How to Record a Live Stream – Everything You Need to Know in 2022

Live streaming at the professional level requires a lot of hard work and resources. When you’re investing a great deal of time, money, and effort into your live streams, you’re going to want to keep a recording of your live stream for future use.

Whether you want to offer on-demand access to the event after it has taken place or you want a copy of the stream for your archive, recording your live stream is a good idea.

In this post, we’re going to cover everything you need to know about recording your live streams. We will address when and why you might want to create a live stream recording of your event. 

We’ll dive into four different methods to use to record a live stream, including dedicated live stream recording software, an encoder, or an online video platform. To wrap things up, we will cover the most popular methods for monetizing your live stream recording.

Table of Contents

• Why Record Live Streaming Video?
• How to Record Streaming Video
  • Live Recording via Streaming Software 
  • Live Stream Recording via Built-In Screen Capture Tools
  • Live Stream Recording via a Video Platform
  • Live Stream Recording via a Hardware Encoder
• How to Monetize Live Stream Recordings
• Final Thoughts

Why Record Live Streaming Video?

There are several advantages to keeping live stream recordings. Some of the most basic reasons why broadcasters record their live streams include:

• Saving footage for the archive
• Using recordings for promo reels, advertisements, etc.
• Continuing engagement after live events have ended
• Generating revenue via on-demand video

Let’s take a closer look at a few of the other reasons why broadcasters choose to create a recording of their live streams.

Reach Larger Audiences

Perhaps the biggest advantage to a live stream recorder for live and hybrid events is the ability to reach larger audiences. With live events, this tactic becomes especially valuable.

Due to scheduling conflicts and other issues, only a portion of your total potential audience can likely tune in to a given live event in real-time. Given that reality, you can easily double, triple, or quadruple your total views by creating a recording and publishing it after the stream has ended.

Furthermore, recordings allow you to reach people whose internet isn’t fast enough to handle live-streamed events. With proper buffering, download offerings, or even DVD/USB stick-based files, you can expand your reach to almost everyone.

Give Viewers a Second Chance to Watch

Another key reason to capture and publish your live recording online is to give viewers a chance to replay the stream to catch anything they might have missed the first time around.

A viewer may find so much value in a stream that they come back to rewatch your live stream recording again and again. For live sports broadcasts, for example, making live streams accessible after the game or match has ended is particularly beneficial to your biggest fans.

Nourishing relationships with these dedicated followers is important since they are likely to tune in to future streams and live events. True fans can be extremely powerful, and recording your live streams can help you to capitalize on this potential.

Extend Revenue Generation

One popular reason for streaming video content online is to generate revenue. If this is your goal, recording streams for on-demand playback can help you to maximize your profits.

As we noted above, a large portion of views for any given program will likely occur after the live event. However, that’s only possible if you make the content available to your viewers. 

We will discuss more specifics of monetizing your live stream recordings further along in this post.

Promo Reels and Previews

Other great use-cases for previous footage include commercials, promo reels, and demonstrations of your past work. Even if the old footage is worthless in its own right, it can be valuable as “b-roll” or background shots.

During video editing, use footage from previous events to create a montage to illustrate the efforts of your company or organization. A rapid series of cuts showing various events, speakers, gatherings, and other pre-recorded content can communicate a great deal in a short time.

If for no other reason than the possibility of future use, we highly recommend keeping old stream recordings around for the long term.

How to Record Streaming Video

There are several ways to record a live stream. You can do it through an encoder, an online video player, or through a dedicated screen-capture tool. 

Let’s take a look at how to record live streaming videos with each of these methods.

1. Live Stream Recording via Streaming Software

There are a couple of types of software that are used for capturing live stream recordings. The most common two are encoding software and streaming software with dedicated live stream recording tools. Oftentimes, the two are merged into one software.

Software encoders are appealing because of their low cost and ease of operation. They also support future performance enhancements as the software can be upgraded as new features or product versions are released. Streaming software is very similar in nature.

The main difference between the two is that streaming software offers more functionality than just encoding. In fact, many include encoding tools in addition to “studio” tools that are designed for mixing, editing, and adding other elements to live streams. Stream recording is another important function that many offer.

The exact process for stream recording varies from software to software. However, there are some basics to keep in mind.

If you’ve chosen streaming software to record your live stream, you can set up stream recording on your internal or networked drives. However, this approach does require two important components: spare processing power and disk space.

Streaming solutions, in general, require a good deal of processing power. Simultaneously transcoding your stream into a commonly recorded format (e.g., MP4) can tax mid-range computer hardware. A powerful machine should be able to tackle this task. 

