FAQ for Administrators

Answers to the most common questions from school administrators, AV coordinators, and platform managers.

Channels & Events

How do I add a new event?

In the admin panel, go to Admin → Events and click Add Event. Fill in the event title, genre, channel, start date and time, access type (Free or PPV), and any additional details. Set the status to Active when the event is ready to appear on the viewer site. See Events for a complete field reference.

How do I set up a channel?

Go to Admin → Live Channels and click Add Channel. Configure the channel name, category, thumbnail image, and RTMP stream settings. Copy the RTMP URL and Stream Key from the channel's edit page and enter them into your encoder (OBS, TKDS Streaming App, or hardware encoder). Set the channel status to Active. See Live Channels for a full setup walkthrough.

What is the difference between an Event and a TV Show?

An Event is a single broadcast — one game, one concert, one ceremony. It appears in the Events listing and has a single stream or recording. A TV Show is an episodic program organized into seasons and episodes — a recurring series like a weekly news show or sports wrap-up. If you are broadcasting something that happens once, use an Event. If you are producing a multi-episode series, use TV Shows. See Events and TV Shows for details.

How do I connect ScoreBird to show live scores?

First, enter your ScoreBird API Key in Settings → General Settings → scorebird_api_key. Then, when creating or editing an event, enable the ScoreBird checkbox and enter the nest_id for the connected ScoreBird NeST device. The scoring overlay appears on the video player during the event when the ScoreBird device is online and scoring. See Events for the full ScoreBird configuration steps.

Platform & Roku

How do I enable the Roku app?

On each channel you want to make available on Roku, open the channel's edit page and enable the Roku checkbox. Upload a Background Image and Banner Image in the Roku TV Apps section — these are required by Roku for the channel listing. The Roku channel itself must be set up during initial platform provisioning by HometownLive.

Tip: Both images must be uploaded before the Roku channel listing goes live. Missing images will delay Roku approval.

How do I disable a feature from the viewer navigation?

Go to Settings → Menu and toggle Off the menu item you want to hide. For example, to remove the Blog from navigation, set the Blog toggle to Off. Disabling a menu item removes the navigation link immediately but does not delete any content. See Settings for the full menu configuration reference.

How do I put the site in maintenance mode?

Go to Settings → Site Maintenance and click On for Maintenance Mode. Before enabling, enter a Title and Description so viewers see a helpful message, and note your Maintenance Secret so you can bypass the maintenance page as an admin. To disable maintenance mode, return to the same page and click Off.

Warning: Enabling Maintenance Mode immediately blocks all viewer access. Do not enable it during an active broadcast unless you intend to stop the stream.

Users & Access

Can I have multiple admins?

Yes. Admin accounts are provisioned by HometownLive. Contact HometownLive support to request additional admin accounts for your team. The Users section in the admin panel (Admin → Users) shows registered viewer accounts, but admin access must be granted by HometownLive directly rather than promoted from a viewer account. See Users and Plans for the user management overview.

Can I password-protect content?

HometownLive does not support content passwords in the traditional sense, but you can restrict access using the Paid access type on events and channels. Setting an event to Paid requires viewers to purchase access before watching. Setting content to Inactive hides it entirely. For additional access control, subscription and PPV plans can be created in the Monetization section. See Monetization for plan configuration.

How do I export user data?

Viewer account information is accessible in Admin → Users. Use the table controls to filter and browse registered accounts. For bulk data export, contact HometownLive support — the platform may support CSV export depending on your plan. If you need user data for GDPR or privacy compliance purposes, document this requirement when requesting your export.

Monetization & Payments

How do I configure payment processing?

Payment processing is configured during initial platform setup as part of the HometownLive provisioning process. Contact HometownLive support to configure your payment gateway. Once configured, PPV pricing and subscription plans are managed in Admin → Monetization. See Monetization for plan and pricing configuration.

Tools & Services

How do I add a streaming app to the Tools section?

Go to Admin → Tools and click Add Tool. Select the category (App, File, Link, or Article), enter the title, and provide the URL or upload the file. Set the status to Active to make it visible to admins in the Tools section. Tools are visible only in the admin panel — use them to distribute download links and setup guides to your streaming team.

What is the PiPELiNE service?

PiPELiNE is a HometownLive managed streaming service that provides a complete production and delivery pipeline for organizations that do not have their own streaming hardware or technical staff. Rather than setting up and managing your own encoder, PiPELiNE handles the ingest, transcoding, and delivery of your content. Contact HometownLive support for pricing and availability details.