When creating a Live Event on Vimeo, the default option is a recurring event, which you can stream multiple times without changing your event page link or embed code. You also have the option to create a one-time event, which would be a standalone page and embed that would not contain multiple videos.
Please note: We generally recommend selecting recurring event, even if your virtual event will not reoccur. If you create a Webinar, these act as recurring events until you click on Complete event on the webinar management page.
There are a few differences between the two types of events:
- Event production
- Encoder setup
- Scheduling
- Privacy options
- Automatic closed captions
- Embed customization
Event production
The event production experience from Vimeo varies between Recurring events and One time events.
The settings page on recurring events contains a Production dropdown menu. The two options are Stream with your browser or Stream with an encoder
- Stream your browser will take you to our web-based production tool page which includes the ability to invite guest speakers, playback videos, show different scenes to your audience throughout the event, and manage all of your production components from one page. This page is not accessible for one-time events.
- Stream with your encoder will show your RTMP URL and Stream Key, your stream’s preview when you start streaming from your encoder, and other elements of your stream on the left side such as chat, polls, and Q&A.
The settings page on one-time events will show a Next button in the upper right corner. Clicking this will bring you to our classic live preview page, which is similar to the RTMP page for recurring events.
- A Webcam tab will open by default, showing your webcam with the option to adjust your webcam source and share your screen.
- Click the Connect tab to use an external encoder instead.
- The options on the left side of the page are the same regardless of how you stream to a one-time event.
Encoder setup
The biggest difference between the two types of events is that for recurring events, your RTMP URL and Stream Key do not change in between streams, whereas you will need to copy and paste the URL and Stream Key from Vimeo into your encoder for every one-time event.
If your encoder has persistent settings (meaning your settings save in between uses), you should simply be able to confirm that your URL and Key are already there and go live again. This will start a new stream to the same event on Vimeo. Stopping the stream and clicking End event in the event settings page will save a new archive under that event and in the Library.
If you are using an encoder that directly integrates with Vimeo (e.g. Livestream Studio), recurring events will remain in the Event dropdown menu, whereas one-time events will no longer be available once they have been streamed. To start a new stream to the recurring event, make sure it’s selected in the Event menu before going live.
Scheduling
Setting a date and time for either type of event is optional, though it may be helpful information for your viewers.
Recurring event: If you toggle on Repeat in the event creation modal, you can set a starting date for your event and then choose to have it automatically scheduled for each day of the week that you select after the starting date you set. You can also adjust the event’s date under the Event tab on the Live Settings page.
One-time event: Selecting a one-time event will display a Start date and time field in the event creation modal. Because the event is only meant to happen once, there is no option for repeating days. If you need to adjust the start time of a one-time event, go to the Live Settings page and click Edit start time below the preview player.
- If you want to remove a scheduled start time for a one-time event, click Edit start time, click into the Date field, press the delete or backspace key on your keyboard to erase the date, then click Save.
Privacy options
Both events include the same privacy settings except for Only people I follow, which is currently only an option on one-time events. For both types of events, you can adjust the privacy setting on the Live Settings page under the Event tab.
Both event types have the same embedded privacy settings (Anywhere, Nowhere, Specific domains).
Automatic closed captions
Currently, only recurring events streamed via RTMP support our automatic closed captioning feature.
Embed customization
Because of the nature of the two event types, there are a handful of differences in the embedded player.
In summary, you can keep the same embed code on your website without needing to update your website every time you stream if you choose Recurring Event. In addition, recurring events can include the next event’s scheduled time and the ability to watch past streams on that event. One-time events can include more Vimeo-specific features and player controls such as your details, and Like and Watch Later buttons.
The table below details each embedded player feature and for which event type it is available.
|
Feature |
Recurring Event |
One-time event |
|
Show recurring schedule - a lower-left corner overlay that displays the next time the event will be live. |
Yes |
No |
|
Show event schedule - Choose whether or not to display the date and time of the upcoming event along with the default "This event has not started yet" message in the middle of the player. |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Show latest video when off air - Instead of displaying the next start date, the player will show a thumbnail and play button for the last stream on this event. |
Yes |
No; the event embed by default becomes an embed of the stream archive. |
|
Show playlist - an upper-right corner overlay that allows for navigating between all videos on this event. |
Yes; when enabled, this will override displaying the event title. |
No |
|
Autoplay - when watching a video in the playlist, the next video will start playing as soon as the current video ends. |
Yes |
No |
|
Loop playlist - when the last video in the playlist ends, the first video in the playlist will automatically begin. |
Yes |
No |
|
Play bar - display the play bar, which shows the elapsed time of the event. Some other elements cannot be displayed if this is disabled. |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Volume control - allows viewer to adjust player volume (requires play bar). |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Fullscreen button - allows viewer to watch in fullscreen mode. |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Like button - Viewer can “like” the video on Vimeo. |
No |
Yes |
|
Watch Later button - Viewer can add the video to their Watch Later list |
No |
Yes |
|
Share button - Viewer can share the Vimeo URL to social channels and by other means. |
No |
Yes |
|
Your details (Portrait, Title, Byline, Let users decide) - This information is pulled from your Vimeo account and can overlay the upper left corner. |
Title only; when enabled, this will override displaying the playlist. |
Yes |
|
Customization (Customize color, Show Vimeo logo, Display Custom logo) - Displaying any logo requires the play bar to be enabled. Custom logos can be hidden during live playback and can link to a website. |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Interaction tools - Email capture and end screens (Thumbnail and Call to action).
|
No |
Yes |
⚠️Note: We always recommend using the iframe embed code provided on the live settings page rather than any built-in video widget or plugin that some website host services offer. Although one-time events will embed the player when pasting just the event URL in these widgets, recurring events currently do not support this workflow and can only be embedded by pasting the iframe code into an HTML block.