Hosts who can use a laptop and a web browser, but who do not consider themselves "tech people." If you have ever plugged a laptop into a TV at a friend's house, you already have all the technical skill you need. We will explain the rest.
The Big Picture: How a Brainflood Night Works
Before we get into cables and clicks, here is the whole show in one paragraph: You sit at a laptop. The crowd looks at a TV. Your laptop is your control panel. That is where you advance questions, reveal answers, mark scores, and run the night. The TV (or projector, or any second screen) shows the public-facing version of the game. The question on screen, the timer counting down, the leaderboard between rounds. That second screen is what we call the Venue Display.
Everything else in this guide. HDMI cables, splitters, monitors. Is just the plumbing that connects those two screens. Once you understand that the Venue Display is its own separate browser tab that you can move to any second screen, the rest is just plug-and-play.
What is the Venue Display?
The Venue Display is a special view inside Brainflood that shows your current event the way a TV game show audience would see it. Big bold question text. A live countdown timer. The current scores. Animations on answer reveal. No host controls, no edit buttons, no admin clutter. Just the show.
Technically, it is just another web page. It opens in your browser at a URL like:
https://app.brainflood.com/display/ABC12
That five-character code at the end is your game's join code. The same one your players use to join. The display URL is public on purpose, because the whole point is to show it to a room full of people. Anyone with the URL can watch the show, but they cannot interact with it. That is the host's job.
You will use the Venue Display in one of two ways:
- Same laptop, second screen. You drag the display browser window onto a TV that is plugged into your laptop via HDMI. Your laptop screen still shows the host control panel. The audience just sees the display window on the TV.
- Second device. You open the display URL on a tablet, a Chromebook, a smart TV's built-in browser, or any other device that has a web browser. It joins the live game just like a player would, but in display-only mode.
Most hosts use option 1 because it is simpler. One device, one trip from the car. We will walk through that as the main flow.
Step 1: Before You Leave Home
The biggest cause of on-site stress is showing up unprepared. Five minutes at home saves you forty-five minutes at the venue. Run this checklist:
- Build the event in advance. Log into Brainflood, open the Event Builder or Game Designer, and put together your rounds, questions, and any extras like polls or slideshows the night before. Do not build the show in front of an arriving crowd.
- Charge everything. Laptop. Wireless mic. Phone. Backup tablet if you have one. A dead battery thirty minutes in is a story you will tell forever. But you do not want to be the one telling it.
- Pack the cable bag. HDMI cable (15–25 feet is the sweet spot), HDMI adapter for your laptop (USB-C, Mini DisplayPort, whatever your laptop uses), a power strip, your laptop charger, and a backup phone hotspot in case venue WiFi flakes out.
- Test the event one time. Open Brainflood, click into your event, hit "preview" or run through the first round on your couch. Catch broken images, missing audio, or typos before the room is watching.
If your laptop only has USB-C ports, you need a USB-C-to-HDMI adapter. If it only has Mini DisplayPort, you need that adapter. Modern MacBooks, most thin Windows laptops, and Chromebooks usually need some kind of adapter. Buy two, keep one in your bag and one in your car. They are $15 and they save shows.
Step 2: At the Venue, Before the Crowd
Aim to arrive 30–45 minutes before showtime. Here is the order of operations:
2a. Pick your spot
Find a table or counter with a power outlet nearby and a clear line of sight to the venue's TV. You want to be able to see the TV from your laptop, so you can confirm what the room is seeing. Set up your laptop, plug in your charger, and put your wireless mic and any cables within arm's reach. Tape down any cable that crosses a walking path. Gaffer tape, not duct tape, because gaffer tape comes up cleanly.
2b. Get on WiFi
Brainflood needs an internet connection. Ask the venue for the WiFi password and connect your laptop. If the venue WiFi is weak or flaky, switch to your phone's hotspot. That is what the hotspot is there for. Run a quick speed test (search "speed test" in Google, click the button) just to confirm you have enough bandwidth. Anything above 10 Mbps download is plenty for trivia. Karaoke video streaming likes 25+ Mbps.
2c. Boot your laptop and log in
Wake the laptop. Open your browser. Go to app.brainflood.com and log in with your host account. You should land on your Host Dashboard.
2d. Open your event
From the dashboard, click into the event you built earlier. You will see your event's control panel with rounds, players, and a big "Start" or "Launch" button. Do not start it yet. We still need to wire up the screens.
Step 3: Plug Into the Venue's TV
This is the part that intimidates people, but it is genuinely just two cables and one menu setting. Here is the whole thing:
3a. Run the HDMI cable
Take your HDMI cable, plug one end into the back of the venue's TV in any free HDMI port (HDMI 1, HDMI 2, etc.. Note which one), and run the other end back to your laptop. Plug it into your USB-C-to-HDMI adapter (or directly into the laptop if you have a built-in HDMI port).
