How the Media Tray Works
The Media Tray lets you upload and present videos, slides, documents, images, and screen shares during your event.
Anyone with access to the Media Tray can see the available media, but what they can control depends on their role:
Hosts can upload, present, and control any media in the Media Tray, including files uploaded by speakers or other participants.
Speakers can upload, present, and control only the files they uploaded themselves.
If the host enables media sharing for on-stage participants, attendees on stage can also upload and present their own media.
Only one piece of media can be presented on stage at a time, but you can keep other media ready in the background, or in progress, and switch between them without losing your place.
For example:
Present a slide deck and advance to slide 5.
Switch to a video 1.
Switch back to the slides, and they'll resume on slide 5.
Return to the video later, and it will continue from where it was paused.
Crowdcast supports MP4 videos, PDFs, PowerPoint presentations, Word documents, and images. For the best results, we recommend uploading presentations as PDFs, as they typically preserve formatting more reliably than PowerPoint files.
Opening the Media Tray
Click the Media button in the bottom toolbar to open the Media Tray.
From here, you can:
Start/stop presenting media
Add slides and files
Add a URL and play a video (Wistia, Vimeo)
Start a screen share
Uploading Media
To upload media:
Open the Media Tray.
Click upload slides & files
Select a supported file from your computer.
Uploaded media remains available throughout your event, so you can present it whenever you need.
Presenting from the Media Tray
To present media:
Open the Media Tray.
Select the media you want to share.
Click Maximize.
The selected media will appear on stage for everyone watching your event.
To stop presenting, click Minimize.
Sharing Permissions
Hosts control who can upload and present media.
Hosts and speakers
By default:
Hosts can upload and present any media.
Anyone assigned the role of Speaker can upload, present and control their own media only.
Anyone on stage
If enabled by the host:
Anyone on stage can upload and present their own media, including Attendees.
Hosts continue to have full control over all media in the Media Tray.
Supported File Types
Crowdcast supports:
MP4 videos
PDF documents
PowerPoint presentations (.ppt, .pptx)
Microsoft Word documents (.doc)
Images (PNG, JPG, JPEG)
For presentations, PDFs generally provide the most consistent results.
Presentation Tips
For the smoothest presentation experience:
Upload your files before going live whenever possible. This gives you time to confirm everything looks correct.
Use PDFs instead of PowerPoint files for the most consistent formatting across devices.
Keep your media ready. You can upload multiple presentations, videos, and images to the Media Tray before or during your event, then switch between them as needed.
Only one media item can be displayed on Stage at a time. When you switch back to previously displayed media, it resumes where you left off (for example, returning to the same slide or video timestamp).
If you're sharing a video with sound or performing live music, use Music Mode for the best audio quality.
Test screen sharing before your event to ensure your browser has the correct permissions.
Host tip: The Media section in Studio is only visible to hosts. Speakers, crew members, and moderators cannot see or manage the host's uploaded media.
Related Guides
Looking for more information? These guides cover the most common presentation workflows:
Managing Stage layouts, Gallery, and participant Tiles – Learn how to control what your audience sees on Stage.
Screen sharing during an event – Share your screen, choose the correct window, and stop sharing.
How Music Mode works – Improve audio quality when sharing music or video with sound.
Allow screen sharing for your browser – Troubleshoot browser permissions if screen sharing isn't working.
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