may not be able to handle the amount of data properly. Use this pre-show time to find a quality setting that is best for you.  There is a setting at the bottom of the player that can set the quality between 240p to 1080p.

Here are some items I’m currently working on implementing:

• Keeping you on theStream.tv site while watching our live shows.
• An IRC based chat room that will use your existing theStream.tv login without having to login to Justin.tv.
• A timezone converter based on your local time zone so it’s easier to know when to watch.

You’ve been asking for these features, and I’m listening! They are coming soon! Please keep the feedback coming.

Cheers,
@BrianGramo