Here you will find the list of frequently asked questions about the Sessions area. Check out our Session tutorial for more details on how Sessions work.
What are Sessions?
The quickest way to understand the Sessions area of RingCentral Events is to think of rooms, groups or virtual roundtables within your event.
What is the difference between a Stage and a Session?
A RingCentral Events Stage is like a physical stage—ideal for keynotes, presentations, panels, performances, and fireside chats. A Session room, on the other hand, is like a conference room—perfect for workshops, webinars, brainstorming, and discussions. Here are the key differences:
- To broadcast on Stage, you'll need to use the Backstage studio powered by StreamYard. In a Session, you can go on screen direclty from the event venue.
- The Backstage studio supports up to 10 speakers on screen, while a Session can have up to 50 attendees on screen.
- A Stage can host up to 100k viewers, whereas a Session supports up to 5k viewers, depending on the number of users on screen. To learn more, refer to our guide on Maximum on-screen and viewership limits.
- The Backstage studio offers branding features like banners, theme colors, logos, overlays, and more, which aren’t available in Sessions. It also makes sharing video files and slides easily. Learn more about the studio in our guide on Using Backstage studio powered by StreamYard.
- Session rooms support breakout rooms and unique engagement features like confetti, emoji reactions, and custom CTA buttons, which are not available on Stage. Learn more about them in our guide on Tips for Speaking in and Moderating Sessions.
How many people can view a Session?
The maximum number of people who can watch a Session is up to 5,000, depending on the number of speakers and screen shares. Basically, the more speakers you have for a session, the fewer amount of viewers you have for that session. To learn more, refer to our guide on Maximum on-screen and viewership limits.
|
Number of Speakers (includes number of screenshares) |
Maximum Viewers |
| 1 | 5,000 |
| 2 |
3,000 |
| 3 |
3,000 |
| 4 |
3,000 |
| 5 |
1,500 |
| 10 | 1,500 |
| 12 | 1,500 |
| 15 | 1,500 |
| 20 | 1,500 |
| 25 | 1,500 |
| 50 | 500 |
How many people can participate in a Session with their video/audio?
You can have up to 50 participants on screen (with video and audio). If you have 49 speakers for a session, and one of them decides to share their screen, the screenshare will be counted as the 50th person.
How do I create a Session?
In a multi-track event, go to Event Dashboard > Venue > Sessions and click Add session. In a Webinar event, you will need to select Session as a webinar style in the Event Dashboard > Setup > Basics.
Where can I find the backstage of my Session?
Sessions do not have backstages. To speak/present in a session, navigate the Sessions area, enter a Session room and click Share Audio and Video.
Can I run my Sessions alongside the Stage?
Absolutely! All major segments of the event - Stage, Sessions, Expo and Networking - can be live at the same time.
Who can watch a Session?
In the Session setting, you can select one of the following options. To learn more, refer to our guide on Setting up attendee access for Sessions.
- Anyone: All attendees will be able to access and see the Session in the schedule (if added) and in the Sessions area.
- Private (invitation only): Only assigned attendees will be able to access and see the Session in the schedule (if added) and in the Sessions area.
- Specific ticket types: Only assigned ticket type holders will be able to access and see the Session in the schedule (if added) and in the Sessions area.
- Unlisted (access via link): The Session will not be listed in the Sessions area and can be accessed via the direct Session URL only.
Who can participate in a Session?
In the Session setting, you can select one of the following options. To learn more, refer to our guide on Setting up attendee access for Sessions.
- Anyone: All attendees will be able to join the screen.
- Invite-only: Only assigned attendees will be able to join the screen.
- Moderated: Assigned moderators will be able to join the screen, share YouTube videos and approve requests to join the screen from others. To learn more, refer to our guide on Adding a moderator to a Session or an Expo Booth.
As an Organizer, can I ‘force’ people to enter a session and remove them when I need them to enter another session?
No, attendees can freely move around the event venue. The best workaround would be to create a detailed schedule to guide your attendees around the event and mark your Session schedule segment as recommended.
What happens when the end time comes for a Session that is linked to the schedule? Does the Session get cut off?
No! The session does not cut off when the scheduled time is up. The session can run as long as you need. The schedule only acts as a guide for the attendees to know what's happening per time.
How can I order the Sessions?
Large Sessions are listed before medium Sessions. Next, the configured Display priority number defines the Session's order in the Sessions area. 1 is the first Session to be displayed. To learn more, refer to our guide on Changing Expo Booths, Sessions and Sponsors order.
