Live-to-VOD
Live-to-VOD is turning a live stream into an on-demand video that viewers can watch after the broadcast ends. The streaming service records the stream as it is ingested, closes the recording when the stream stops, and publishes it as a normal on-demand asset with its own playback link, often trimmed or clipped first. Done in the platform rather than by hand, the replay is ready shortly after the event finishes, with no download and re-upload, and keeps the same access rules as the live stream.
How does live-to-VOD work?
While a stream is live, the platform is already writing segments for every rendition of the ladder to storage so the CDN can serve them. Live-to-VOD keeps those segments instead of discarding them once they fall out of the live window. In HLS terms, the live playlist that grows as segments arrive becomes a complete playlist when the stream ends, closed with an EXT-X-ENDLIST tag so players treat it as on-demand and let viewers seek anywhere.
Some platforms publish that recording directly. Others re-process it into a fresh on-demand asset, which can tidy segment boundaries, add renditions or apply the platform's VOD encoding. Either way the result is a normal asset with an ID and a playback link. Trimming removes the pre-show slate and the tail after the presenter signs off, and clips can be cut from the recording for highlights.
Live-to-VOD vs. recording in the encoder
Recording in the encoder means OBS, vMix or a hardware box writes a local file while it streams. That file is often higher quality than the stream, which makes it useful for editing. But it has to be copied off the machine, uploaded and encoded again before anyone can watch, which can take hours for a long event. If the encoder crashes or the disk fills, the recording is gone.
Platform live-to-VOD records what was actually delivered, in the cloud, at every rendition already encoded. There is nothing to upload and no second encode before the replay plays, and an encoder crash affects the stream but not what has already been recorded. Many productions do both: the platform recording for a fast replay, and a local master for a later edited version. A paid class replay wants speed; a documentary cut wants the master.
Live DVR vs. live-to-VOD
Live DVR and live-to-VOD both rely on keeping recorded segments, but they serve different moments. DVR works during the broadcast. It gives the player a window of recent segments so a viewer can pause, rewind to a goal they missed or start a late-joined stream from the beginning, then return to the live edge. The stream is still live, the playlist is still growing, and the window may be limited to a set length.
Live-to-VOD starts when the broadcast ends. The recording becomes a finished asset with a fixed duration, available for seeking anywhere, for embedding in a course or catalogue, and for clipping and captioning like any other video. A good setup uses the same recording for both, so the replay is available without a gap and the viewer's experience moves from DVR to on-demand naturally.
What should a live-to-VOD replay keep from the live stream?
The replay should inherit everything the live stream already had. Access rules come first. If the live class was limited to enrolled students with signed playback, the recording must be too; a replay published with a public link leaks exactly what the live stream protected. Premium sports may also need DRM on the replay.
Identity matters next. Keeping the same playback ID, or at least a link between live and VOD assets, lets players switch over without new embed codes and lets analytics follow one piece of content across live and replay. Captions should carry over or be generated for the archive, along with a transcript, so viewers can search a long recording for the ten minutes they need. Chapters help for the same reason. For regulated recordings, where the file is stored can also be a requirement to check before enabling automatic archiving.
How does FastPix handle live-to-VOD?
FastPix uses auto_archive: every broadcast becomes an on-demand asset when it ends, with the same playback ID and the same playback policy. A stream that used signed playback URLs with token expiry keeps them on the recording, and Widevine, FairPlay and PlayReady DRM can protect the replay. Nobody has to download, re-upload or re-embed anything.
During the event, DVR lets viewers pause, rewind and return to the live edge, and highlights can be clipped from the active stream through the API, so a moment can be shared while the event is still on. After it ends, the archived asset behaves like any other on-demand video on FastPix, and FastPix renders a thumbnail from any moment of the recording as the replay's poster. Auto captions and a searchable transcript, with transcription in 50+ languages, make a long recording navigable, and the asset can be clipped further. Video Data reports on both the live sessions and the replay views, so one dashboard shows who watched live and who caught up later. Aadhan publishes vertical news live and on-demand from the same API.
The broadcast itself is billed as live: $0.0324 per ingested minute at any resolution up to 1080p, plus viewing per viewer-minute. Once archived, the replay follows the on-demand model: storage per rendition-minute per month and streaming per minute watched. Auto-record is part of the Growth plan, which includes a $25 monthly usage credit; the free plan includes 30 live minutes with no card.
