My composition monitor died mid-stream during a live showcase

I was doing a live digital art showcase on Twitch last Saturday, about 40 minutes in, and my main color-calibrated monitor just flickered and went black. The whole stream was showing my art process with a secondary screen, so viewers saw me freeze up and panic for a good 30 seconds. I had to quickly swap my inputs, reroute the OBS display, and explain I was having hardware issues while my heart was pounding. After the stream ended, I found out the monitor's power board had failed, and a replacement board cost me 45 bucks on eBay. Has anyone else had a critical gear failure during a showcase and had to improvise on the fly?

2 comments

2 Comments

hernandez.morgan16d ago

Why didn't you just have a backup monitor ready for a live stream?

blairj5516d ago

Just have a backup ready" sounds simple but it's not always that easy. Monitors aren't cheap and tying up gear you might never use is a waste for small setups. Plus you need the same video sources routed twice, which means extra switchers and cables. Sometimes you just run what you got and hope for the best.