Glossary
What is a VOD?
By the KeyMo team · Updated
VOD stands for video on demand: video you choose to watch when you like, not at a set broadcast time. For streamers it means the saved recording of a live stream, kept so people can watch it later. For clippers, a VOD is the long source file that the short clips are cut from.
Two meanings of VOD
The letters are used in two common ways, and search results mix them. One is about how people watch. The other is about what a streamer keeps after going offline.
| Sense | What it means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Service or catalogue | Any library you can start whenever you want, as opposed to a scheduled broadcast | A film you rent or a show you stream from a library |
| Stream recording | The archive of a live broadcast, available after it ends | A four-hour gaming stream saved to the streamer's channel |
Why a stream VOD is awkward to clip
A livestream is made in real time, so a VOD carries everything: the pre-show wait, long quiet stretches, chat reading, technical fixes and the two minutes that people actually talk about. The ratio of good moments to total length is usually low, and the file is long. That is the case clipping software exists for.
Length matters for tools with caps. KeyMo accepts a source of 5 minutes to 3 hours, so a 5-hour VOD has to be saved as two files before upload. Split at a natural break, such as a scene change or a long pause, so no moment is cut in half. It also helps to know what a source costs: a 3-hour VOD is 180 source minutes, which is 60% of the 300 minutes on the Starter plan and 20% of the 900 on Pro.
How other clippers take in VODs
Tools built for streamers often connect straight to the streaming site. Others want a file. These are the input routes each vendor describes on its own pages, as read on 11 October 2026.
| Tool | What its own page says about VOD input |
|---|---|
| StreamLadder (ClipGPT) | Paste a Twitch or Kick VOD link, or upload a YouTube stream file; its help centre says YouTube VOD links are not supported for this import |
| Eklipse | Its features page lists Twitch, Kick and YouTube streams or VODs connected to an account |
Using a VOD with KeyMo
If the VOD is on YouTube, paste the link on a paid plan; link import fetches up to 1080p. Otherwise save the recording as MP4 or MOV and upload it, up to 10 GB. KeyMo then proposes up to 15 vertical 9:16 clips, each scored out of 10 with a one-line reason, and keeps only those scoring 7 or higher. A quiet VOD can therefore return fewer clips than a busy one, which is the point.
You must confirm you own the video or have permission to use it. If the stream belongs to someone else, ask first; see fair use for why permission matters.
Common mistakes
- Uploading a whole multi-hour stream as one file when the tool has a length cap.
- Clipping a streamer's VOD without checking whether they allow it.
- Treating the whole file as clip material, when most of a stream is waiting, setup and chat.
- Starting a clip on the streamer reading a message instead of on the reaction to it.
Sources: StreamLadder Help: Import from Twitch, Kick or YouTube (checked 11 October 2026); StreamLadder: ClipGPT (checked 11 October 2026); Eklipse: YouTube and IRL videos (checked 11 October 2026).