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    Intelligent Media Services:Live packaging

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    Intelligent Media Services:Live packaging

    Last Updated:Aug 21, 2026

    Live packaging converts live streams into the requested playback format in real time, eliminating the need to pre-package content into every format upfront.

    With live packaging, you can:

    • Deliver live content in HLS, HLS CMAF, or DASH formats from a single ingest

    • Enable time-shifted viewing so viewers can replay live content

    • Archive live streams to Object Storage Service (OSS) for on-demand playback

    How it works

    MediaPackage organizes live packaging resources in three levels:

    • Channel group -- The top-level container for channels and endpoints. Each channel group is assigned an Origin Domain Name that serves as the base URL for all playback requests within the group.

    • Channel -- The entry point for a live stream. An upstream encoder pushes content to a channel's input URLs. Each channel provides two input URLs for redundant ingest. If one input stops sending content, MediaPackage automatically switches to the other, ensuring continuous delivery.

    • Endpoint -- The output configuration for a channel. Each endpoint defines the streaming format, packaging parameters, and access controls for the output stream. A single channel can have multiple endpoints, each producing a unique playback URL.

    Content flows through these resources as follows:

    1. An upstream encoder pushes a live stream to a channel's input URLs.

    2. A downstream device (player or CDN) requests content from an endpoint's playback URL.

    3. MediaPackage dynamically packages the stream into the format defined by that endpoint.

    4. MediaPackage delivers the packaged stream to the requesting device.

    Supported inputs and outputs

    Supported input types

    Input type Description
    HLS Traditional HLS with MPEG-2 Transport Stream (.ts) segments
    HLS_CMAF HLS with Common Media Application Format (CMAF) using fragmented MP4 (fMP4) segments
    Note

    Encrypted HLS streams are not supported for ingest.

    Supported output types

    Output type Description Manifest extension
    HLS Standard HLS playlist with MPEG-2 TS (.ts) segments .m3u8
    HLS_CMAF HLS playlist referencing CMAF fMP4 segments .m3u8
    DASH MPEG-DASH manifest .mpd

    Billing

    • Live packaging charges fees for stream ingest, packaging, and output delivery. For details, see Billing of live packaging.

    • Archiving live content to OSS through Live-to-VOD incurs OSS storage fees. See Storage fees of OSS.

    Create a channel group

    1. Log on to the Intelligent Media Services console.

    2. In the upper-left corner, select a region.

    3. In the left navigation pane, choose MediaPackage > Live Package.

    4. Click Create Channel Group.

    5. Enter a unique name and an optional description for the channel group.

      Create channel group dialog

    6. Click OK.

    Note

    The channel groups and channels in Live Package are separate from the Channel Assembly feature.

    Create a channel

    A channel receives a live stream from an upstream encoder. Each channel provides two input URLs for redundancy -- if one input stops sending content, MediaPackage automatically switches to the other.

    1. On the Live Package page, click the channel group name.

    2. Click Create Channel.

    3. Configure the following settings:

      Parameter Description
      Channel Name A unique name for the channel.
      Protocol The input protocol. Valid values: HLS, HLS_CMAF.
      Segment Duration The duration of each segment in seconds. Longer segments increase latency; shorter segments increase request overhead. Recommended value: 6 seconds.
      Segments The number of segments in the output manifest. A larger number extends the player timeline and increases traffic. Recommended value: 3.

      Create channel dialog

    4. Click OK.

    Create an endpoint

    An endpoint defines the output format and access controls for a channel. Each endpoint generates a unique playback URL.

    1. Click the channel name to open the channel details page.

    2. Click the Endpoints tab, then click Create Endpoint.

    3. Configure the basic information:

      Parameter Description
      Endpoint Name A unique name for the endpoint.
      Protocol The output format. Valid values: HLS, HLS_CMAF, DASH.
      Manifest Name The manifest filename. Default: manifest. For example, setting this to index with the HLS protocol produces a playback URL ending in index.m3u8.
      Authorization Code An authorization code that players or CDNs must include in the Authorization HTTP header when requesting content from this endpoint.
      IP Address Whitelist IPv4/IPv6 addresses or CIDR blocks allowed to access this endpoint.
      IP Address Blacklist IPv4/IPv6 addresses or CIDR blocks denied access to this endpoint.
      Time-shifted Days The number of days to retain live content for time-shifted viewing. Set to 0 to disable time shifting. This setting is a prerequisite for creating Live-to-VOD collection tasks. For details on time-shifted playback, see Time-shifted viewing.

