Gradual now allows you to seamlessly play YouTube videos directly within Meeting Rooms, Webinars and Roundtables, enhancing your virtual events with multimedia content.
This feature allows hosts, staff, and panelists to share YouTube videos with audio in real-time, ensuring all participants have a synchronized viewing experience.
The initial phase of this feature only supports videos from YouTube, via URL.
Dashboard Settings
Events & Calls
This is supported in the events and virtual group calls listed below:
Meeting Event
Webinar Event
Roundtable - Community level
Livestream meeting room
Livestream sponsor booth
Livestream roundtable
Hosts, Staff & Panelists
Hosts, staff, and panelists can play YouTube videos during a call.
Hosts and staff can control and manage any video that is playing. Panelists can control a video they started themselves, including pausing or stopping the video, but cannot control a video started by a host, staff member, or another panelist.
Attendees can see and hear the video playback but cannot control it.
If a panelist who started a video leaves the meeting, their video will stop automatically.
Learn more about host, staff, and panelist roles and controls here.
Video Settings
In the initial phase of this feature, only videos from YouTuve are supported. The videos must be Public or Unlisted on YouTube and cannot be listed as Private.
The system will show an error of “Invalid URL” when the URL format is wrong or an error of “Video unavailable” when the URL format is correct but the video cannot be played.
Play a YouTube Video
Playing a video is done live during the call and can be started by hosts, staff, and panelists.
Join the call as a host, staff member, or panelist.
Select the Activities button from the toolbar at the bottom of the meeting room.
Select Play YouTube Video.
Enter the YouTube video URL.
Select Preview and confirm that the correct video appears.
Select Play Video when you are ready.
Once the video is started, both its audio and video will be streamed to all participants in the room.
Hosts and Staff on mobile devices CANNOT play YouTube videos.
For the best user experience, we recommend all attendees and hosts use Google Chrome as their browser.
Manage YouTube Video
Hosts and staff can control any video that is playing. A panelist can control a video they started themselves.
Pause the video
If a hosts pauses the video, it will be paused for all attendees in the call as well. A pop up will appear to notify the attendees who paused the video.
Mute the Video
If a host mutes the video, the video will be muted for all attendees as well.
Fast-Forward or Rewind Video
If a host fast forwards or rewinds the video, the attendees will see that action and be shown where in the video the host has selected.
Replace or Change YouTube Video
If you need to replace or change the video URL that's being played, you can select the Activities icon at the base of the page and enter a new URL.
The system will confirm your action as it will stop the current video from playing.
Stop the YouTube Video
To stop the video, select the X in the upper-right corner of the video.
The system will ask you to confirm before stopping the current video.
If a panelist started the video and leaves the meeting, the video will stop automatically.
Pro Tip: Any assigned host can manage the video so it is best to assign one host to control any pausing, audio controls or ending the video if there are multiple hosts in one call.
Closed captioning, playback speed & quality
These setting changes on the YouTube video will not be reflected to the attendees.
If an assigned host or staff member changes the playback speed or quality, the settings will only apply to their view and not the view of the attendees. CC or closed captioning will also not appear for attendees if selected by the host or staff.
Notes and things to consider
Only one video can be played at a time
Hosts, staff, and panelists can start a YouTube video. Attendees cannot start or control video playback.
Only YouTube videos are supported.
Screen sharing is not available while a video is playing, and a video cannot be started while someone is screen sharing.
Hosts and staff on mobile devices cannot play videos using this feature.
Attendees on mobile devices must select Play, as the video will not autoplay.
Video buffering and loading times depend on each participant’s network connection and their connection to YouTube.
Video playback will not appear in event or roundtable recordings.
This is what will appear in the recording:
