Host guide — player screen, screen sleep, password and room storage
Whoever creates the room is the host. Guests only request songs, but the host takes care of the device that makes sound. Learn it once and you will rarely have to touch it again.
Only the host opens the player screen
The host opens the player screen from the room. Guests cannot, because if several devices played at once the queue would drain several times too fast.
Open it on something easy to connect to speakers, such as a TV or laptop. You can also manage the room from your phone while the laptop makes the sound. The host can skip to the next song and remove songs too.
If autoplay is blocked, tap once
Browsers often block sound on a page the user has not interacted with. If the first song does not start after you open the player screen, tap the screen once. After that, playback continues as songs change.
Open the room and tap once before the event starts, and music is ready when people arrive.
Keeping the screen awake
YouTube inside a web page stops when the screen turns off or you switch apps. So the Jukebox asks the device to keep the screen awake while the player is playing.
Device settings can override that. Turn off power saving, plug in a charger, keep the player tab in front, and do not close a laptop lid.
When to set a password
Anyone who knows the room link can request songs. Among close friends that is fine, but if the link may spread through a group chat or a board, set a password on the room.
The password is chosen when you create the room, and guests enter it after opening the link before they can request. Share the link and the password separately if you like.
How long a room is kept
A room created without signing in is deleted 30 days after its last use. That is plenty for a one-off gathering.
For a room you use often, have the host sign in with Google. The room is then kept for one year after its last use, and signing in with the same account on another device lets you host from there too.
Signing in is optional. We do not receive your name or email from Google, and store only a hash of the account number.
Limits for hosts to know
Videos that block external playback are skipped automatically. If a guest asks why their song did not play, it may be this — ask them to request another upload.
Performance and copyright licensing for commercial spaces is the host’s (operator’s) responsibility to check.
To become a host you need one link and one device that can make sound.
OPNAE Jukebox →