      Create endpoint - basic information

    4. Configure the Segment Settings based on the protocol selected:

      HLS

      HLS segment settings

      Parameter

      Description

      Segment Duration

      The duration of each output segment in seconds. Valid values: 1 to 30.

      Audio Separation

      When enabled, audio tracks are packaged in separate segments from video.

      HLS_CMAF & DASH

      HLS_CMAF and DASH segment settings

      Parameter

      Description

      Segment Duration

      The duration of each output segment in seconds. Valid values: 1 to 30.

      DRM Encryption

      Enables DRM encryption. Available for HLS_CMAF and DASH protocols only.

      Encryption Method

      The encryption method. Default: SAMPLE_AES.

      Constant Initialization Vector

      A 16-byte hex value (32-character string). If left blank, MediaPackage generates one automatically.

      DRM System ID

      The DRM systems to use. Select up to 3 for HLS_CMAF or up to 2 for DASH.

      Supported systems:

      • HLS_CMAF: Apple FairPlay, Google Widevine, Microsoft PlayReady.

      • DASH: Google Widevine, Microsoft PlayReady.

      DRM Provider URL

      The URL of the proxy for key server communication. Maximum length: 512 characters.

      Content ID

      A unique identifier for the endpoint. If left blank, MediaPackage generates one automatically.

    5. Configure the manifest settings:

      HLS & HLS_CMAF

      HLS and HLS_CMAF manifest settings

      Parameter

      Description

      Segments

      The number of segments in the output M3U8 playlist. Valid values: 2 to 100.

      Program Date/Time Interval

      The interval in seconds for inserting EXT-X-PROGRAM-DATE-TIME tags. By default, no tags are inserted.

      Stream Order

      The order of streams in the manifest. Valid values:

      • Original: Sorts the output streams in the same order that the source uses.

      • Ascending by Bitrate: Sorts the output streams starting with the lowest bitrate.

      • Descending by Bitrate: Sorts the output streams starting with the highest bitrate.

      Min Video Bitrate

      Excludes streams with a bitrate lower than this value from the output manifest.

      Max Video Bitrate

      Excludes streams with a bitrate higher than this value from the output manifest.

      DASH

      DASH manifest settings

      Parameter

      Description

      Min Buffer Time

      The minimum buffer time in seconds that a player must maintain. Default: 2x segment duration. Valid values: 1 to 30.

      Min Update Period

      The minimum interval in seconds before a player requests manifest updates. Default: 2x segment duration. Valid values: 1 to 3600.

      Suggested Presentation Delay

      The delay in seconds between the live edge and where playback begins. For example, a 35-second delay means requests at 5:30 PM receive content from 5:29:25 PM.

      Manifest Window

      The duration in seconds of content available for replay during live streaming. Valid values: 1 to 3600.

      Stream Order

      The order of streams in the manifest. Valid values:

      • Original: Sorts the output streams in the same order that the source uses.

      • Ascending by Bitrate: Sorts the output streams starting with the lowest bitrate.

      • Descending by Bitrate: Sorts the output streams starting with the highest bitrate.

      Min Video Bitrate

      Excludes streams with a bitrate lower than this value from the output manifest.

      Max Video Bitrate

      Excludes streams with a bitrate higher than this value from the output manifest.

    6. Click OK.

    After the endpoint is created, the playback URL appears in the URL column on the Endpoints tab.

    Endpoint playback URL

    Stream ingest

    After you create a channel, two input URLs are generated for redundant ingest.

    View input URLs

    1. Go to the channel details page.

    2. Click the Input tab. URL example:

      Input Description
      ingest1 The primary input URL.
      ingest2 The backup input URL. MediaPackage automatically fails over to this URL if the primary input becomes unavailable. 
         http://xxxxxx-1.packagepush-9eji12.ap-southeast-1.ice.aliyundoc.com/v1/dfjtest/1/test01/manifest

    3. Click Authentication in the Actions column to view the account name and password for Basic Auth.

    Configure your encoder

    1. Set your encoder's Output destination to the primary input URL. For a redundant setup, configure a secondary output to the backup input URL.

