Hybrid events.

Hybrid events — FAQ

Common questions on this service.

• What's the difference between hybrid events and live streaming?

  Live streaming broadcasts your event out to a remote audience, one-way, room to viewer. Hybrid events bring remote participants IN to your live event, remote keynote speakers on the main screen, remote panellists joining the panel, remote audience questions coming back into the room. The two often run together (an event streamed to a viewing audience AND with a remote presenter dialled in), but the disciplines are different. Hybrid is about integration; streaming is about broadcast.
• How do you make a remote presenter feel like they're in the room?

  Full-screen presentation on the main stage display (not a corner thumbnail), broadcast-quality video routing through the switcher (not 'Zoom shared from a laptop'), their audio mixed into the room PA at the same level as in-room speakers, and a producer in their ear during the session. We do a 30-minute tech rehearsal beforehand to set their framing, lighting, audio levels, and run the backup plan. The audience treats them as the speaker, not the technology.
• What if the remote presenter's connection drops?

  We pre-arrange backup paths. Primary connection is usually their preferred platform (Zoom, Teams) over high-quality internet. Backup is a phone-in audio bridge with a still image of the speaker on screen, or a pre-recorded fallback if the brief is critical. We also schedule a connection check 30 minutes before they're on, so if there's a problem we catch it before the audience sees it.
• How do you manage latency between in-room and remote participants?

  Latency in remote video calls is typically 200–800ms each way. For prepared keynote speakers it's not a problem, they talk, the room listens. For interactive panels and Q&A it becomes noticeable. We use lower-latency protocols where the platform supports them, brief the in-room moderator on conversational pacing (small pauses to let the remote person come in), and for very latency-sensitive applications we can use dedicated low-latency video links instead of consumer platforms.
• Can you bring remote audience questions back into the live event?

  Yes. Best practice is to route both in-room and online audience questions through the same chat tool (Slido, Mentimeter). In-room attendees scan a QR and submit through the same channel as online, the moderator pulls from one queue, weighted however the run-of-show dictates. This makes the remote audience first-class instead of an afterthought, and avoids the awkward 'okay, we have time for one online question'.
• Can the remote presenter hear what's happening in the room?

  Yes, this is critical and often missed. We provide an IFB (interruptible foldback) feed to the remote presenter so they hear the room audio in their headphones: in-room laughter, audience reactions, the moderator's voice, their own voice through the room PA. Without this they're delivering blind. The producer can also speak to them privately on the same feed for cues and corrections.
• What platforms do you support for remote presenters?

  Most common: Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Cisco Webex, Google Meet. Less common but supported: dedicated broadcast-quality platforms like NDI bridges, Skype TX, or LiveU Solo for situations where consumer platforms can't deliver the quality required. We'll recommend the platform based on the presenter's location, their technical comfort, and the brief's quality requirements.
• Can you integrate hybrid components into a live-streamed event?

  Yes, this is standard. The live stream broadcasts the event out (handled by our Live streaming service), the hybrid integration brings remote participants in. Both run in parallel: remote keynote dialled in for the in-room audience, the whole event streamed out to a separate remote viewing audience. We scope both as part of the production proposal.