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AWS Elemental MediaLive

A fully managed service that encodes broadcast-quality live video in real-time and simultaneously outputs to multiple destinations including television broadcast and internet streaming

About 3 min read

Overview

AWS Elemental MediaLive is a fully managed service that encodes and transcodes live video streams in real-time, converting them into multiple formats for television broadcast and internet delivery. It encodes live video input via SDI or RTMP in H.264/H.265 and outputs in HLS or DASH format to MediaPackage or S3. A redundant configuration (Pipeline A/B) ensures automatic failover to maintain delivery continuity during hardware failures. Used as a real-time delivery infrastructure for sports broadcasts, news distribution, and live events at scales of millions of viewers, it significantly reduces upfront investment compared to traditional on-premises encoders.

Channel Design and Input/Output Configuration

A MediaLive channel is structured in three layers: Input, encoding settings, and Output Groups. Input sources support RTMP Push, RTP, HLS Pull, MediaConnect flows, and SDI input from Link devices, and you can attach up to 20 inputs (no more than two of them push inputs) and switch between them during delivery (Input Switching). Encoding settings define a bitrate ladder (ABR) - for example, simultaneously outputting three tiers at 1080p/5Mbps, 720p/3Mbps, and 480p/1.5Mbps enables adaptive bitrate delivery that adjusts to viewers' network conditions. Output Groups can combine MediaPackage (OTT delivery), Archive (S3 recording), Frame Capture (thumbnail generation), and RTMP (simultaneous social media streaming), outputting from a single channel to multiple destinations simultaneously. Audio Description and subtitle insertion (EBU-TT, WebVTT) are also managed declaratively in channel settings.

Redundancy and Fault Tolerance Design Patterns

For broadcast-quality delivery, eliminating single points of failure is essential. MediaLive provides pipeline redundancy (STANDARD channel) where two independent encoding pipelines operate simultaneously. When one pipeline fails, downstream MediaPackage automatically switches to input from the other pipeline. MediaConnect flows can also be used for input-side redundancy. The two flows must be placed in different AZs. Additionally, the Input Failover feature defines primary and secondary input sources, automatically switching to the secondary when the primary video feed is lost. Fault detection can be monitored via CloudWatch's InputVideoFrameRate metric, with alerts triggered on frame rate drops.

Cost Optimization and Operational Considerations

MediaLive pricing is determined by channel uptime (per minute), input resolution, number of outputs, and codec (H.264 vs H.265). For 24/7 linear channels, Reserved Pricing (a 12-month commitment) lowers the rates for inputs, outputs, and add-on features. For intermittent event delivery, on-demand pricing is appropriate, and automating channel start/stop with EventBridge schedules prevents unnecessary uptime. H.265 (HEVC) encoding can lower the bitrate at equivalent quality compared to H.264, but output charges differ by codec. Channel configuration changes can be pre-programmed using the Schedule Actions feature, enabling time-scheduled automatic execution of ad insertion and slate image switching.

References (Official AWS Resources)

The primary sources for this page are the official AWS website and documentation. Check the official pages below for the latest specifications and pricing.

If this page and the official documentation disagree, treat the official documentation as authoritative.

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Related Terms

Amazon CloudFrontAmazon S3Amazon EventBridgeAWS Lambda

Related Services

Amazon CloudFrontAmazon S3Amazon EventBridgeAWS Lambda

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