Medal.tv is a video capture and sharing platform built for gamers and streamers, not a development tool itself

Medal.tv is software that automatically records gameplay video clips on your computer or console. It runs in the background while you play, captures highlights automatically or on demand, and lets you share clips to social media or keep them private. Developers don't use Medal.tv to build software — they use it to record and share gameplay footage of their own games or other games they play.

The platform is free to download and use. It works on Windows PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and some older consoles. The core feature is automatic clip capture: Medal.tv watches your game and saves short video segments when something notable happens — a kill, a death, a goal, a close call. You can also manually record clips whenever you want, then edit, trim, and upload them directly to YouTube, TikTok, Twitter, or Discord without leaving the app.

If you're a developer, you might encounter Medal.tv in two contexts: as a player recording clips of your game to share online, or as a tool to capture your own gameplay for testing, marketing, or streaming purposes. It's not part of your development pipeline — it sits on top of your finished game.

Key Takeaways

  • Medal.tv automatically records short video clips while you play games, triggered by in-game events or manual recording.
  • The software is free and runs on Windows PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and select older consoles.
  • Clips can be edited, trimmed, and shared directly to YouTube, TikTok, Twitter, Discord, or kept private on your device.
  • Developers use Medal.tv as players or streamers to record gameplay, not as a development or testing tool.
  • Medal.tv stores clips locally on your device by default, though you can upload them to the Medal.tv cloud for backup or sharing.

How Medal.tv captures and stores video

When you launch Medal.tv and start playing a game, the app runs in the background and monitors gameplay. It continuously records a rolling buffer of video — typically the last few minutes of gameplay — without saving anything to disk. When you trigger a clip (either automatically through an in-game event or by pressing a hotkey), Medal.tv saves that segment from the buffer as an actual video file on your computer.

By default, clips are stored locally in a folder on your PC or console. You can browse them, trim the start and end points, add a title and description, and then decide what to do next: upload to the Medal.tv cloud, share directly to social media, download as an MP4 file, or delete. The app doesn't force you to upload anything — you control where your clips go.

Video quality depends on your hardware and settings. Medal.tv can record at up to 1440p resolution and 120 frames per second on high-end systems, though the default is usually 1080p at 60 fps. Higher quality means larger file sizes, which takes up more storage space on your device.

Automatic clip detection versus manual recording

Medal.tv's automatic detection works differently depending on the game. For popular titles like Valorant, League of Legends, Fortnite, and Call of Duty, Medal.tv has built-in recognition for specific in-game events — kills, deaths, objectives captured, multi-kills. When one of those events happens, the app automatically saves a clip without you doing anything.

For games without built-in event detection, automatic capture is less useful. Medal.tv can still record based on generic triggers like sudden loud sounds or screen flashes, but these are often false positives. In those cases, manual recording is more reliable: you press a hotkey (customizable, usually something like Alt+Z) and Medal.tv saves the last 30 seconds to 5 minutes of gameplay, depending on your settings.

You can also manually record longer segments by pressing the hotkey to start recording, playing for as long as you want, then pressing it again to stop. This is useful if you're testing a feature in your own game or want to capture a specific sequence for documentation.

Sharing clips and privacy controls

Once you've trimmed a clip in Medal.tv, you can share it in several ways. The app has direct integrations with YouTube, TikTok, Twitter, Discord, and Reddit — you select the platform, add a title and description, and Medal.tv uploads the video for you. You can also generate a shareable link to the clip on Medal.tv's servers, which lets you send it to others without uploading to a social platform.

If you want to keep clips private, you can store them only on your local device and never upload them anywhere. Medal.tv won't push them to the cloud or make them visible to other users. This is useful if you're recording gameplay for internal testing, documentation, or personal reference.

Medal.tv does collect some data about your usage — which games you play, how often you record, what you share — but clips themselves are not public by default. You decide what gets shared and where it goes.

System requirements and performance impact

Medal.tv requires Windows 10 or later on PC, or a supported console. The app itself is lightweight, but video capture always uses some CPU and GPU resources. On modern systems with a dedicated graphics card, the performance hit is usually small — most players report frame rate drops of 5 to 10 percent, if any. On older or lower-end hardware, the impact can be more noticeable.

You can adjust quality settings to reduce the load: lower resolution, fewer frames per second, or shorter clip buffers all reduce the resources Medal.tv needs. If you're testing a game and need accurate performance measurements, you should disable Medal.tv during benchmarking.

Storage is the other constraint. A 5-minute clip at 1080p 60fps takes roughly 1 to 2 gigabytes of disk space, depending on compression. If you record frequently, clips can fill up your drive quickly. Medal.tv lets you set a storage limit and automatically delete old clips when you hit it.

Why developers might use Medal.tv

If you're building a game, Medal.tv is useful for a few specific tasks. You can record gameplay footage for marketing materials, trailers, or social media promotion. You can capture clips of bugs or unusual behavior to share with your team or QA testers. You can stream your game to Twitch or YouTube using Medal.tv's recording as a source, though dedicated streaming software like OBS is more flexible for that purpose.

Medal.tv is not a profiling tool, a debugging tool, or part of your development environment. It doesn't give you frame time data, memory usage, or performance metrics — it just records video. If you need to measure performance, you'll use your engine's built-in tools (like Unreal's Stat commands or Unity's Profiler) or external profilers.

For user research or playtesting, Medal.tv can be useful: you can ask testers to record their gameplay, then review clips of where they struggled or what confused them. But you'd typically use screen recording software or a dedicated playtesting platform for that workflow.

Alternatives and when to use something else

If you need simple screen recording without automatic clip detection, Windows 10 and 11 have a built-in tool: press Windows+G to open the Game Bar, then Windows+Alt+R to record. It's free and requires no setup, but it doesn't have automatic event detection or easy sharing.

For streaming to Twitch or YouTube, OBS Studio (Open Broadcaster Software) is the standard choice. It's free, open-source, and gives you much more control over encoding, layout, and scene management than Medal.tv. OBS is also better if you want to stream from multiple sources or add overlays and alerts.

For professional video editing after capture, you'd use dedicated software like DaVinci Resolve (free), Adobe Premiere, or Final Cut Pro. Medal.tv's built-in trimming and title tools are convenient for quick social media clips, but they're not a replacement for a real editor.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Medal.tv cost anything?

No, Medal.tv is free to download and use. There's no subscription tier or premium version. You can record and share unlimited clips at no cost. The company makes money through sponsorships and partnerships, not user fees.

Can I use Medal.tv to record non-game video?

Medal.tv is designed specifically for games and won't work well for general screen recording. It only activates when a game is running. If you need to record other applications, use Windows Game Bar, OBS, or a dedicated screen recorder like ScreenFlow or Camtasia.

What happens to my clips if Medal.tv shuts down?

Clips stored locally on your device remain yours — they're just video files in a folder. If you've uploaded clips to Medal.tv's cloud servers and the service shuts down, those could be lost. To be safe, download important clips as MP4 files and keep them on your own storage.

Does Medal.tv work on Mac?

Medal.tv does not have a native Mac version. It works on Windows PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and some older consoles. Mac users can use the built-in screen recording in macOS or third-party tools like OBS or ScreenFlow.

Can I record clips from games I don't own?

Yes, Medal.tv will record any game that runs on your system. There's no ownership check. However, sharing clips of copyrighted games may violate the game's terms of service or copyright law depending on how you use them. Always check the game publisher's streaming and recording policy before uploading clips publicly.