Costs and spend limits
AI video is paid for by you, at your provider, under your own account. Stream Repeater does not resell it and cannot see or change what the provider charges.
How much video a stream uses
A stream plays clips back to back, all day, whether anyone is watching or not. Every clip plays as 8 seconds, so a stream uses 7.5 clips a minute:
| Clips | |
|---|---|
| Per hour | 450 |
| Per day | 10,800 |
Multiply by what one clip costs you at your provider. At 20p a clip, that is about £90 an hour or £2,160 a day, charged by your provider. Stopping the stream stops the spending.
Keeping it on air
Providers take a while — often minutes — to make each clip. A stream only stays unbroken if the clips it keeps ready (Clips ahead × clip length) cover that wait. The stream page measures how long your provider actually takes and tells you if the settings can't keep up, with the Clips ahead figure that would, and the cost per hour and per day. Raising Clips ahead doesn't change how many clips a day you use — it decides whether viewers see new video or the standby picture.
The spend limit
On the stream's form, set Cost per clip at your provider and a Spend limit. We add up an estimate — every clip the provider accepted to make, including retries — and when it reaches your limit we stop asking for new clips. The stream stays on air and plays the standby picture instead of dropping the broadcast. Raise or clear the limit to carry on.
This is an estimate calculated by Stream Repeater, not a bill. Your AI providers charge you directly under your own account with them, and we cannot see, verify or control what they charge. When the estimate reaches your limit we stop requesting new generations for this stream and fall back to your standby media — that is the only effect it has. To put a real cap on what you are charged, set a hard spend limit in each provider account.
If you leave Cost per clip blank, the limit can't be enforced, and the form says so.
Failed clips
A clip that fails for a temporary reason is retried up to three times, waiting a minute and then five minutes (longer if the provider asks us to wait). A clip the provider refused, or a failure after the provider had already started (and charged for) the job, is not retried.