Also, video recording takes up a great deal of space. Depending on your encoder, recordings you save directly to local drives will encode in the format the camera sends.

Often, the streaming recording is saved at a much higher video bitrate than the online stream. As a result, you’ll need considerable storage space. For a multi-hour event, that easily amounts to hundreds of gigabytes. In that case, multi-terabyte hard drives may be necessary. Factors affecting this requirement include recording resolution, audio quality, frame rate, and other settings that affect the bitrate.

The exact process for live stream capture will vary from software to software, so we encourage you to look for instructions specific to your chosen video platform.

2. Live Stream Recording via Built-In Screen Capture Tools

Another option for recording live streams is to use the built-in screen capture tools on your computer. Both Mac and Windows offer their own screen recording tools.

Let’s take a look at how live stream recording works on each of these operating systems.

Screen Recording with Mac

Mac’s built-in screen recording tools are very easy to use. Mac users can follow these steps to screen record and capture their live streams:

1. Click “shift” + “command” + “5” to open the recording tool
2. Use the control panel at the bottom to select which part of the stream you want to record
3. Click “Record Entire Screen” or “Record Selected Portion
4. Choose where you want to save the recording under the “Options” menu
5. Click “Capture” to start recording
6. Click “shift” + “command” + “5” again and choose “Stop Recording”

Once you’ve finished recording your stream, you can navigate to your chosen save destination to access the recording. 

Screen Recording with Windows

Screen recording with Windows is also quite easy. Windows users can follow these steps:

1. Click “Win” + “G” to open the recording tool
2. Adjust the settings when prompted if necessary
3. Click “Start Recording”
4. Click the “Record” button to stop recording
5. Click the pop-up window to go to where the file has been saved

If you are having difficulties with this process, make sure that you disable the Game Bar or reinstall the Xbox app.

3. Live Stream Recording via a Video Platform

A live stream recorder via a streaming service is usually as simple as enabling an option in your account settings. You may also need to enable stream recording for the specific live stream/channel that you plan to capture.

There are quite a few advantages of recording live stream video content on a professional live streaming platform. For one, the processing power for transcoding locally isn’t required, nor is the storage space. This approach also means that you don’t have to worry about local disk failures.

The reason for this is that OVPs record to redundant RAID-based servers. You also maintain control and rights to all of your content when you stream with a professional OVP like Dacast. In that sense, it’s a win-win.

Only some video hosting platforms offer live stream recording, so make sure to review all the features for the platform and plan you have before you try to record your live streams.

How to Record Live Streams via Dacast

Now, let’s take look at how to record a stream on, Dacast, a professional online video platform.

With our live stream recording tool, you can easily record live streams and have them automatically uploaded to your on-demand video library.

To use this feature, you’ll need a Dacast account. Once you have your Dacast account set up, turning on the live stream recording feature is easy.

Here’s how to activate the live stream recording feature on Dacast:

1. Log in to your Dacast account 
2. Create a new live streaming channel or edit an existing channel over which you’d like to enable live stream recording
3. Configure your stream settings so that they are compatible with the stream recording feature  (HTML5 channel, H.264 video codec, AAC audio codec, maximum bitrate 3.5 Mbps, and channel status set to “on.”)
4. Click the “Live Stream Recording” slider (under Settings) to toggle it to the “on” position
5. Start streaming

When you configure your settings as such, Dacast will automatically record all of the live streams on the channel that you’ve configured the settings for. You can always disable the live stream recording option if you wish.

Please note that when you record streaming video events, it does count toward your bandwidth usage. Specifically, each recording is equal to one user at your maximum bitrate. Also, individual files must be a maximum of two hours in length. If your stream runs over two hours, our system will divide your stream into multiple parts.

When live stream recording is enabled, your video will be automatically saved in the MP4 format to the “Video On Demand” library on your account. Once recorded, you can share, embed, monetize, and download the content.

To learn more about how to record live stream broadcasts with Dacast, check out this live stream recording tutorial.

Live Stream Recording with Other OVPs

Other streaming platforms, including Livestream and Wowza, also offer live stream recording functionality. Both of these providers also output files in the MP4 format, and files are archived in your account. IBM Cloud Video has similar functionality, as well.

When it comes to live stream recording, however, each platform is a bit different. Some have unique features, and some are easier to use than others. If you are using any of these or another online video platform, check its documentation for specific instructions.

Potential Disadvantages of Recording Streaming Video via an OVP

As with anything, there are disadvantages to this approach as well. The main disadvantage is that your OVP can only record live streams in the highest quality of content you send to the platform.

