---
title: How Streaminz works
description: How Streaminz detects live broadcasts, records them, publishes VODs, and decides how long to keep them.
sidebar:
  order: 2
  icon: workflow
---

Streaminz watches the channels in its archive, records their public broadcasts, and publishes each finished broadcast as a VOD. This page explains each stage and what affects it.

## From live broadcast to VOD

1. **Detect.** Streaminz checks each channel on a schedule to see whether it is live. How often depends on the channel's [boost level](/channels/boosts): from every 3 minutes at level 1 down to every minute at level 3.
2. **Record.** While the channel is live, Streaminz records the public stream at the best quality the channel's boost level allows (up to 1080p, 1440p, or 2160p on the shorter side). A source stream below that limit is kept as is.
3. **Process.** When the broadcast ends, the recording is processed into a playable video with a poster, thumbnails, seek previews, and chapters.
4. **Publish.** The VOD appears on the channel page and in feeds. Subscribers of the channel get a [notification](/account/notifications).

## Why a VOD can have gaps

Recording depends on the platform. A broadcast can be missed or recorded partly when:

- the platform changes its systems, limits access, or has an outage;
- the broadcast is private, age-gated, or full;
- the stream started shortly before the next check, so the first minutes were missed.

Missing ranges show on the video page as **Not recorded** with their start and end times, so you know where the gap is.

:::tip
Channels with more boosts are checked more often, so recording starts sooner after a stream begins.
:::

## Who can watch what

| Content | Free | Basic | Standard | Premium |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Clips and highlights | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| VODs | — | 24 hours after publishing | Right away | Right away |
| Ads | Shown | Shown | None | None |

See [Plans](/billing) for everything each plan includes.

## How long VODs are kept

A VOD is kept for a limited time that depends on the channel's boost level:

| Boost level | Boosts needed | VOD retention |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Level 1 | 4 | 15 days |
| Level 2 | 9 | 60 days |
| Level 3 | 18 | Unlimited |

If a channel drops to a lower level, its previous retention is kept for a short grace period before the lower level applies.

:::warning
Streaminz is not a backup service. VODs can also be removed at a rights holder's request, when required by law, or when needed to keep the service running. Keep your own copy of anything you can't lose.
:::

## Related videos and trends

Streaminz ranks related videos and trending feeds from how much of each video people watch. Anonymous views are counted using a one-way hash of the viewer's IP address, never the address itself. See the [Privacy Policy](/legal/privacy-policy) for details.