If the cable will run across the floor where people walk, lay gaffer tape across it every couple of feet. A tripped cable yanks your laptop off the table.
3b. Switch the TV to the right input
Grab the venue's TV remote. Hit the "Input" or "Source" button. Cycle through inputs until you find the one labeled HDMI 1, HDMI 2, or whatever port you plugged into. When you see your laptop's desktop appear on the TV, you are done with the TV.
Many venues have lost or hidden the TV remote. Try the buttons on the back or side of the TV. There is usually a power button and an input/source button. If you cannot change the input at all, ask the venue manager. Sometimes their cable box is hard-wired to one HDMI port and you have to use a different one. Worst case, this is when bringing your own TV (covered below) saves the night.
3c. Tell your laptop to use the TV as a second screen
By default, your laptop will mirror its screen onto the TV. Meaning the TV shows exactly the same thing your laptop shows. That is fine in a pinch, but the better setup is to extend the display, so your laptop screen and the TV are two separate workspaces. The host control panel stays private on your laptop, and the audience-facing display lives on the TV.
Quick how-to:
- On a Mac: System Settings → Displays. You will see two rectangles representing your screens. Make sure "Mirror Displays" is unchecked. Drag the rectangles to match how the TV is physically positioned (usually to the right of your laptop).
- On Windows: Press
Windows + P. A panel slides in from the right with four options. Choose Extend. - On a Chromebook: Settings → Device → Displays → uncheck "Mirror Built-in Display."
3d. Open the Venue Display and drag it to the TV
Back in Brainflood, on your event's host control panel, click the Venue Display button (you might also see it labeled "Open Display" or "Public Display"). A new browser window or tab opens with the public-facing view.
If the Venue Display opened on your laptop screen, click and hold the title bar of that browser window and drag it to the right (or whichever direction the TV is) until it slides off your laptop screen and appears on the TV. Once it is on the TV, double-click the title bar (or press F11 on Windows / Ctrl+Cmd+F on Mac) to make it fullscreen. Now the TV is showing only the game. No browser address bar, no taskbar, just the show.
3e. Test the audio
If your event uses audio (music questions, sound effects, karaoke tracks), the audio will play out of whatever speaker your laptop is sending sound to. Two options:
- Audio through the TV: When you connect HDMI, the TV usually becomes your default audio output. The sound comes out of the TV speakers. Easiest path, often loud enough.
- Audio through your own PA: If you brought a Bluetooth speaker or a powered PA, connect it to your laptop separately (3.5mm cable or Bluetooth). In your laptop's sound settings, set that speaker as the output. The TV stays silent and your speaker handles all the audio.
Play a test sound. Anything, even a YouTube clip. And walk to the back of the room. Can you hear it cleanly? Adjust volume now while no one is watching.
Plan B: Bring Your Own TV
What if the venue does not have a usable TV, or their TV is on the other side of the room and HDMI will not reach? This is when bringing your own display saves the night.
The setup is simple:
- A 32"–55" TV on a portable rolling floor stand. Used flat-screen TVs are cheap on Facebook Marketplace ($75–$200), and rolling stands are $80–$150 new. Total investment: under $400 for a setup that makes you look like a production company.
- A power extension cord for the TV. The venue may not have an outlet right where you set up.
- The same HDMI cable and adapter you would use for a venue TV.
You wheel the TV in, position it where the room can see it, plug it into the wall, plug HDMI from your laptop into the TV, switch the TV input, and you are running. Same flow as the venue's TV, just with hardware you control end-to-end.
Bringing your own TV unlocks venues that would otherwise be impossible. Outdoor patios, breweries with no built-in displays, private parties at houses, corporate events in conference rooms. Those gigs pay more and have less competition. The TV pays for itself in 2–3 shows you would not otherwise have booked.
The Karaoke Power Move: HDMI Splitters
Here is a setup that takes karaoke from "fine" to "real production." The problem: when a singer is on stage, they need to see the lyrics, but the lyrics monitor in front of them is also what the whole room is watching. If you put the singer's monitor right at the back of the room with the crowd, the singer is squinting from across the room. If you put it at the front, the singer's back is to half the audience.
The fix: an HDMI splitter.
What an HDMI splitter is
An HDMI splitter is a small box with one HDMI input and two (or more) HDMI outputs. You plug your laptop into the input, and it sends the exact same signal out to multiple TVs simultaneously. They are not expensive. A 1-in-2-out splitter runs $20–$40, and a 1-in-4-out is $40–$60. Brand-wise, look for "active" splitters (they need a power cable) rather than passive ones. Active splitters handle longer cable runs and modern HDMI signal types reliably.
