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Overview

Media Connections let you connect external recording devices and production software to VRA. Once connected, VRA can monitor device status in real-time and link these connections to your Ingest Sources for automated recording workflows.

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What Is a Media Connection?

A Media Connection represents a network connection between VRA and an external device or service. The Media Server Client maintains these connections and relays live status information - such as recording state, storage usage, and transport mode - directly to your browser. Media Connections are managed per station and can be assigned to a specific studio.

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Supported Connection Types

The Select connection type grid offers eight types. For HyperDeck and ATEM, VRA sets the port itself. For vMix, OBS, FTP and SFTP the Port field starts at the default and can be changed.

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Where to Find Media Connections

Media Connections have their own page at Settings → Clips → Media Connections. The page lists every Media Connection of the station, grouped under a heading per studio. A new connection belongs to the studio selected in the sidebar. Media Server Ingest Sources are a separate page next to it, at Settings → Clips → Ingest Sources.

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Creating a Media Connection

  1. Click Create Media Connection. A side panel opens on Select connection type.
  2. Pick the type that matches your device or service. To pick another type, click Change or the back arrow.
  3. Check the Name. VRA fills in the type and a number, like “HyperDeck 2”.
  4. Check the Owning Media Server, the Media Server that keeps this connection. The select is locked when the studio has one Media Server.
  5. Fill in the connection details for the type:
    • HyperDeck and ATEM - Host. Click Discover devices, the icon button next to Host, to find devices on your network with mDNS. Select a result to fill in the host and the name.
    • vMix and OBS - Host and Port.
    • FTP and SFTP - Host, Port, Username and Password. FTP adds Use FTPS, SFTP adds an optional Private key.
    • S3 - Bucket, Region, Access key ID and Secret access key. Endpoint and Force path-style are for S3-compatible storage.
    • Network directory (NAS) - Username, Password and Domain, when the share requires them.
  6. For HyperDeck, vMix or OBS, click Add password if the device needs one.
  7. Click Save Connection.
For HyperDeck and ATEM, Save Connection stays disabled until you click Configure. Configure saves the connection and opens the device settings, see HyperDeck Configuration and ATEM Configuration. Closing the panel before you click Save removes the connection again.

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Editing a Media Connection

Click a connection in the list, or Edit in its menu, to open it in the side panel. From here you can:
  • Turn the connection on or off with the Enabled switch. When off, VRA doesn’t use the connection and the list shows its name struck through.
  • Update the name, the Owning Media Server and the connection details. The type can’t be changed after creation.
  • View the live status panel for HyperDeck, ATEM, OBS and vMix connections
  • Delete the connection with the Delete button, or with Delete in the connection’s menu in the list
Click Save to store your changes. If you try to close the panel with unsaved changes, you are asked to confirm.

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Connection Status

The Media Connections list groups connections under a heading per studio. Each row shows a status dot, the name, the type or the product name the device reports, the hostname of the owning Media Server, and the host and port, or the bucket for S3. A row shows one of Disabled, Recording, Streaming or Disconnected at a time, in that order of priority. A connected device that is not recording or streaming shows no badge, only the green dot.
Your Media Server Client must be running and connected to VRA Cloud for status updates to appear. If all connections show as disconnected, verify that the Media Server Client is active.

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Record From the Media Connections List

HyperDeck, ATEM, vMix and OBS rows have a Record button that starts a recording on the device. While the device records, the button reads Stop. The button is disabled when the connection is turned off, the owning Media Server is offline or the device is not connected.

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Reorder Media Connections

Drag a row by the handle on its left to change its place within its studio. VRA saves the new order straight away.

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How Media Connections Relate to Ingest Sources

Media Connections work together with Media Server Ingest Sources. When you create an Ingest Source for a device-based source type - HyperDeck, vMix Recording Directory, or OBS Recording Directory - you are asked to select an existing Media Connection or create a new one. The Media Connection provides the network details (host, port, credentials), while the Ingest Source defines what to monitor (the recording path, scheduling rules, cleanup settings). This separation lets you reuse the same connection across multiple ingest configurations. If your Ingest Source type does not require a device connection (like Local Directory, Network Directory, FTP, SFTP or S3), you provide connection details directly in the Ingest Source configuration instead.

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Device-Specific Features

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HyperDeck Configuration

HyperDeck connections need a configuration step before you can save them. After entering the host, click Configure. VRA saves the connection, connects to the HyperDeck and shows HyperDeck settings: If Disk shows “No disks available. Connect to load.”, click the refresh button next to it. Click Save to store the connection. HyperDeck Status Panel - once connected, the side panel shows live device information:
  • Product name, device name, and software version
  • Storage overview with usage bars per disk
  • Transport mode and playback state
  • Recording status and timecode
  • Input source and video format
  • Codec information
  • Last update timestamp
Click Discover devices, the icon button next to Host, to find HyperDecks on your local network with mDNS. Select a result to fill in the host and port, and the device name on a new connection.

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ATEM Configuration

ATEM connections need a configuration step before you can save them. After entering the host, click Configure. VRA saves the connection, connects to the ATEM and shows ATEM settings: On a new connection, Save stays disabled until VRA reaches the ATEM. For an ATEM without a built-in recorder it stays disabled with “Pick an ATEM with a built-in recorder”.

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OBS Status Panel

When an OBS connection is active, the side panel displays:
  • Connection state indicator
  • Scenes - all configured scenes, with the active scene highlighted
  • Recording - active/idle indicator, timecode, file size, output directory
  • Streaming - active/idle indicator, timecode, data transferred, frame count and skipped frames

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vMix Status Panel

When a vMix connection is active, the side panel displays:
  • Connection state indicator
  • Recording and streaming status indicators
  • vMix version and edition
  • Tally - shows which inputs are currently on Program (PGM) and Preview (PVW)