For recordings with two or more people, Zencastr also backs up each participant’s audio (and video) feed(s) from the VoIP call.
For recordings done in the 'Record Audio and Video' mode, each participant’s backup is a MOV file containing both audio and video.
For recordings done in the 'Record Audio. No Video mode' or 'Record Audio. Show Video' mode, each participant’s backup is an MP3 file containing solely audio.
Differences between internet-quality backups and local recording files
An internet-quality backup file is audio (and video) that was streamed over the internet, so the quality depends on the strength, speed, and performance of the participant’s internet connection during the VoIP call.
Because video is streamed at a lower resolution during the VoIP call to save bandwidth, internet-quality backup video files have a lower maximum resolution (360p) than locally recorded video files.
A local recording file is audio (and video) that was recorded locally by a participant’s computer, so the quality is independent of participants’ internet connection characteristics.
Availability of internet-quality backups
Internet-quality backups can be retrieved within 30 days of the recording date. After this 30-day window, backups can't be retrieved.
Recovering internet-quality backups
Follow the instructions below to recover internet-quality backups.
Click Library from the left navigation menu.
From the Recordings tab, find the recording you need to recover a backup from.
Click the three-dot menu and click Join.
In the recording room, click Recover internet-quality backups.
You’ll see a confirmation message that the backup recovery process is running.
Downloading backups
Once the backup recovery process is running, you can either close the recording room page or stay on it. You will receive an email when it completes.
To download your files from the email:
Click the Download button in the “Your backup recovery finished” email.
You’ll be redirected to the recording room and the backup files will automatically download to your computer.
To download your files from the recording room:
Click Library from the left navigation menu.
From the Recordings tab, find the recording you want to download a backup from.
Click the three-dot menu and click Join.
In the recording room, click Download internet-quality backups.
The backup files will be downloaded to your computer.
Related questions
How long does it take for the backup recovery process to finish?
Backups are usually available within an hour. The exact amount of time can vary depending on the recording length and the number of participants.
Why don’t I see the Recover internet-quality backups button on my Recording Page?
If there is no button, try refreshing the page. If there is still no button it is likely because:
The recording is a solo recording: backups aren’t available for single-participant recordings as these recordings don’t pass through a VoIP call.
The recording was done more than 30 days ago: backups are retained for only 30 days from the recording date. Beyond that, they are erased from our servers and cannot be recovered.
How does recovering internet-quality backups relate to troubleshooting unfinalized tracks?
These processes are distinct and independent of each other. Recovering internet-quality backups retrieves backups of the audio and video streamed over the internet and makes them available for download.
Troubleshooting unfinalized tracks addresses finalizing the upload of locally-recorded backups from a participant's browser storage to make them available for download. Doing one process won’t affect the other. However, both are time sensitive so it is important to do them as soon as possible.