How to wire it for karaoke
The wiring goes like this:
- Laptop (your control panel) → HDMI cable → Splitter input
- Splitter output 1 → long HDMI run → Crowd-facing TV (mounted on the wall or on your stand)
- Splitter output 2 → short HDMI run → Singer's monitor (a small 19"–24" TV or monitor on a low stand right in front of the singing spot)
Both screens show the exact same video. The karaoke video and lyrics. The singer faces the crowd and sees the lyrics on a monitor at their feet. The crowd sees the same lyrics and video on the big TV behind the singer. Nobody is squinting, nobody is turning their back to the room. It looks and feels like a real karaoke setup.
The screen pointed at the singer is sometimes called a "confidence monitor" because it lets the performer see what is happening without breaking from the audience. Even a cheap 22" computer monitor with an HDMI input works perfectly. Total added cost: about $80–$120 used. Total added professionalism: significant.
Splitters work for trivia too
If a venue has TVs in multiple parts of the room (one over the bar, one in the back corner, one above the booths), an HDMI splitter lets you drive all of them from your single laptop. Run cables from the splitter outputs to each TV. Every screen in the room shows the live game. Big rooms and outdoor patios where the crowd cannot all face one TV. Splitters fix this instantly.
Common Hiccups (and How to Fix Them)
Three things to check, in order: (1) Is the TV on the right input? Hit Source/Input and cycle through. (2) Is the HDMI cable fully seated on both ends? Wiggle it. (3) Is your adapter actually working? Try a different adapter or a different HDMI port on the TV. If you have a backup HDMI cable, swap it in.
Click the volume icon in your system tray (Windows) or menu bar (Mac) and pick the right output device. The TV will be listed by its model name (something like "LG TV" or "Samsung HDMI") when HDMI is connected. Switch to that for TV audio, or back to your laptop / external speaker for those.
Turn on your phone's hotspot, connect your laptop to it, and keep going. Brainflood will reconnect automatically. The audience will not notice. Even if your stream pauses for ten seconds, just keep talking and they will think it is part of the show.
You probably have your displays in mirror mode. Switch to Extend (Windows: Win + P → Extend; Mac: System Settings → Displays → uncheck Mirror). Then drag the browser window from your laptop screen toward the TV's edge until it slides over.
Most TVs have a "Game Mode" or "PC Mode" picture setting that turns off motion smoothing and color processing. It will look snappier and more accurate. Worth a one-time tweak when you first arrive at a recurring venue.
Step 4: Wrapping Up the Night
The show ended, the crowd is happy, you got tipped well. Last steps:
- End the event in Brainflood. Click the "End Game" or "Finalize" button on your host control panel. This locks in the scores, saves the leaderboard, and closes the live session. If players are members, they get their final standings in their account.
- Take a photo of the final leaderboard on the TV. Post it to your social media tomorrow. This is free marketing. It reminds last week's players that next week is coming, and it builds your reputation.
- Tear down in reverse order. Unplug HDMI from the TV first (so the TV's "no signal" screen does not flash through the room). Then disconnect at your laptop, put the cable back in your bag, switch the TV input back to whatever it was on (usually the venue's regular cable channel), wind up your power strip, and pack out.
- Settle up with the venue. Confirm payment if it has not happened yet, lock in next week's date, and thank the staff. Tip your bartender. They pour for you, you tip them.
Quick Reference: The Five-Minute Setup
Once you have done this a few times, the whole technical setup takes about five minutes. Here is the sequence in shorthand, perfect for printing out and keeping in your gear bag:
- Set up table, plug in laptop charger, lay out cables.
- Connect to venue WiFi (or fire up phone hotspot).
- Open browser → app.brainflood.com → log in.
- Click into your event.
- Run HDMI cable from laptop adapter to venue TV. Tape down any walked-over cable.
- TV remote: switch to the right HDMI input.
- Set displays to Extend mode (not Mirror).
- Click "Venue Display" in Brainflood, drag the new window to the TV, hit fullscreen.
- Test audio. Adjust volume from the back of the room.
- Mic check, deep breath, hit Start.
The Bottom Line
Running a live Brainflood event is way less technical than it looks the first time you stare at a tangle of cables. The Venue Display is just a web page. HDMI is just a cable. A splitter is just a Y-shaped cable. Once you have done a single setup end-to-end, every show after that is muscle memory.
The crowd does not see your wiring or your dongles. They see a polished show with crisp questions on a big screen and a host who looks calm and in control. That is the result of doing this checklist once and then trusting it forever.
The best hosts are the ones who have already solved every technical problem before the first guest walks in. Be that host.