Using pre-recorded video in a live event

This page offers a procedure for setting up a pre-recorded video to be screened as part of a live event; for example, if a lecturer wants to show a film clip as part of an online lecture.

  1. Before the event, the event host should have the video saved to their computer, and also have a link to the video on Media Hopper (or YouTube, Vimeo etc) handy
  2. The host should close all unnecessary apps including browser tabs before starting the event
  3. Start the event, for example on Zoom, and introduce the speaker
  4. The host should then use ‘Share application’ to play the video in their computer’s video app (e.g. VLC). They should share the application only, not their whole screen.
  5. They should also post the link to the online version of the video (e.g. Media Hopper) in the event chat, so that if the video or audio fails for any reason, participants can simply click on the link, watch the video for themselves, then return their focus to the Zoom meeting
  6. After the video, stop sharing the application and proceed to the Q&A

The reason for most of the extra steps here (closing apps and tabs sharing application rather than the whole screen, sharing a local file rather than an in-browser video) is to free up as much bandwidth as possible. The reason for having the online version too is to provide a backup in case all of these steps aren’t enough!


Try to make sure that your host is someone with a good internet connection (see https://www.speedtest.cahss.ed.ac.uk/). Attendees’ connections are obviously out of your control, which is, again, where the backup link comes in.