How credits work
What a credit buys
Recording time is paid with credits at the rate shown on the Pricing page, with no minimum charge. Checking channels while they are offline is free — credits are only used while a LIVE is being recorded.
How a recording is charged
- Reserve. When a recording starts, SaveStream reserves enough credits for its maximum length. Reserved credits show as held in Usage.
- Charge. When it ends, you are charged for the real length of the saved video, billed per started minute: a 3 min 9 s recording uses 4 minutes of credit.
- Release. The rest of the reservation goes back to your available balance. In your history this appears as Released N held credits.
The rate is fixed when a recording starts, so a price change never affects a recording that is already running.
What is not charged
- Recordings that fail with no usable video.
- LIVEs that were Missed because all your recording slots were busy.
- Checking offline channels.
A recording that ends early — because the LIVE ended or you pressed Stop recording — is charged for the time that was recorded.
Buying credits
Credits come in one-time packs; there is no subscription and nothing renews. See the Pricing page for the current packs and prices, and PayPal payments and refunds for how checkout works.
Free trial credits
New accounts receive free trial credits — free trial minutes of recording — after verifying their email, once per account. Use them to try automatic recording on a real LIVE, one recording at a time. When they are used up, buy a pack to keep recording. Trial credits can't be refunded or exchanged for money.
Do credits expire?
No. Unused credits stay in your balance until you use them.