A livestream in Tessact is a Library asset that receives a live video signal. Point any RTMP encoder (OBS, Streamlabs, vMix, a hardware encoder, or ffmpeg) at the stream’s ingest URL, and Tessact captures the session in recorded chunks while it is still running. You can watch the live feed, drop timecoded comments, cut clips in the Editor, and let AI indexing make the content searchable before the stream even ends.
A live session playing on the asset page while recording is in progress
Stream from anywhere: Tessact provisions dedicated RTMP ingest details per stream; any RTMP-compatible tool can push to them.
Recorded in chunks: the session is captured as segments of a duration you choose, so recorded media appears while the stream is live.
A growing asset: the livestream behaves like any other Library asset. Comment on it, share it, open it in the Editor, and search it.
AI-ready in real time: each finished chunk is analysed, so transcripts, detections, and AI Search results build up during the session.
In the Library, select the chevron next to the new-folder button, or right-click empty space, and choose New livestream.
The Library create menu with New livestream
2
Name the stream and pick a chunk size
In the Add Live Stream dialog, enter a Livestream name and choose a Chunk Size of 1, 5, 10, 15, 30, or 60 minutes. Shorter chunks make recorded media and AI results appear sooner; longer chunks give the AI more continuous context per segment. RTMP Pull is the livestream method. Select Configure Livestream.
Configuring the livestream name and chunk size
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Wait for the stream receiver
Tessact provisions a dedicated stream receiver. The dialog shows Preparing Stream for a short while, then reveals your streaming details.
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Copy the RTMP URL and Stream Key
Copy the RTMP URL (Primary) and Stream Key (Primary) into your streaming software. You can close the dialog with Done at any point.
Connect your streaming software: RTMP URL and Stream Key
The livestream now appears as a Library card with the status Stream Created.
You do not have to set up the encoder immediately. The RTMP URL and Stream Key stay available on the asset page: open the card’s menu and choose View details, or select Stream Details on the asset page.
Stream Details is always available from the asset page
On the Library card menu or the asset page, choose Start live session. Tessact starts the stream receiver and the asset page begins polling for a signal.
Starting the live session from the Library card
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Wait for the signal
Until your encoder starts pushing, the asset page shows Waiting for signal. You can already enable Start recording here if you want capture to begin the moment the signal arrives.
The live session is ready and waiting for the encoder signal
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Start streaming from your encoder
Begin streaming in OBS (or your encoder of choice). When the feed reaches Tessact, the page switches to Signal Detected.
Signal Detected: the live feed is being received
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Start recording
Select Start recording to begin capturing the session. The status changes to Recording in progress, live playback becomes available, and recorded media keeps appearing as new chunks are prepared.
Recording in progress: chunks are captured as the stream continues
Recording is what produces recorded chunks and the final archive. Going live without recording is useful for a signal check; start recording before the moment you actually want to keep.
While the session runs, the asset page plays the live feed with the standard Tessact player. The Comments panel works exactly as it does for uploaded videos: comments are timecoded, support #tags and @mentions, and notify collaborators. Use Share to give teammates access, and the Library card shows the live state at a glance (a pulsing red indicator with the current status).
You can cut a livestream in the Editor before the stream ends:
In the Library, create a New video draft and open it.
In the Editor, open Library, select the livestream, and choose Add to Timeline.
The ready chunks appear as one grouped clip with filmstrips and waveforms, ready to trim and arrange.
Importing a livestream into a video draft while it is live
The livestream is a growing timeline. As new chunks finish, the end of the layer shows a purple livestream control. Select Update live stream to append the latest recorded material as an ordinary, undoable edit.
The growing livestream layer: Update live stream appends newly recorded chunks
For grouped-clip behaviour, trims, and troubleshooting inside the Editor, see Livestream sources.
When the broadcast is over, choose End live session (also available as End Stream on the Library card menu). Tessact captures the trailing partial chunk, then stitches every recorded chunk into a single MP4. The Library card shows Finalizing Stream while this happens and settles on MP4 Ready, at which point the asset page plays the full recording like any other video. The recording stays in your Library; ending a stream tears down the live infrastructure, not the captured media.
Because the session is captured in chunks, Tessact’s AI can work on the stream while it is still running:
Search during the stream: each finished chunk is indexed, so scenes, shots, and dialogue from earlier in the session surface in AI Search before the stream ends.
Transcripts and detections: the asset’s Metadata panel fills with transcriptions, keywords, and detected people as chunks complete.
Faster with shorter chunks: a 1 to 5 minute chunk size makes live AI results appear sooner; longer chunks favour deeper per-segment context.
Find moments from your livestreams, and everything else in the Library, by describing them.
Livestream sources in the Editor
How growing livestreams behave on the timeline: chunk groups, updates, and safe trimming.
Review assets with comments
Timecoded comments, #tags, and @mentions work on live sessions too.
You can now provision a livestream, push a signal from any RTMP encoder, record the session in chunks, collaborate on it live, and archive it as a searchable asset.
