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What's the Difference Between AWS MediaLive and AWS MediaPackage?

Compare AWS MediaLive and AWS MediaPackage side by side — features, pricing, and ideal use cases to help you choose the right product.

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AWS MediaLive
AWS MediaPackage
Category

Application Integration, Live Streaming

Application Integration, Media Packaging
Description

Encodes live video for broadcast and streaming

Video origination and packaging
Best for
  • Live streaming
  • Broadcast contribution
  • Live events
  • Linear channel playout
  • Video packaging
  • DRM encryption
  • Live-to-VOD
  • Multi-format delivery
Key features
  • Multiple input types
  • Redundant pipelines
  • Ad marker passthrough
  • Audio encoding
  • Statmux
  • Just-in-time packaging
  • DRM integration
  • Time-shifted viewing
  • Live-to-VOD
  • CDN authorization
Pricing model

Pay per input and output channel hour

Pay per GB of content ingested + originated
Free tier

No

No
Expert take

“MediaLive encodes live video streams for broadcast and OTT delivery. It supports redundant pipelines with automatic failover for 24/7 live channel reliability.”
— Giovanni Lauria, re:Post Top Contributor [profile]

“MediaPackage prepares and protects live and on-demand video for delivery. It handles just-in-time packaging, DRM encryption, and DVR functionality without origin servers.”
— Riku Kobayashi, re:Post Top Contributor [profile]
Product page

Learn more about AWS MediaLive »

Learn more about AWS MediaPackage »

When to use AWS MediaLive or AWS MediaPackage

Use AWS MediaLive when:

  • Live streaming
  • Broadcast contribution
  • Live events
  • Linear channel playout

Learn more about AWS MediaLive »

Use AWS MediaPackage when:

  • Video packaging
  • DRM encryption
  • Live-to-VOD
  • Multi-format delivery

Learn more about AWS MediaPackage »

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