Building a better Vodcast experience
It’s _be_en a little over a month since we first launched Vodcast, a feature that allows streamers to be live without having to go live. By replaying past broadcasts or premiering new uploads, you can engage your viewers in live experiences around pre-recorded content.
Since the launch, we’ve heard a lot of feedback from you about how we can improve the Vodcast experience. While there’s been a wide range of feedback, most of it came down to:
Clearer communication
More control
Improved discoverability
Based on your feedback and suggestions, we’ve made several improvements to the Vodcast experience.
Clearer communication
In addition to the white dot with “VODCAST” that appears when the mouse hovers over the video player, there’s now a persistent bar at the top of the player that shows the title of the VOD being played during the Vodcast.
In your Followed Channels list, you’ll now see channels that are Vodcasting marked with a grey dot and positioned below live channels.
If you use your Followed Channels list in the collapsed view, you’ll notice that when you hover your mouse over a channel that’s Vodcasting, the tooltip will read “(Vodcast).”
When you start a Vodcast, now your viewers will receive an updated notification with clearer wording that lets them know that you’ve started a Vodcast.
More control
Do you only want to include Live channels in your Auto Host list? We’ve added an option in your Auto Hosting settings that lets you toggle between including or excluding channels running Vodcasts in your list.
Improved discoverability
Previously, your Vodcast would be categorized in the Channel directories based on the information you provided in the Stream Information widget. This created confusion if your Vodcast contained videos of different games, so we made a way to automatically update the stream details for your Vodcast based on the details for each individual video in your list. If you click on the settings cog in the Vodcast widget, you’ll now see an “Autoupdate Game Information” toggle.
We appreciate your continued feedback and will continue making improvements based on your ideas to make Vodcast a more engaging experience. So keep letting us know what you think on User Voice or via the #uploads-discussion channel on the Twitch Desktop App server!
For instructions on how to use Vodcast and frequently asked questions, jump over to our Help Center article.