Watch, chat and vote on one page

When the show and its audience controls live in separate places, listeners have to switch apps on a phone or manage two tabs on a laptop. Only one stays visible, and the one left off screen tends to stop being used within a few minutes. The stream keeps playing while the interest slider, chat or poll waits somewhere else, even though each belongs to the same live conversation.

The embedded experience keeps your YouTube video, live chat and interest slider on the listener page. Watching and rating happen together, with no tab change between them. The audience can follow the broadcast, read the current conversation and respond to the show from one continuous view.

Connect your channel once

Setup happens once in Settings. Connect your channel using a URL such as youtube.com/@yourchannel, a bare handle or a channel ID. Because HeatCheck stores the channel, not one broadcast, it keeps working for every show without a weekly reconnection or new link. The saved connection follows the channel from one broadcast to the next; your per-show choices remain on the dashboard.

Two dashboard switches decide what appears in each show: one controls video and the other controls chat. Use either one on its own or enable both, depending on the format. You can also change either switch while the show is live, without reconnecting the channel.

• Video and chat. A complete second-screen experience for a show the audience is actively watching. The picture, conversation and audience controls remain together.
• Chat only. A useful fit for audio-first shows. Listeners avoid a static video of the conversation while keeping the audience chat next to the slider. They can listen elsewhere and still use the same page for discussion and feedback.

A stable place in the layout

The public page follows a fixed priority order: live video, live chat, interest gauge, sponsor spotlight, roll call, listener suggestions and poll. Enabling video or chat puts it in the reserved position at the top while every other block keeps its relative order below. A sponsor spotlight still precedes roll call; suggestions still precede the poll. Turning media on adds it where expected instead of reshuffling the remaining audience tools.

On a wide screen, chat sits beside the video in a familiar streaming layout. On a phone, it moves directly below the video and remains above every other block, where listeners can reach it without passing the rest of the page first. The order stays video, then chat, before the interest gauge on both screen sizes; only the side-by-side arrangement changes.

YouTube embedded, other platforms alongside

YouTube is the only supported embedded source. HeatCheck connects a YouTube channel and displays YouTube chat. For Twitch or another platform, HeatCheck works alongside the stream. Your audience opens the page in a second tab, while the stream overlay is what brings HeatCheck onto the broadcast. There is no Twitch video or chat embed presented as a supported connection.

Most non-YouTube streamers use that combination. The overlay shows the meter, poll and roll call to everyone watching the broadcast; the HeatCheck page remains where people vote. It requires no embedded video or chat.

Make the audience page the viewing page

Without an embed, listeners may open the audience page and leave it in the background. With the stream present, the page is where the show is. This raises how many people vote, how many check in to roll call and how many answer a poll, because each action is available without leaving the video.

Tell the audience that your page carries the stream. Anyone who already has the video open elsewhere may keep using that tab out of habit unless you mention the version with the audience controls attached. One clear announcement gives them the choice to move watching, chat and feedback into the same place.