Since you’re likely significantly compressing your video between the camera and streaming to the internet, you can lose a great deal of quality here. This is especially true for broadcast-quality cameras, which may record at 30+ Mbps. From there, video files must be compressed down to 5 Mbps or less for streaming.

However, these potential drawbacks aren’t unconquerable issues for most broadcasters. Unless you’re worried about doing a lot of video editing in posts, files recorded online should be of sufficient quality for many uses. Even professional broadcasters who are recording locally may want to enable cloud live stream recording. That way, you have an automatic off-site backup in place should issues arise.

4. Live Stream Recording via a Hardware Encoder

Hardware encoders are a bit different from the software encoders we discussed earlier in this post. They are standalone, dedicated devices that do not require a PC to run.

Hardware encoders have specialized internal components and firmware and don’t share resources with any other processors. This high speed comes at a price though as these devices are considerably more expensive than their software counterparts.

With a hardware encoder, live stream recording is a somewhat different process. First, you want to explore your encoder settings to determine if this method is even possible, to begin with.

Some hardware encoders feature internal disk space to which you can save content. Some, like the Matrox Monarch HD, are optimized for this usage. Others may require you to plug in an external hard drive before recording content.

Hardware encoders are also less flexible overall. Some hardware encoders don’t support simultaneous live stream recorders at all.

How to Monetize Live Stream Recordings

As we mentioned, recording your live streams and uploading them as on-demand VOD content can help to extend your revenue generation, both in terms of time and total sales brought in.

Financially speaking, video is a very significant asset. For many businesses and organizations, high-quality prerecorded video content is as good as gold. Simply put, if you manage it properly, you’ll get high returns. Instead of just throwing something out there for viewers, put it to focused and advantageous use.

For example, let’s briefly consider the NBA. If you’re not aware, the NBA now generates the majority of its revenue via live broadcasts on TV. However, it also records all live-streamed content and makes that coverage available to subscribers on-demand.

This expands the NBA’s revenue potential while making true fans very happy. For avid sports fans with busy lives or no cable, live stream recording allows them to watch every game from their favorite teams on their own time.

At Dacast, we offer secure video monetization, which means that both you and your viewers are protected on transactions that take place through our video paywall. All data collected by the paywall system is enforced and protected.

Viewers can purchase content securely by credit card, and all payments processed by the system are SSL encrypted to protect data during transmission.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at some specific methods for monetizing live stream recordings.

1. SVOD

Subscription-based video on demand, or SVOD for short, is the monetization option most viewers are accustomed to. This subscription-based model gives users access to content in exchange for a monthly recurring fee.

Netflix and ESPN+ are two excellent examples of streaming services that use SVOD.

2. AVOD

Advertising-based video on demand, or AVOD for short, gives users free access to content with the stipulation that sponsored ads are part of the experience. YouTube is a perfect example. 

AVOD allows broadcasters to generate revenue without requiring paywalls, ongoing subscriptions, or transactions with viewers.

3. TVOD

Transactional video on demand, or TVOD for short, is another monetization option. This type of monetization is based on users paying to view specific content that is not available elsewhere.

A pay-per-view model such as HBO charging extra for a boxing match or concert broadcast online is TVOD in action. Prime Video and Apple TV also use a version of TVOD.

Which Monetization Method to Use

Ultimately, the video monetization method you use will come down to your specific audience and what sort of content you provide to them. Depending on your monetization strategy, you’ll want to choose an online video platform that offers one or more of these VOD options. 

With Dacast, pay-per-view, advertising, and subscription packages can be set up for all your video content. Our paywall supports transactions in over 140 currencies and purchases can be made through credit card or PayPal transactions. 

You can set up as many pay-per-view monetization prices as you want on your video content. Control rates, promo codes, and viewing windows are also included. Dacast’s integrated payment system will handle all transactions directly in the player for fast and easy access to your video.

Final Thoughts on How to Record Streaming Video

There is a lot of value in recording your online streams for on-demand playback and other uses.  In particular, live stream recordings are great for reaching new audiences, extending engagement, and providing content for your true supporters. Let’s not forget that they can also improve revenue generation.

The live stream recording process differs depending on whether you use a professional OVP, like Dacast, dedicated stream recording software, the tools built into your computer, or an encoder. However, no matter what method you choose, the recording is important.

Luckily, it’s fairly easy to “set it and forget it” so that you’ll have a high-quality recording waiting for you after every broadcast.

If you’d like to try Dacast for free, you can access your 14-day risk-free trial by signing up for a Dacast account today. No credit card is required.

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Are you recording your live streams? We’d love to hear about your experience. We know that many of our readers are experienced live streamers themselves. Drop a note in the chat box below, and we’ll get back to you.