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evmux Knowledge Base

Push to Talk (PTT)

Push to Talk lets moderators and editors speak privately to a specific participant (speaker or guest) without the audio going to the broadcast. It opens a temporary private audio channel between you and the recipient. Use it for directions, cues, or anything you need to say off-air during a live show.

Where to find PTT

PTT buttons are available in two places:

  • Fast Access Bar (bottom bar): click the ⋮ menu on a participant’s thumbnail and select Push to Talk.
  • Chat panel: next to each participant’s chat conversation.

PTT is only available to editors and moderators talking to speakers and guests.

How PTT works

  1. Press and hold the PTT button next to the participant you want to talk to.
  2. Your microphone audio goes through a separate private channel, not the broadcast.
  3. The recipient hears your voice in their headphones while their scene audio is temporarily lowered.
  4. A popup appears on the recipient’s screen: “Moderator (Your Name) is speaking…” with an audio visualisation.
  5. Release the button to stop. Everything returns to normal.
  6. Viewers never hear PTT audio. It is completely excluded from the broadcast.

What happens on your side (the editor)

  1. Your broadcast audio is temporarily muted so viewers do not hear you talking.
  2. Your microphone is routed to the private channel and sent only to the recipient.
  3. When you release PTT, your broadcast audio is re-enabled automatically.

What happens on the recipient’s side

  1. A popup appears: “Moderator (Name) is speaking…” with a wave-style audio visualisation.
  2. Their scene monitoring audio is muted so they can focus on your voice.
  3. Their offstage feed audio is muted too.
  4. Your voice plays clearly through the private channel.
  5. When PTT ends, their volume levels are restored automatically.

The live broadcast is not affected

  • Viewers hear nothing. PTT audio is on a completely separate channel.
  • The broadcast continues normally during PTT.
  • Only your own broadcast audio is paused, which is usually unnoticeable for a short message.
  • The recipient’s audio to the broadcast is unaffected.

If the connection drops

PTT stops automatically if the private channel goes silent for about three seconds. This prevents a stuck PTT state if the connection drops mid-message.

Use cases

  1. Director cues: “Go to scene 2 in 5 seconds.”
  2. Technical notes: “Your mic is too quiet.”
  3. Private coordination: discuss something without the audience hearing.
  4. Emergencies: quick messages during a live show.

Best practices

  1. Use headphones, both the moderator and the participants.
  2. Keep it brief. Short, clear messages.
  3. Wait for a response to be sure the participant heard you.
  4. Test before going live so you know PTT works for everyone.