# vMix Q&A: put moderated audience questions on air with the Web Browser input

URL: https://www.asktide.com/blog/vmix-audience-questions

Richard Frantzen, founder of AskTide. Updated 2026-11-04.

A good vMix Q&A setup needs three things: a way for the audience to send questions, a moderator who picks the right ones, and a graphic that keys cleanly over your cameras. vMix's Web Browser input handles the graphic with a true alpha channel, so you can skip green screens, Google Sheets data sources and custom title templates.

**Short answer:** For vMix Q&A, add a Web Browser input (Add Input, Web Browser) with a transparent question output URL at 1920×1080, then put that input on an overlay channel. vMix's Web Browser input supports transparent backgrounds and alpha, and a remote moderator puts questions on air from a separate web page.

## Why vMix Q&A usually ends up as a workaround

vMix has excellent tools for social comments, but audience questions from a room or a private stream are a different problem. Search the vMix forums and you find threads such as "vMix Social alternative" and "Remote text entry for Q&A", where users fall back on Google Forms feeding a Google Sheet as a data source, self-hosted HTML forms, or a custom executable ([vMix forum](https://forums.vmix.com/posts/m59351-vmix-social-alternative), [vMix forum](https://forums.vmix.com/posts/t20164-remote-text-entry-for-QandA)). Those setups work, but each one is a small software project, and the moderator usually ends up editing a spreadsheet live.

Mainstream Q&A tools don't fill the gap either. In September 2025, Slido Customer Care said there is "no direct vMix integration", suggested an iFrame, and noted that live data export is manual; the request for an XML or RSS feed went to their wishlist ([Slido community](https://community.slido.com/community-knowledge-archive-255/slido-live-data-as-xml-6560), checked November 2026).

## vMix Social is for social comments, not audience questions

vMix Social is included with vMix and sends Facebook, YouTube Live Chat and IRC data into vMix titles ([vMix Social help](https://cdl.vmix.com/social/help/), checked November 2026). If your questions come from a YouTube chat, it is the native choice and worth using.

Its help pages don't describe a web form or another source for audience questions, though. That matters for internal town halls, council meetings, conferences and hybrid events, where many people are in the room or watching an unlisted stream with no chat at all. For those shows you want an audience page anyone can open from a QR code, plus a moderation queue. The two can coexist: vMix Social for public chat, a Q&A tool for curated questions.

## Does the vMix Web Browser input support transparency?

Yes. vMix's help page states that "the Web Browser input in vMix supports transparent backgrounds and alpha channel", and that for your own page you should leave the background colour of the body element unspecified ([vMix Web Browser help](https://sd4.vmix.com/help/WebBrowser.html), checked November 2026). In other words, a page built as a graphic keys over your cameras with clean, anti-aliased edges and no chroma key.

AskTide's outputs are built that way: every output is 1920×1080 with a transparent background. The Display output shows the question on air, polls, name tags and the QR code. The Flow grid shows a scrolling wall of questions from one column. Live text shows one full-screen message typed live.

> Use the output URLs in vMix, never the manage page or the audience page. Those are full web pages with solid backgrounds and will cover your whole program.

## Set up audience questions in vMix, step by step

1. **Create a session and copy the Display URL.** Create a free session at asktide.com. In the manage view, click Share and copy the Display view link, which looks like https://www.asktide.com/display/SESSION-ID.
2. **Add a Web Browser input.** In vMix, click Add Input and choose Web Browser. Paste the full URL into the URL field.
3. **Set the size to match your output.** Set Width 1920 and Height 1080 for a 1080p production. vMix notes that if the size is smaller than the vMix output size, the page is displayed centred at the reduced size, which would shift every graphic position.
4. **Do not add a background in custom CSS.** vMix can apply custom CSS on page load (browser version V115 or higher). You don't need it here. Adding a body background colour would destroy the transparency.
5. **Rename the input.** Give it a clear name such as Q&A Display, so it is obvious in shortcuts, multiview and when a colleague takes over.
6. **Put it on an overlay channel.** Click one of the numbered overlay buttons (1 to 4) on the input. Left-click puts it over the current program; clicking again takes it off with the transition in reverse. Right-click sends it to Preview first, and a previewed overlay goes to Output on the next transition.
7. **Test the full path.** Send a question from your phone via the audience link, move it to On Air in the manage view and check it appears over your camera in vMix. Move it to Done to clear it.

Because only one question is on air at a time and the output is transparent when nothing is on air, you can leave the Display input on its overlay channel for the entire show. The moderator then controls what appears, and the vMix operator doesn't have to touch it.

