How to Record Streaming Video: Live Capture Walkthrough
Live video streaming is one of the most popular ways to broadcast videos on the Internet. It’s the closest thing online users have to a live television show.
As a content producer, however, you might be missing out if you’re not recording that live stream. Aside from giving people a chance to view your video over and over again, it also allows them to share it with their family and friends.
In this article, we’ll discuss how to record a live stream by taking a look at two of Agora’s live stream recording services: On-Demand and Cloud Recording.
Agora Cloud Recording
Agora Cloud Recording is an add-on service that enables you to capture streaming video and automatically upload it to cloud storage. Most third-party cloud solutions are supported, including Amazon S3, Alibaba Cloud, and Tencent Cloud.
The service can record live stream audio and live video calls from either one-on-one or broadcast calls.
Compared to Agora On-Premise Recording, Cloud Recording is easier to integrate into your system. That’s because it doesn’t need any additional servers to function.
Here’s how to record live stream video using Agora Cloud Recording: Pick the target channel and subscribe to the desired audio/video stream—this starts the recording process; once done, it’s then uploaded to the cloud server of your choice.
Features
One of the hallmarks of Agora Cloud Recording is the ease of use. You can easily capture video from Internet web pages through the RESTful API using just four commands. You also don’t need to install, scale, or manage the software in any way, as Agora does that for you.
As mentioned, Cloud Recording supports several third-party cloud storage platforms. In case that fails, however, the streaming video recorder can back everything up to the Agora cloud server. It then automatically uploads the file back to the primary cloud storage once it becomes available again.
Agora Cloud Recording also provides complete end-to-end security when recording streaming video. Protocols are in place to protect your data from recording to storage.
Applications
Agora Cloud Recording can automatically create a recording of a video call or broadcast that is useful in a wide variety of situations.
In the online education industry, for instance, students can get a copy of a live video lecture. They can then review this for better learning, or in case they missed the actual lesson.
Recordings are also great for live broadcasts of eSports games or events. It enables you to capture screenshots of critical moments, then upload that to social media.
Businesses can keep recordings of customer service calls for evaluation later on.
Agora On-Premise Recording
Like Agora Cloud Recording, On-Premise Recording is an add-on that allows you to record streaming video and audio. The difference with On-Premise Recording is that it needs to be deployed on a local server instead of on the cloud.
On the one hand, it gives you far better control and customization over the recording process. You can integrate it with other parts of your system or app to create unique services for your users.
However, this also means that you need to use your own servers with Agora On-Premise Recording. There’s the added responsibility of maintaining and upgrading these servers if required.
If you don’t require the additional flexibility and only want the basics to be able to record streaming video and audio, Cloud Recording is recommended. It’s much simpler to use and install.
Features
One of the best features of the Agora On-Premise Recording is flexibility. The included SDK (Software Development Kit) gives you all the tools necessary to integrate recording functions to your software or website. It allows you to create much more advanced features not possible with Cloud Recording.
On-Premise Recording SDK is also compatible with most server systems, including CentOS and Ubuntu.
Despite the power and flexibility that the On-Premise SDK gives you, it’s easy to implement, and the commands are intuitive to learn.
On-Premise Recording is also a highly reliable and secure platform to record streaming video and audio. It has a built-in security feature that protects your data from recording to storage.
Applications
Agora On-Premise Recording can be used in much the same way as Cloud Recording.
It is especially vital for recording important audio and video calls in the healthcare industry. Patients can be interviewed remotely, and these sessions archived for research purposes.
Companies can record conference calls or online team meetings. It eliminates the need for taking down minutes and re-focuses team members’ attention to much more vital issues. It’s also great “evidence” to settle team disputes later on.
Agora
We’ve highlighted a glimpse of how to record live streaming using Agora’s powerful recording tools. Whether you’re recording audio or video, one-on-one or broadcast calls, Agora has a solution to suit your needs. Learn more about these real-time messaging solutions and how they can impact your website or app by signing up for Agora today!
