DVR (Digital Video Recording) lets viewers rewind and time-shift while a live event runs. When the event ends, RMS saves the stream as a live archive - a ready-to-play VOD (Video on Demand) recording, available for on-demand playback immediately.
This page explains how the DVR works and how to access the live archive. It also suggests what to do next with the archive.
In this article:
Overview
DVR and the live archive are independent:
DVR is what viewers experience during the event;
live archive is what RMS preserves when it ends.
When a live event runs, the incoming stream is saved to the live event storage. Media segments are served via the locator for both live playback and the DVR window.
When the event stops, RMS finalizes the remaining segments and preserves the asset as the live archive or VOD. The recording is immediately available for on-demand playback through the same streaming locator used during the live event. For the term definitions, see RMS live streaming glossary.
A recording is always produced when an event ends, regardless of the DVR's state - the only exception being no-recording accounts.
DVR
DVR stores recent media segments in the manifest window so viewers can rewind and time-shift during a live event.
The default DVR window is 12 hours, matching the live event maximum duration. You can adjust it under Settings > Service Connections > Live Streaming in the RMS Console.
Disabled DVR
In some configurations, DVR is disabled:
Low latency mode - DVR is turned off by design to minimize delay; see Live streaming low latency best practices.
SRT (Secure Reliable Transport) with ABR (Adaptive Bitrate) encoding over MPEG-DASH - DVR not supported for this specific combination; HLS delivery still supports DVR in this case, see Live streaming compatibility matrix.
Live archive
The live archive is the recording RMS preserves when the event ends. RMS always creates a live archive - the only exception being no-recording accounts.
When the event stops, RMS produces the live archive:
RMS finalizes the recording and writes all remaining segments.
The live output is automatically deleted.
RMS preserves the asset with the recorded content.
The asset becomes available as VOD through the same streaming locator used during the event.
The HLS/DASH manifest and playback URLs become available within seconds of the event stopping. The downloadable MP4 file takes longer to appear - for high-resolution, high-bitrate, or longer streams, allow up to the stream's full duration for the file to finalize.
If the contribution feed drops and reconnects while the event is running, recording resumes automatically once the feed returns. RMS does not capture the gap in the recording. It only captures the media broadcast itself.
Note:
No progress indicator shows finalization status. The MP4 file appears in the asset once finalization completes.
Live archive location
The live archive asset exists in the storage account configured as the default for your RMS account. To change or identify the default storage account, go to Settings > Service Connections > Storage Accounts in the RMS Console.
To find the asset after the event ends:
RMS Console: open the Assets tab; the most recent live archive will be at the top of the list. See RMS Console: Manage live events for navigation instructions.
Azure Portal: open the default storage account used for RMS, navigate to Storage browser > Blob containers, and search by the pattern
asset-{assetId}, e.g.:asset-b2a7d9e4-8f31-4f65-9c2a-17e4b8d5a093. TheassetIdis returned by the Asset - Get endpoint.
Live archive quality
The live archive quality follows your encoding choice:
Passthrough - the archive is the exact stream you sent, at the quality you sent it.
ABR - the live archive is recorded in multiple qualities. The output ladder is determined by the encoding type you selected and the quality of the ingest feed you sent. E.g., if you selected Premium1080p and sent a 480p ingest feed, you will receive three recordings: 480p, 360p, and 240p. If you selected Standard720p and sent a 720p ingest feed (or higher), you will receive four recordings: 720p, 480p, 360p, and 240p.
No-recording account
No-recording accounts are a separate case - DVR rewind is still available during the event, but no live archive is created when it ends.
Ravnur support configures this account type for streams that won't need replay, so RMS does not allocate memory for recordings. On a no-recording account, the stream is delivered live only. An asset is still created for the event, but no content is written to it.
Working with live archive
A live archive is a standard VOD asset, already published - it has a streaming locator and manifest in place, so it plays immediately. From here, you can process and interact with it like any other media:
Replay streams viewers missed live - the recording is stored in the connected storage account and ready to watch.
Get instant live-to-VOD - the same locator used for live event streaming serves the recording right away, with no re-processing.
Create highlights - because the recording is a standard asset, you can use it as a source for trimming and stitching: pick moments from the recording timeline and combine them into a single clip. See RMS API: Media stitching.
Keep private streams protected - apply AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) or DRM (Digital Rights Management) encryption to the recording.