Live Connections
The Live Connections feature gives you real-time visibility into every device connected to your event — screens, controllers, audience pages, and more. Identify devices, force-reload unresponsive screens, kick unauthorized connections, and move devices between events, all from one dashboard.
Accessing Live Connections
You can view and manage live connections from two places:
- Dashboard — Go to your Dashboard for a full-page view with advanced filtering
- Controller — Open the Live Connections panel within the controller for a quick modal view grouped by output type
Connection Information
Each connected device shows:
| Info | Description |
|---|---|
| Device identifier | A short label like “Device 1OWC” (last 4 characters of the connection ID). You can rename this to something meaningful like “Stage Left Monitor.” |
| Output type | The type of link: Speaker, Audience, Staff, Master Controller, Operator, Moderator, Agenda, Q&A, Polling |
| User email | For authenticated connections, shows the user’s email. Anonymous connections show “Anonymous.” |
| Connection time | How long the device has been connected (e.g., “Just now,” “5m ago,” “2h ago”) |
| Controller badge | A badge indicating if this is a master control connection |
| Identified indicator | An eye icon showing whether the identifier overlay is currently displayed on this device |
Connection Actions
Each connection has an action menu with the following operations:
Identify
Display a large identifier overlay on the device's screen showing its name (e.g., "Device 1OWC" or your custom name). This is essential when you have multiple screens around a venue and need to figure out which physical screen corresponds to which connection.
You have six speaker screens around a conference venue and need to assign each one to the correct room. Click Identify on each connection one at a time — the overlay appears on the physical screen so you can match them up. Rename each connection to "Room A," "Room B," etc.
Click Hide Identify Overlay to remove the overlay once you've identified the device.
Force Reload
Force the connected device to reload its page. This is useful when:
- A screen is showing stale content after a network interruption
- You've changed link options and want the screen to pick up the new settings
- A display is in an unexpected state and needs a fresh start
The device receives a reload command and refreshes its page immediately.
Kick
Disconnect a device from your event. The device is removed from the WebSocket room and redirected to a "kicked" screen with an optional reason message.
Kicked devices are permanently disconnected. They would need to re-open the link to reconnect. Use this for unauthorized connections or devices that should no longer be connected.
Rename
Change the device identifier to a custom name. Renaming makes it easier to manage large numbers of connections — instead of "Device A3F2," you can use "Green Room TV" or "Lobby Display."
Move to Another Event Premium
Instantly transfer a connected screen from one event to another — without generating a new link, without walking to the device, without touching a single cable. The screen seamlessly navigates to the destination event while preserving every customization: colors, fonts, mirror mode, background images, aspect ratio, and all other link options carry over automatically.
| What happens | Details |
|---|---|
| Screen redirects instantly | The device navigates to the new event automatically — no manual intervention needed |
| All styling preserved | Colors, fonts, mirror mode, backgrounds, aspect ratios, and every other link option carry over to the new event |
| Password-protected events | If the destination event has a password, the screen is automatically authenticated — no password prompt on unattended displays |
| No new link needed | The same output link is reused with a fresh signature for the destination event |
| Graceful fallback | If the move cannot complete, the screen stays connected to the current event — nothing breaks |
Move is available from the Dashboard Live Connections page. Select the destination event from the room dropdown next to each connection.
Common Workflows
| Scenario | How Move helps |
|---|---|
| Multi-day conference | Set up 12 screens on Day 1 with your brand colors and fonts. Each morning, move all screens to the new day’s event from the dashboard — same links, same styling, zero reconfiguration. |
| Multi-track venue | One room hosts different sessions throughout the day. Move the room’s screens between events as the schedule progresses — no need to walk to the screen or regenerate links. |
| Rehearsal to live | Run a full rehearsal on a test event. When you’re ready, move all screens to the production event in one click. All display settings carry over. |
| Recurring events | Weekly team meetings or monthly town halls. Set up screens once, move them to the new event each time. Same hardware, new content. |
Pair Move with Rename for maximum efficiency. Name your connections by physical location ("Main Stage," "Room 201," "Lobby Left") and then move them between events by name — you'll always know exactly which screen is going where.
Filtering Connections
The Dashboard view provides filters to manage large numbers of connections:
| Filter | Options |
|---|---|
| Event | All events, or select a specific event to focus on |
| Output type | Master, Speaker, Audience, Staff, Q&A, Polling, Moderator, Operator, Agenda |
| Time range | All connections, or filter to Last 5, 15, 30, or 60 minutes |
A Clear all filters button resets everything back to the default view.
Connection Status
The dashboard header shows the current connection state:
- Real-time updates active — WebSocket connection is live and receiving updates
- Connecting... — Attempting to establish the WebSocket connection
- Disconnected — WebSocket connection lost; data may be stale
How It Works
Real-Time Tracking
Every time a device opens an output link, it establishes a WebSocket connection to your event's room. The server tracks:
- When the connection was established
- What output type the connection is (speaker, audience, controller, etc.)
- The user's email (if authenticated)
- The device's browser/user agent info
- Whether the identifier overlay is currently showing
Presence Updates
The server broadcasts presence updates whenever a connection joins or leaves. All controllers receive these updates instantly, so the Live Connections panel always reflects the current state.
Late Joiners
When a new controller connects, it receives the full list of current connections immediately — no need to wait for individual join events.
Use Live Connections during event setup to verify that all screens are connected and showing the right content before the event starts. Identify each screen, check the output type, and kick any unauthorized connections.
Connection activity is logged to the database for the last 24 hours.