Record a live stream while it plays
How ClipHearth recognises a live broadcast on a page, what Record live does with it, and where the recording starts and ends.
01Live streams you may keep
Your own broadcast, kept in full quality on your computer; a conference talk, a lecture, or a public meeting whose organiser allows recording. ClipHearth does not get around DRM, so protected streams are not supported.
02How a live stream reaches your screen
A live broadcast on a web page is rarely one file. The player loads a playlist (HLS) or a manifest (DASH) listing short pieces of video a few seconds long, and keeps asking for it again as new pieces are published. A finished broadcast uses the same format, but its playlist is complete and closes with an end marker.
03How ClipHearth tells live from finished
The detector sees the player ask for that playlist and reads it. No end marker, or a DASH manifest marked as dynamic, means the broadcast is still going: the Media detector capsule beside the address bar says Live stream found, or Live audio found for sound only, and its button becomes Record live. A complete playlist means a finished recording: Video found, and an ordinary download with a choice of quality.
04What Record live does
It follows the same playlist the page's player follows, fetches every new piece as it is published, and appends it to one file. The pieces are copied as they are, without re-encoding, so the recording has exactly the quality that was broadcast and the processor has little to do. Video goes into MKV, sound into MP3, AAC, or OGG: containers that stay playable however abruptly the recording ends.
05Where the recording starts and ends
It starts at about the moment you click; what went out before is not in it, unless the organiser publishes a replay. It ends when you click Stop and save, in the red capsule or on the job's card in the Queue, or on its own when the broadcast ends and the playlist gets its end marker. Short drops in your connection are bridged by reconnecting, and a longer outage ends the recording with everything so far saved.
06Or let it record at a set time
For a broadcast that starts later or comes back every week, Record a stream later in the Queue takes the page's or the stream's address, the time it starts, its length, and whether it repeats. ClipHearth then records it on its own while it runs, also from the tray. Record a radio programme or a live broadcast at a set time has the details.
07After the broadcast
The recording is in Completed with its length and size, ready to Play, Edit, or Convert: MP4 with Copy original for players that do not take MKV, a trim of the first minutes, or just the sound as MP3 to listen to later.
Didn't solve it? Write to us - attach a diagnostics log if you have one. Missing a feature? Tell us what you would use it for; several of the recent ones started as a suggestion.