## Overlay channels and inputs: a sensible vMix layout

| vMix input | AskTide output | How to use it |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Overlay 1 (always on) | Display | Questions, name tags, polls and QR code over every shot |
| Regular input | Flow grid, solid background | A full-screen question wall you cut to during a Q&A segment |
| Overlay 2 (on cue) | Flow grid, transparent | Questions scrolling over a background video or wide shot |
| Regular or overlay input | Live text | Break slides, "We'll be right back", technical messages |

Keep logo bugs and clocks on a higher overlay number than the Display if you want them to stay on top. The flow grid is built to be light on the machine because it renders each question once, so running it alongside several camera inputs is fine on a normal production PC.

## Remote question entry and a remote moderator

The usual vMix Q&A pain point is the person in the middle: someone has to read every question, fix typos and decide what is on air, and that person is rarely the vMix operator. With AskTide, that person can be anywhere.

In the Share menu, choose Copy link and password and send both to your moderator. The moderator link is password protected and shows only the questions: they can edit a question, shortlist it to Selected, move it between columns and put it on air, but they can't see settings or outputs. Updates reach the vMix Web Browser input over a live socket connection within a fraction of a second.

A workflow that holds up on long shows:

- Audience submits via QR code or link, no app or account, name optional. Questions can be in any language, and the audience page switches to Swedish for Swedish browsers.
- Moderator triages New, merges duplicates by editing one and moving the others to Done, and builds a shortlist in Selected.
- Producer and host agree the next question on talkback; the moderator clicks On Air on cue. Putting a new question on air sends the previous one back to Selected automatically.
- When the answer is finished, the moderator moves it to Done so the screen clears.
- The operator can also add questions manually, for example ones sent by email before the show.

There is no audience upvoting in AskTide. That is a deliberate choice for broadcast: an editor picks what goes on air, so a coordinated group can't push a question to the top. More on roles in [how to moderate a live Q&A](https://www.asktide.com/blog/how-to-moderate-a-live-qa).

## Troubleshooting the vMix web browser input

- Nothing shows: an empty Display output is transparent by design. Put a test question on air before you change anything.
- Whole screen is covered: you pasted the manage or audience URL instead of an output URL.
- Graphic is small and centred: Width and Height are below your output size. Set 1920×1080.
- Solid background appears: check you haven't added custom CSS with a body background, and that you are using the output URL.
- Need to reload or change the page: right-click the input for navigation, or change the URL in the input's Properties window.
- Text looks small on the stream: increase the font size in the AskTide editor rather than zooming the input, so text stays sharp.
- Audio: the Web Browser input supports audio and appears in the mixer like any source. The question outputs are graphics, so mute it to keep the mixer clean.

## Styling the questions for vMix productions

Pick a layout per segment: lower third for interviews, card for panel wide shots, ticker for long sessions, minimal for a clean text-with-shadow look, or full screen for a dedicated Q&A block. There are nine screen positions, plus width, font size, corner radius, shadow, background opacity, an optional label such as Question, an optional submitter name and an entrance animation (fade, slide, scale or none). A saved theme with your brand colours and font restyles every graphic in the session at once.

For lower thirds and speaker names on the same Display input, see [free lower thirds and name tags](https://www.asktide.com/blog/free-lower-thirds-name-tags-obs). The OBS version of this guide is [how to show audience questions on screen in OBS](https://www.asktide.com/blog/show-audience-questions-on-screen-obs), and our [vMix guide](https://www.asktide.com/guides/vmix) covers the basics in one page.

## Frequently asked questions

### How do I show audience questions in vMix?

Add a Web Browser input with a transparent question output URL at 1920×1080 and place it on an overlay channel. A moderator then puts questions on air from a web page and vMix shows them live.

### Does the vMix Web Browser input support transparency?

Yes. vMix's help says the Web Browser input supports transparent backgrounds and alpha channel, as long as the page leaves the body background colour unspecified.

### Is there a Slido vMix integration?

Not a direct one, according to Slido Customer Care in September 2025, who suggested an iFrame and said live data export is manual. Check Slido's current documentation, as this may change.

### Can vMix Social show audience questions?

vMix Social brings Facebook, YouTube Live Chat and IRC comments into vMix titles. Its help doesn't describe a web form for audience questions, so for in-room or private-stream questions you need a separate Q&A tool.

### Can someone moderate vMix questions remotely?

Yes. AskTide's password-protected moderator link lets a remote person edit, shortlist and put questions on air, and the change reaches the vMix input within a fraction of a second.

### Is AskTide free for vMix?

Yes, AskTide is free during the beta with unlimited sessions and all features. vMix itself is licensed separately by vMix.