Special Notes About the Always Record Setting for DEVOS Encoders

Special Notes About the Always Record Setting for DEVOS Encoders

This note has to do with DEVOS Version 4.9.5007 released in May, 2021 and likely any versions released after this version.
All encoders in DEVOS have a setting that allows for a server-side recording to be made whenever the live stream is live. A server-side recording is a recording made on the server instead of the local encoding machine so that the recording is made immediately available for on-demand viewing without the need to upload the recording to the server. The update to DEVOS 4.9.5007 changed this feature to improve its reliability and functionality. The primary changes to the server-side recording feature are as follows:
  1. The recording will not stop if the live stream goes down temporarily. The recording will simply replace the feed with color bars and a message that the signal is not available. It will resume recording the live stream as soon as it becomes live again and maintain one recording for the entire content until it is stopped manually or reaches the scheduled time to stop.
  2. Live streams coming from other sources other than the DEVOS server (i.e. the public internet or other source) can now also be recorded if the HLS or RTMP address of the live stream is known.
  3. The recordings are now made on the D drive of the server rather than the C drive in order to save space on the operating system drive.
The only exception to these three facts is when a live stream is automatically recorded by setting the Always Record feature to On in the Encoder settings in DEVOS as shown below. When the recording is done this way, the recording will stop if the stream is not live, and if the stream becomes live again, the recording will start again and produce a second (or third, etc.) recorded file. In this case, you will likely end up with more than one video on-demand file as a result.

Because of this change, any encoders that were already set to always record need to be edited to update the location for where the recordings are made. In order to do this, you will need to follow these steps for each encoder set this way.
  1. Edit the Encoder in DEVOS under Media->Encoders by selecting Edit from the drop down menu in the right corner of the Encoder icon.
    Edit Encoder
  2. Navigate to the Advanced sub-page and turn the setting for Always Record When Stream Is Present off.
    Always Record When Stream Is Present Off
  3. Click Save to save the changes to the Encoder.
  4. Select Edit on the Encoder icon again and go back to the Advanced settings page and turn the feature back on.
    Always Record When Stream Is Present On 
  5. Click save again to save the changes to the Encoder.
This will ensure that the new location is saved in the settings so that any time the stream is live, the server will begin recording it and continue until the stream is no longer live.

WARNING: Using this setting can take up a significant amount of storage space on the server if left recording for long periods of time. Also, every start and stop of an encoder will produce new files that you might need to remove later.

    • Related Articles

    • DEVOS Email Configuration with Gmail 2-Step Verification

      When setting up Email Configuration in DEVOS in order to send email from the system using a Gmail account, it may require a different application password to be created instead of your normal Google login password. This is particularly the case when ...

    • DEVOS IoT and Samsung Commercial TVs

      The following information pertains to Samsung commercial TVs with the following model numbers: DB32E DB40E DB48E DB55E DM32E DM40E DM48E DM55E DM65E DM75E DH40E DH48E DH55E In order to control any of the above TVs from DEVOS, the TV must be ...

    • The Three Layers of Security for Videos in DEVOS

      All videos in DEVOS can be secured in three main ways with each option more restrictive than the last. A video can have one, two, or all three of these methods applied to the video. The four ways to secure live and on-demand videos are as follows: ...

    • Using One Account With Multiple Streamsies

      Streamsie is licensed by the account on DEVOS or Arcus. This means that you can use the same account with any Streamsie installation (Windows, MacOS, iPhone/iPad) but not at the same time. Allow 5 minutes between using different devices, otherwise ...

    • DEVOS Capacity

      There are two important capacity values: Storage -- how much disk space is available to hold your Video-on-Demand (VoD) files Bandwidth -- how much bandwidth is available to deliver both live and VoD Understanding Storage The amount of storage needed ...