Configure a Live Event

A live event in MK.IO is the component that receives an inbound video stream (via RTMP or SRT), processes it, and packages it for delivery to viewers. Once created and started, it generates an ingest URL that your encoder sends video to.

Live content is recorded to your connected cloud storage as an asset, which you can use for VOD playback after the event ends.

For a step-by-step walkthrough of the complete live streaming workflow including OBS setup and viewer delivery, see Live streaming workflows.

Event type

The first decision when creating a live event is whether to use passthrough or encoding mode — this determines what happens to your stream inside MK.IO.

Mode	What MK.IO does	Best for
Live passthrough (up to 5 Mbps)	Passes the stream through without modification. Your encoder must produce the final output.	Low-bandwidth streams already encoded at source
Live passthrough (up to 60 Mbps)	Same as above with a higher bandwidth ceiling.	High-bitrate professional sources
Live encoding (720p)	Ingests your stream and produces adaptive bitrate output at 720p and lower.	Most use cases — lets MK.IO handle quality adaptation
Live encoding (1080p)	Ingests and produces ABR output up to 1080p.	High-quality productions

Live encoding mode is recommended for most users. It lets MK.IO automatically generate multiple bitrate levels so viewers on different network connections all get a smooth experience. Passthrough requires your encoder to produce the quality levels you want.

Configure a live event

Create the live event

Go to Live Events in the left navigation and click + Create Live Event.

Basic settings

Name: A unique identifier for this event (for example, weekly-show-ep12). Names cannot be reused within a project once a live event is deleted.
Description: Optional. Useful for identifying events in a busy project.

Select the event type

Choose one of the four modes described above. If you are unsure, Live encoding (720p) is a good default.

Low-latency streaming is available. Contact the MK.IO sales team for details.

Select the input protocol

Choose how your encoder sends video to MK.IO:

RTMP — The most widely supported streaming protocol. Used by OBS, Wirecast, and most hardware encoders.
RTMPS — Encrypted RTMP. Use this when your network requires encrypted ingest.
SRT — Secure Reliable Transport. Better reliability over unpredictable networks. Requires live encoding mode.

Configure output settings

Archive window length: How long MK.IO retains the live stream recording, from 1 minute up to 7 days. When you stop the event, the full recording is stored as an asset in your cloud storage. When the archive window exceeds 25 hours, the manifest shows only the most recent 25-hour window for viewers — the full recording is still stored. See Extended archive window.
Storage account: The connected storage account where the live recording is saved.

Configure advanced settings (optional)

Input key frame interval (passthrough only): The key frame interval your encoder sends. Should match your encoder’s GOP setting.
Image fitting (encoding only): How MK.IO handles source resolutions that do not match the output aspect ratio.
AI pipeline (encoding only): Enable real-time transcription. Select Predefined_ACSLiveTranscription and specify the source audio language code (for example, en-US). See Supported languages.

Review and create

Click Review to confirm all settings, then click Submit to create the live event.

Start streaming

After the live event is created, you still need to set up streaming infrastructure before viewers can watch. This requires a streaming endpoint and a streaming locator — see Publish content for streaming.

Once those are in place, click Start on the live event. MK.IO generates an Input URL — copy this and enter it in your encoder.

Set up your encoder with one of these guides:

Connection timeout

If MK.IO receives no data on an RTMP or RTMPS connection for 10 seconds, it drops the connection automatically. This timeout is fixed and cannot be configured.

If your stream stops unexpectedly, check whether your encoder or network stopped sending data for more than 10 seconds. Common causes include:

Network instability or packet loss
Encoder pauses between scenes
Video conferencing software that halts transmission when a participant is idle

Your encoder must reconnect and resume sending data to restore the stream.

When your event ends, stop the live event and the streaming endpoint in MK.IO. Both incur costs while running, even if no one is watching. If you do not need the recording, also delete the output asset to avoid ongoing storage charges.