Build a CloudWatch dashboard around the question an operator needs to answer: is the problem at the input, inside the channel pipeline, or at the output destination? Use the AWS/MediaLive namespace and dimensions that identify the channel and relevant pipeline, active input, or output group. Pair those graphs with alarms whose thresholds match the channel’s normal behavior and response requirements—not a universal set of numbers.
What CloudWatch tells you about a MediaLive channel
AWS Elemental MediaLive sends metric datapoints to CloudWatch every second. CloudWatch then aggregates datapoints using the statistic and period selected for a graph or alarm; this does not mean the CloudWatch console refreshes every second. AWS documents a minimum console refresh rate of 30 seconds for MediaLive metrics. AWS MediaLive metrics documentation · Viewing MediaLive metrics
Think of the dashboard as three diagnostic layers:
- Input: Is source video arriving at the expected rate, and are there input errors?
- Pipeline and output production: Is MediaLive producing and writing outputs, or replacing dropped input frames with fill frames?
- Destination: Are HTTP output destinations returning errors?
A graph is meaningful only with the right dimensions, statistic, period, and channel state in view. Missing data is not automatically an outage.
Choose dimensions and time periods carefully
Match dimensions to the path you need to diagnose
MediaLive metrics use the AWS/MediaLive namespace. Documented dimensions include ChannelID, Pipeline, ActiveInputFailoverLabel, OutputGroupName, and AudioDescriptionName. Use the channel and pipeline dimensions to distinguish channel paths, and output-group dimensions when destination behavior needs to be isolated. Standard channels have two pipelines; single-pipeline channels use pipeline 0.
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ActiveInputFailoverLabel needs particular care. If automatic input failover is configured and you want metrics for only the active input, include the dimension. Without it, some metrics can reflect both inputs. Do not add it to a channel that does not use automatic input failover: the selected dimension may return no data. AWS documents MediaLive metric dimensions and statistics.
Use periods suited to the question
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Build dashboard panels around operational questions
In the CloudWatch console, create a dashboard and add metric widgets from the AWS/MediaLive namespace. Select the exact metric and dimension combination for the channel path you are monitoring. The following is a recommended organization based on AWS’s metric definitions, not a tested dashboard configuration.
| Panel | Metrics to consider | How to read them |
|---|---|---|
| Input condition | InputVideoFrameRate (recommended statistic: Maximum); ChannelInputErrorSeconds where applicable to RTP Push, SRT, or MediaConnect inputs; NetworkIn |
Frame rate and applicable input-error signals help assess ingest. NetworkIn adds traffic-rate context, but includes more than media payload and is not a pure ingest bitrate. |
| Output production and delivery | ActiveOutputs (recommended statistic: Minimum); FillMsec; NetworkOut (Average); Output4xxErrors and Output5xxErrors (Sum) for HTTP output destinations |
Check whether outputs are being written, whether input frames are being replaced, and whether an HTTP destination is returning errors. NetworkOut includes other service traffic, not only media. |
| Pipeline and workflow | PipelinesLocked or active-alert metrics, when relevant to the channel configuration and response process |
Include only signals that map to a condition operators need to see or act on. |
Put the channel, pipeline, output group, and time range in widget titles or dashboard text so responders can identify which path each graph represents. CloudWatch dashboards support text and metric widgets in a JSON dashboard body. Metric math can display derived time series, but only combine signals when their dimensions, periods, and missing-data behavior make the result interpretable. CloudWatch dashboard documentation · CloudWatch metric math documentation
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Interpret input and output signals without jumping to conclusions
InputVideoFrameRate and missing input data
A value of zero for InputVideoFrameRate means input was received at some point since the channel started, but no frames arrived during the current period. No datapoints can mean that no input has been received since startup, or that the metric was queried with an inapplicable failover dimension. Check channel state, input availability, transport type, and dimensions before treating an empty graph as an outage.
ActiveOutputs and FillMsec
ActiveOutputs counts outputs being produced and successfully written. A value of zero means none are being successfully written, but it may be intentional if the channel is configured to pause on input loss. FillMsec tracks input frames dropped during the period and replaced with fill frames. A non-zero value can signal unhealthy input; automatic input failover may keep it at zero by maintaining a usable input.
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HTTP destination errors and traffic rates
Output4xxErrors and Output5xxErrors count 4xx and 5xx errors from an HTTP output destination. Investigate the relevant output group and destination when these rise. Treat NetworkIn and NetworkOut as traffic context rather than media-only rates because both include other service traffic. AWS metric definitions and interpretation
Set alarms for actionable deviations
In CloudWatch, create metric alarms for conditions that require an operator response. Choose the metric, dimension set, statistic, period, comparison operator, threshold, and number of datapoints based on the channel’s configured expectations and incident process. AWS documents alarm mechanisms but does not prescribe a universal frame-rate or error threshold that applies to every channel. CloudWatch alarm documentation
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- Define the failure you want to catch. Examples include frame rate departing from the source’s expected range, output count falling below what the channel should produce, fill frames appearing, or HTTP errors increasing.
- Select the scope. Use channel and pipeline dimensions for a channel path, add the active-input failover label only when applicable, and use output-group dimensions to isolate destination behavior.
- