Overview
Recording in Iris lets you capture each of your connected video and audio sources as individual MP4 files saved directly to the computer running your Iris Bridge. Each source gets its own dedicated file — so a session with two cameras and a microphone produces three separate recordings — making it easy to edit, archive, or repurpose footage afterward.
Recording is currently available as an Early Access (beta) feature. Once enabled, it works seamlessly alongside the rest of your Studio session: you can start, modify, and stop recordings without interrupting your live sources or other outputs.
This feature is best used when you need locally-stored, high-quality recordings of individual sources — whether for post-production editing, compliance archiving, or as a backup alongside a live stream.
What you need
Permission: Your account must have control-level access to the Studio (assigned by an admin or owner). Viewers cannot access Recording.
Early Access enabled: Recording is a beta feature. Before using it for the first time, you must opt in by clicking the Start Recording button and following the "Enable Early Access" prompt. You can disable it again at any time.
Iris desktop app: Recommended for the full experience. The save-folder picker (to choose or change where files are stored) is only available in the desktop app. Recording can be initiated from the browser, but folder management requires the desktop app.
Bridge connected and online: At least one Bridge (the hardware or software device that connects your cameras/microphones to Iris) must be linked and online. If the Bridge is offline, no sources will appear in the Recording panel.
At least one source connected: You need at least one video or audio source added to your Studio before you can record.
How to use Recording
Start
In the top bar of your Studio, find the Start Recording button.
If you haven't enabled Early Access yet, hovering over the button shows a tooltip: "Recording is available as an Early Access feature. Click to learn more." Click the button to open the opt-in dialog, then click Enable Early Access to unlock it.
Once Early Access is enabled, click Start Recording. The Recording Settings panel opens.
(Desktop app only, when your Studio is linked) At the top of the panel, you'll see a "Save my files to" path. To change where recordings are saved, click Change and select a folder. Click Open to view the current folder in your file browser.
Under Select sources, you'll see two columns: Video sources and Audio sources, each showing a count of available sources.
Click on each source you want to record. A checkmark appears on selected sources. Active (already recording) sources are shown at the top of the list.
When you've made your selections, click Start Recording.
If recordings are already in progress and you're changing which sources are included, a confirmation dialog appears listing exactly what will start or stop. Click Update Recordings to confirm. Any recordings already running are not interrupted.
The button changes to Starting… briefly (up to 10 seconds) while recording initializes.
A success notification appears for each source: "[Source name] is now being recorded."
While it's active
The Start Recording button in the top bar changes to Stop Recording and shows an active (in-progress) indicator.
Inside the Recording Settings panel, each active source card displays live statistics:
Duration — a running timer in HH:MM:SS format
Memory — the growing file size
Resolution — video width × height (video sources only)
Bitrate — current data rate
FPS — frames per second (video sources only)
Active sources are sorted to the top of the source lists.
In the monitoring panel (the sidebar or tray showing your session stats), a Recording tab appears showing the count of actively recording sources. You can click the settings gear icon there to jump straight to Recording Settings.
You can adjust which sources are recording while a session is active: open Recording Settings, check or uncheck sources, and click Save Changes. A confirmation dialog will appear before any changes take effect. Recordings already running are not interrupted.
A Stop All Recordings button is visible at the bottom of the Recording Settings panel whenever any recording is active.
Stop / Finish
Option A — Stop all recordings at once (from the top bar):
Click Stop Recording in the top bar.
A confirmation dialog appears: "Are you sure you want to stop recording? This will stop recording all sources."
Click Stop Recording (red button) to confirm.
The button briefly shows Stopping… (up to 10 seconds) while files are finalized.
A notification appears for each source: "[Source name] has stopped recording."
Option B — Stop all recordings from the Recording Settings panel:
Open Recording Settings (click the gear icon or click Stop Recording → open settings).
Click Stop All Recordings at the bottom of the panel.
Confirm in the dialog. All recordings stop together.
Option C — Stop individual sources:
Open Recording Settings.
Uncheck the sources you want to stop.
Click Save Changes and confirm. Only the deselected sources stop; others continue uninterrupted.
Where to find your files:
Recordings are saved on the computer running your Iris Bridge, organized in a dated session folder:
Operating System | Default Location |
macOS / Linux |
|
Windows |
|
Each source produces its own .mp4 file named after the source. You can change the root folder at any time using Change in the Recording Settings panel (desktop app required).
Limits and restrictions
Early Access beta: Recording is in early beta. Occasional issues may occur. The feature can be enabled or disabled at any time from the opt-in prompt.
File format: Recordings are saved as
.mp4files only. No other output format is currently available.Save location: Files are stored locally on the Bridge computer — not in the Iris cloud. Ensure that machine has sufficient disk space before long recording sessions.
Folder management: Changing the save folder requires the Iris desktop app. In a browser, the folder shown is read-only.
Embedded Bridge setups: The Recording button is not shown when Iris is running in an embedded-hardware-only configuration.
Control permission required: Only users with control access see the Recording button. Viewers do not.
Bridge must be online: If the Bridge goes offline, the Recording panel will show no sources and recording cannot be started or modified.
Source naming: File names are derived from the source's name in Iris. Characters that are not valid in file names (
< > : " / \\\\ | ? *) are automatically replaced with underscores (_).Maximum duration, concurrent recordings, storage quota: These limits are not enforced by a hard cap in the current implementation. They depend on available disk space on the Bridge computer and may vary based on your plan or configuration — check with your admin if unsure.
What happens if…
…I close the Recording Settings panel while recording is active? Closing the panel (clicking Cancel or the X) does not stop recording. Sources continue to record in the background. The Stop Recording button in the top bar remains active.
…my Bridge goes offline? If the Bridge loses its connection, the Recording panel will show no sources. Any recording in progress on the Bridge computer may continue or stop depending on how the connection dropped — but you won't be able to control it from the Studio until the Bridge reconnects. When it comes back online, recording status will be reflected accurately again.
…my internet connection drops while I'm recording? Because recordings are saved locally on the Bridge computer (not streamed to the cloud), a brief internet drop may not immediately stop the recording. However, since Iris Studio requires a connection to communicate with the Bridge, you won't be able to start, stop, or change recordings until connectivity is restored.
…I try to start recording the same source twice? If a source is already recording and you open Recording Settings, it appears pre-checked and labeled as active. Clicking Start Recording (or Save Changes) again for that same source will not create a duplicate — the system detects that the recording is already running and skips it.
…I don't have the right permission? If your account does not have control access, the Recording button is not visible at all. Contact your Studio admin or owner to request control access.
…a recording fails unexpectedly? A red notification appears: "[Source name] unexpectedly stopped recording. Go to Recording Settings to restart your recording." Inside Recording Settings, the affected source card displays a red border and the message "Recording unexpectedly stopped." To recover, deselect and re-select the source, then click Save Changes or Start Recording again.
…a recording fails to start? A notification appears: "[Source name] failed to start recording. Go to Recording Settings and try recording again." The source card shows a red border with "Recording could not be started. Please try again." Try starting the recording again. If it continues to fail, check that the source is active and the Bridge is healthy.
Troubleshooting
Symptom | Likely Cause | Fix |
"Start Recording" button is not visible | Your account has view-only access, or you're using an embedded-hardware-only Bridge setup | Ask your admin for control access; confirm you're using a standard Bridge configuration |
Clicking "Start Recording" shows a tooltip instead of opening the panel | Early Access has not been enabled | Click the button and select Enable Early Access in the dialog that appears |
No sources appear in the Recording Settings panel | The Bridge is offline or no sources have been added | Check that your Bridge is connected and online; add at least one source to your Studio |
Source card shows a red border | Recording failed or failed to start for that source | Deselect and re-select the source in Recording Settings, then click Save Changes |
Files are not appearing in the expected folder | The save folder was changed, or files are on the Bridge computer (not your local machine) | Open Recording Settings → click Open to navigate directly to the current save folder on the Bridge computer |
The "Change" folder button is grayed out or missing | You're using Iris in a web browser instead of the desktop app | Download and use the Iris desktop app to manage the recording folder |
"Stopping…" appears for a long time | The Bridge is slow to finalize the file | Wait up to 10 seconds. If it doesn't resolve, check the Bridge status and try again |
FAQ
Q: Where are my recordings saved? A: Recordings are saved locally on the computer running your Iris Bridge — not in the cloud. By default, they go to the Movies/Iris/ folder (macOS/Linux) or Videos/Iris/ folder (Windows). You can change this in Recording Settings using the desktop app.
Q: Can I record multiple sources at the same time? A: Yes. You can select any combination of video and audio sources. Each gets its own .mp4 file in the same session folder.
Q: Does stopping a recording delete any files? A: No. Stopping recording finalizes and saves the file. Nothing is deleted.
Q: Can I change which sources are recording without stopping everything? A: Yes. Open Recording Settings while recording is active, adjust your source selections, and click Save Changes. A confirmation dialog will tell you exactly what will start or stop. Recordings already running are not interrupted unless you explicitly deselect them.
Q: What file format are recordings saved in? A: All recordings are saved as .mp4 files.
Q: How are the recording files named? A: Each file is named after its source (as it appears in your Studio). Any special characters in the name are replaced with underscores. Files are organized into a session folder named with the date and time the session started (e.g., 2024-11-01_14-30-00).
Q: Does recording affect my live stream or other outputs? A: Recording runs independently alongside other outputs (like RTMP streaming or NDI). Starting or stopping a recording does not interrupt other outputs.
Q: What happens to the recording if the Bridge computer loses power or crashes? A: The .mp4 file may be incomplete or unplayable if the recording process is interrupted abruptly. There is no automatic recovery or cloud backup. It is good practice to stop recordings gracefully before shutting down the Bridge.
Q: Is Recording available to all users? A: Users need control-level access to the Studio to see and use the Recording button. Additionally, Recording is currently an Early Access (beta) feature that must be explicitly enabled by each user.
Q: Can I record audio-only sources? A: Yes. Audio sources appear in their own column in Recording Settings and can be selected for recording just like video sources. Each produces a separate .mp4 file.