Frequently Asked Questions: Virtual Wintergarden

Yes, while the performance is taking place in The Civic, the audience will be watching online.

All ticket-buyers will be emailed a website link on the day of the performance from boxoffice@dotdot.social . This link will enable patrons to access The Virtual Wintergarden in which the performance will take place.

If you have not received an email with the name of your event in the subject line, please check your junk folder inside your email browser. If it is not there, please email us at online@aucklandlive.co.nz.

The link is exclusive for ticket-buyers only. Only one person can use the link at a time during the event. The Virtual Wintergarden is best experienced as an intimate wonder within the venue. Make a night of it and encourage your friends and whānau to purchase a ticket too so you can see them online and have a night out.

No, the live stream is completely live, so when you join it will be in real time at whatever stage the performance is up to.

The Virtual Wintergarden is best experienced on a desktop or a reliable laptop computer with a web camera and microphone and using Chrome as the preferred browser. Mobile device, phone or Smart TVs will not be able to access The Virtual Wintergarden.

To get the best possible performance from your internet connection while in the Virtual Wintergarden, please close all the applications and browser tabs you don't need to have open, stop any other download/streaming on your local network, switch off your VPN (if you are using one), make sure you're using the Chrome browser. Finally, if you begin to experience performance issues during the event you can restart your computer to close any applications running in the background.

Yes! The Virtual Wintergarden is designed to be a social experience which requires you to share your camera and microphone so that you can see and speak with other attendees.

Hover your pointer over your avatar feed and you’ll see a speaker appear in an overlay. Click the speaker to mute your audio feed.

Hover your pointer over someone else's avatar feed and you’ll see a speaker appear above their avatar. Click the mute button to mute their audio feed.

You can move around the screen by clicking your mouse - your video feed will travel towards where you click.

You can contact Auckland Live staff via email at online@aucklandlive.co.nz.

No sorry, the uniqueness of this experience was the gathering of artists and audiences in a virtual space and unfortunately can't be reproduced. See future events you could attend here.

If you’re having trouble accessing the Virtual Wintergarden or you’re getting an unexpected error message:

• Check that you’re using Chrome. Chrome is the only browser that currently supports WebRTC, the underlying technology that enables your avatar to show in the Virtual Wintergarden. You can download Chrome here: https://www.google.com/chrome/
• Make sure you’re accessing the Virtual Wintergarden on a laptop or desktop with a webcam and microphone available. The Virtual Wintergarden works best on a screen with room to move, and is not compatible with mobile devices.

If you’re seeing a black screen when you enter the Virtual Wintergarden:

• This may be because your browser settings or plugins are affecting your network activity and preventing you from connecting.
• The easiest fix is to simply open an incognito tab on Chrome.

To open an incognito window:

• Click the the three dots in the top right of Chrome
• Select New incognito window
• Copy your full magic link into the browser bar (it can be found beneath the “Click Here to Enter” button in your email)
• Re-enter the Virtual Wintergarden

If none of that worked, please contact us. We’re here to help: online@aucklandlive.co.nz.

If you’re having trouble enabling access to your webcam:

• Close any other applications or webpages that could be using your mic or camera - like Meet, Teams, Zoom - and reload the page.
• If that doesn't work, try restarting your browser.
• If that doesn't work, try restarting your computer and only open the browser you are using to attend the event.

If you accidentally denied access to the camera, or you want to switch which camera you’re using:

• Locate the Chrome camera icon on the far right of the browser bar 
• Click this to display the dialogue box
• Select the Always Allow option
• Select the camera and mic you want to use (if you have more than one)
• Click done
• Reload the tab

If you can’t get a solution, we’re here to help. Please contact us:  online@aucklandlive.co.nz.

If you’ve entered the Virtual Wintergarden but your video avatar is black:

• This issue may occur while using a VPN. Try switching off your VPN and accessing the Virtual Wintergarden directly.
• If that’s not possible, or you’re not sure how to do that, try switching your computer to using mobile data and see if that makes a difference.
• Finally, browser compatibility issues can affect your feed. Switch to Chrome if you’re not already using it. You can download it here: https://www.google.com/chrome/

If your video avatar is strobing or frozen:

It’s possible that your browser is not handling your video feed properly. If you’re not using Chrome, try switching to that. If you’re on Chrome:

• Make sure any other tabs or applications that might be using your camera are closed
• Restart Chrome
• Copy your full magic link into the browser bar (it can be found beneath the “Click Here to Enter” button in your email)
• Re-enter the Virtual Wintergarden 

Things still not working? We’re here to help. Please contact us:  online@aucklandlive.co.nz.

For best results we suggest that you use headphones when inside the Virtual Wintergarden.

If you’re getting an echo effect:

• If you’re on a laptop, try plugging in a set of headphones so your speaker and microphone are physically separated from each other.
• If two people in the same Virtual Wintergarden room are also in the same room in real life, their audio feeds can cross, creating an echo effect. You can remove this effect for yourself by muting one of them. 

If you’re experiencing distorted sound:

• Try closing your Virtual Wintergarden tab
• Open a new tab
• Copy your full magic link into the browser bar (it can be found beneath the “Click Here to Enter” button in your email)
• Re-enter the Virtual Wintergarden

If you can’t hear any of the other people in the Virtual Wintergarden:

• Check your headphones and speaker volume controls, just in case!

If that doesn’t work:

• Close your Virtual Wintergarden tab
• Open a new tab 
• Copy your full magic link into the browser bar (it can be found beneath the “Click Here to Enter” button in your email)
• Re-enter the Virtual Wintergarden

If no one can hear you:

• Check you haven’t muted yourself - it can happen!

If that’s not the problem:

• Close your Virtual Wintergarden tab
• Open a new tab 
• Copy your full magic link into the browser bar (it can be found beneath the “Click Here to Enter” button in your email)
• Re-enter the Virtual Wintergarden

If you’re still experiencing problems, we’re here to help! Please contact us:  online@aucklandlive.co.nz.

 

If you can’t see or hear the livestream you were expecting:

• You may not see the event you expect because it hasn’t started yet. Double-check the event start time.
• You may also not see the event you expect because you’re in the wrong space. The Virtual Wintergarden has multiple rooms that can host video streaming. Look for any notifications at the top of your screen. When an event is about to start, clicking a notification will normally take you directly to the correct room.

 If time and location are both correct, try the following:

• Close your current tab, open a new one, copy your full magic link into the browser bar (it can be found beneath the “Click Here to Enter” button in your email) and re-enter 
• Restart Chrome, copy your full magic link into the browser bar and re-enter 
• Restart your computer, open Chrome, copy your full magic link into the browser bar and re-enter 

If none of that works we’re here to help! Please contact us:  online@aucklandlive.co.nz.

If your your experience crashes or you get an error message and you’re not sure what it means:

• Make sure any other tabs or applications that might be using your camera are closed
• Restart Chrome
• Copy your full magic link into the browser bar (it can be found beneath the “Click Here to Enter” button in your email)
• Re-enter the Virtual Wintergarden 

If that doesn’t work:

• Restart your computer, open Chrome, copy your full magic link into the browser bar and re-enter 

If nothing is working or you’re not sure where to start, we’re here to help. Please contact us:  online@aucklandlive.co.nz.

You can email online@aucklandlive.co.nz for any further assistance.