What are the video settings for a Session?
The RingCentral Events platform will adapt video settings dynamically based on users window/connectivity to ensure you get the optimum settings for your set up.
Can I stream via RTMP to a Session?
Yes. Streaming to Session via RTMP is supported in multi-track events. For more information on how to set this up, refer to our guides on Streaming from OBS to Session via RTMP, Streaming from StreamYard to Session via RTMP, Mirroring an RTMP stream from another Session or Stage into a Session.
What are the recommended image dimension for the session? (width x height)
Session pictures can be uploaded in multi-track events where you can create multiple sessions. Here are the recommended image dimensions for both Session sizes:
Large Session
Recommended: 1500 x 625px (2.40:1 aspect ratio)
Minimum size: 1000 x 415px
Medium Session
Recommended: 1500x600px (5:2 aspect ratio)
Minimum size: 800x320px
Can attendees create their own sessions?
This is up to you as an Organiser. To enable it in a multi-track event, go to the Event Dashboard > Venue > Venue Control and select Enable attendee session creation. To learn more, refer to our guide on Allowing attendees to create Sessions in an event.
How do I know how many people are in a session?
In the top right corner of the video, you’ll be able to see how many people are watching the Session.
How can I see who is in the Session?
One way you can discover who is viewing your Session is by navigating to the People tab in the activity panel.
Can you screen share in a Session?
Yes, you can!
Can presenters use their phones or tablets to connect or do they have to be at a computer to participate as a presenter in a Session?
Attendees can use our Attendee mobile app or mobile browsers to watch an event. However, Speakers are advised to use a desktop device for full event experience. To learn more, refer to our guide on Browser compatibility for RingCentral Events.
Can I record a Session?
Yes. Sessions are recorded by default, unless you disable this option. In the Session settings, make sure the option Record this session? is enabled.
Where are my Sessions recordings?
You can find recordings in the Event Dashboard > Recordings tab. To learn more, refer to our guide on Accessing recordings.
How do I share recordings with my attendees?
You can enable the Replay area in your event and publish your recordings.
Can the event attendees access the Sessions after the event is over?
No. However, you can enable the post-event Replay experience and publish your recording so attendees can catch up on the missed content.
Can I set prerecorded videos in a Session?
You have the option to share YouTube videos in a session. To learn more, refer to our guide on Using YouTube sharing in Sessions.
Can I mute the audio of a participant/speaker for everyone?
Organizers and Moderators can mute the audio of a participant for everyone, but you cannot unmute the person. Only the speaker will be able to unmute their audio.
Can I blur my background in a session?
Yes! You can blur your camera background in your video setting when joining a screen in a Session. For detailed steps, refer to our guide on Blurring your video background in a Session.
I have a PDF file I want to share in a session, how can I do that?
You can upload it to Google Drive, Dropbox etc., get a shareable link and post it to the Session chat. Organizers can pin the message to the top of the chat for better visibility. Alternatively, you can create a Session banner with this link.
In the Session settings, you can also make use of the Additional information area to place all files and other information.
How many Sessions can I create?
There’s no limit to the number of Sessions you can create. That means you can create and run an unlimited number of Sessions in your event.
We need to have 10 Sessions running at the same time, is that ok?
Absolutely! There’s no limit to the number of Sessions you can run simultaneously.
Can I create breakout sessions within a Session?
Yes, refer to our guide on Managing breakout rooms in a Session to learn more about it.
I can see the Session in the Event Dashboard but not in the Session area in the event venue, what happened?
Here’s what could have happened:
- Your session is connected to a schedule and is not live yet. By default, scheduled sessions show up in the Sessions area 5 minutes before the scheduled time. To learn how to change it, refer to our guide on Accessing a scheduled Session before the start time.
- The Session is set Unlisted, so it can only be accessed via the direct URL.
- The access to Session is restricted to specific ticket types only.
I have multiple Sessions scheduled for the same time, how do I change their order in the Schedule?
At this time, scheduled Sessions to begin at the same time appear in random order.
Can I disable the Sessions and just have Stage or Networking for my event?
Absolutely! You have the option to disable any of the main event areas (Stage, Sessions, Networking and Expo). You can do this anytime before or during the event. Attendees will need to do a quick refresh if the area is enabled/disabled during the event.
How can I make a Session visible before or after its scheduled time slot?
By default, a scheduled Session will be displayed in the Session area 5 minutes before and after the scheduled time. In a multi-track event, you can adjust it in Event Dashboard > Setup > Basics > Advanced Settings.