Hybrid conference live streaming — the ING plain language conference
We have produced the ING Bank Śląski plain language conference since 2021. Four editions, every one of them from an OB van. Six cameras, a remote speaker and a sign language interpreter on screen.
A conference about clear communication cannot be hard to follow
ING Bank Śląski has been simplifying its own communication since 2014. Once a year it invites everyone doing the same work in public offices, hospitals, newsrooms and companies. We have produced the event since 2021. That makes four editions. The most recent one was called "The Magic of Plain Language" and took place at the Kosmos cinema in Katowice.
The conference is hybrid. That means two audiences at once. In the room, people see the whole stage and decide for themselves where to look. Online, they see only what the vision mixer picks. One shot held too long or one unreadable slide, and the viewer leaves.
Then there is the subject itself. It is hard to stand behind an event about plain language with a broadcast where slides are illegible. Or where questions from the floor cannot be heard. Or where deaf and mute viewers have no way in. Accessibility is not an add-on here. It is the content.
The multiviewer inside the van: every camera, the replays and the programme feed on one wall.
How we do it
The OB van pulls up to the building and the gallery is ready
A van instead of a temporary gallery
The gallery, talkback, recording and backup all travel inside. The room stays for guests rather than for our equipment. Two of our vans parked outside the Kosmos cinema.
Six camera sources
Four studio cameras on tripods and two PTZ heads. Add separate inputs for the presentation, the teleprompter and graphics. The director sees all of it on one wall.
A remote speaker like any other
Karol Wójcicki joined from inside the Arctic Circle. His feed entered the mixer like an ordinary camera, with its own preview and return, not as a window glued to the side of the frame.
Replays and recording in one place
The EVS server lets us return to a moment of a talk while the event is still running. Afterwards it hands over a finished recording, with no separate ingest session.
A backup connection
The main link is doubled with an LTE modem. We measure throughput before going live. We test the switchover beforehand, not during the broadcast.
One feed for everyone
The programme feed goes to the event channel. Online viewers get exactly what the room gets: the speaker, the slide and the sign language interpreter.
Accessibility
The sign language interpreter stays on screen the whole time
The Polish Sign Language interpreter enters the production as a separate, permanent camera source. Not as a recording added afterwards. Not as a window that disappears whenever the shot changes. An online viewer always sees the speaker and the interpreter at the same time.
At the Kosmos edition, Renata Świderska-Noworyta spoke about the culture and language of deaf and mute people. It would be a strange broadcast that excluded the very people it was about. The same thinking applies to the rest of the picture. A slide has to be readable on a phone. A speaker's name belongs on a lower third, not only in the introduction.
The European Accessibility Act
This is Directive (EU) 2019/882. Poland implemented it with the act of 26 April 2024 on accessibility requirements for certain products and services. It has applied since 28 June 2025.
One of its pillars is understandability. Information about a product or service must be given in language an average recipient can follow. Level B2 is the recommended benchmark.
The plain language standard
The rules were collected by the Polish digital accessibility service at gov.pl. Write sentences of 15–20 words. Start with the most important information. Address the reader directly. Use headings and lists instead of walls of text.
You can measure text difficulty with the Logios and Jasnopis tools. Plain Polish certificates are issued by the Plain Polish Lab at the University of Wrocław. ING holds three.
Recordings
The two most recent editions
27 November 2025
The Magic of Plain Language - 7th conference
Kosmos cinema, Katowice · 3:15:51
27 November 2024
6th conference - produced from the OB van
ING headquarters, Katowice · 4:03:42
Photos
From the conference floor
Equipment
What works on this conference
OB vanOB VAN Unit 10; two vans at the Kosmos
4K studio camerasOn tripods, with Fujinon lenses
PTZ camerasTwo remotely operated positions in the room
EVS serverReplays during the event, recording after it
RTS talkbackDirector to cameras and to the stage
Teleprompter and graphicsSeparate inputs for lower thirds and slides
Remote speaker inputWith preview and return feed for the guest
LTE backup linkThroughput measured before going live
A conference about clear communication cannot be hard to follow. That was the only production brief we needed.
Onestream — production of the ING plain language conference
Outcome
What is left after the event
4 editionsof the conference produced since 2021
6 sourcesof picture in a single programme feed
1 feedthe same picture for the room and for online viewers
For context, some numbers from the client's side. They show the scale of the subject. ING reports more than 3,500 simplified communications. An account agreement reads 58% faster after the rewrite. Over 100,000 texts have gone through its Prostomat tool. That is the bank's achievement, not ours. Our job is to make it possible to tell that story live.
FAQ
Common questions about hybrid conference live streaming
How many cameras does a hybrid conference need?
At the ING conference we work with six. Four studio cameras stand on tripods and two are operated remotely. That gives us a wide shot of the room, the speaker, a detail and a side angle at the same time. Nobody moves equipment during the event.
Can a speaker present remotely?
Yes. Karol Wójcicki joined from inside the Arctic Circle. His picture went to air like any other source, with preview and return feed. For an online viewer it is no different from a talk given on stage.
How does an OB van differ from a temporary control room?
The van arrives with the gallery, talkback, recording and spare equipment already built in. We do not take up the room with technical positions. We only set up cameras and cabling. On long events that also means a crew that can work properly.
Can the broadcast include a sign language interpreter?
Yes. The interpreter enters the production as a separate camera source. They stay in frame permanently, whatever shot is on air at the time. It has to be planned before the event, because it needs space, lighting and a monitor for the interpreter.
What happens if the connection drops during a live broadcast?
The main link is doubled with an LTE modem. We measure throughput on both paths before the start. We test the switchover in advance, not mid-broadcast. We also record locally, so an internet outage never means losing the material.
Do we get the recording after the event?
Yes. We record in parallel with the live stream. The full recording is ready as soon as the conference ends. What happens to it next is the organiser's decision.
Does the European Accessibility Act apply to live streams?
If the stream is part of a service covered by the act of 26 April 2024, then yes. The rules have applied since 28 June 2025. That is why we plan captions, a sign language interpreter and legible graphics together with the running order rather than bolting them on afterwards. The exact scope is worth confirming with the organiser's own legal counsel.
Planning a hybrid conference?
Tell us how many stages and speakers there are and whether anyone joins remotely. We will send back a quote with a specific crew.