    2. Enable Basic Auth with the provided credentials. The encoder must include the following HTTP header in all requests:

         Authorization: Basic <BASE64_ENCODE(username:password)>

    3. Use HTTP PUT to upload M3U8 playlists and TS segments. Each file URL must share the same base path as the input URL:

         PUT https://<input-url>/manifest.m3u8
   PUT https://<input-url>/manifest-hd-1001.ts

    Requirements:

    • Upload valid master playlists, media playlists, and TS segments.

    • Encrypted HLS streams are not supported.

    • For redundant ingest, the primary and backup stream must carry identical content with aligned timestamps. Misaligned streams can cause playback failures during failover.

    You can also use MediaLive to ingest streams.

    Stream playback

    Use the playback URL from the endpoint to play the packaged stream.

    Stream playback

    For debugging:

    • Add your IP address to the endpoint's IP Address Whitelist, or

    • Include the endpoint's authorization code in the Authorization header

    For production:

    Configure your CDN to include the Authorization header in origin requests. If you use Alibaba Cloud CDN, see Configure outgoing request headers.

    Time-shifted viewing

    When time shifting is enabled on an endpoint, MediaPackage retains live content for the specified number of days. Players can replay past content by appending time parameters to the playback URL.

    Example:

    https://xxxxx-1.packagepush-9eji12.ap-southeast-1.ice.aliyundoc.com/v1/group01/ch01/endpoint01/index.m3u8?start=2024-11-06T00:00:00Z&vodend=2024-11-06T02:00:00Z

    This example replays live content from 2024-11-06T00:00:00Z to 2024-11-06T02:00:00Z. A time-shifted request is the endpoint's ordinary M3U8 manifest URL plus two query parameters: start sets the time-shift start time and vodend sets the time-shift end time.

    Time parameters

    Parameter Description
    start The start time in UTC. Example: 2024-11-06T00:00:00Z.
    end The end time in UTC for live mode. Example: 2024-11-06T00:00:00Z. Time-shifted playback stays in live mode until it reaches the specified end time.
    vodend The end time in UTC for VOD mode. All segments are returned at once with an ENDLIST tag, giving the player a complete timeline with full seek capabilities.
    offset Rewinds from the live edge by the specified offset. Unit: Sec. Example: ?offset=300 starts playback 5 minutes behind live.

    Usage notes

    • Specify either start or offset, not both.

    • If both end and vodend are specified, vodend takes precedence.

    Live-to-VOD

    MediaPackage can archive segments of a live stream to OSS for on-demand playback by using collection tasks.

    Prerequisites

    Before you begin, make sure that you have:

    • An OSS bucket in the same region as the channel group. If you do not have one, see Activate OSS and Create a bucket

    • Time shifting enabled on the target endpoint (Time-shifted Days > 0)

    Create a collection task

    1. On the channel details page, click the Collection Task tab.

    2. Click Create Collection Task.

    3. Configure the following settings:

      Parameter Description
      Endpoint Select an endpoint with time shifting enabled (Time-shifted Days > 0).
      Collection Time The time range of content to collect.
      Storage Path The OSS bucket where collected files are stored.

      Create collection task dialog

    4. Click OK.

    The task starts automatically. View the collected files in the OSS console.

    Note

    Multiple collection tasks for the same endpoint generate separate output files.

    FAQ

    How do I ingest live streams into MediaPackage?

    Use an encoder that supports HLS output and push to the channel's input URLs with Basic Auth credentials. We recommend MediaLive.

    How do I play a packaged stream?

    Use the playback URL that was generated for the endpoint.

    For debugging, add your IP address to the endpoint's IP Address Whitelist, or set the Authorization request header in your player to the authorization code configured on the endpoint.

    To let external viewers play the stream, configure origin acceleration on your CDN. The CDN must send the Authorization request header carrying the endpoint's authorization code. Contact your CDN provider for the configuration steps.

    My collection task completed but has no output files. What went wrong?

    Time shifting must be enabled on the endpoint. Open the endpoint settings and set Time-shifted Days to a value greater than 0.

    What is the difference between creating collection tasks from Live Package and the Live-to-VOD module?

    Both produce the same result. Live Package manages collection tasks per channel, while Live-to-VOD provides a centralized view of all tasks across channels.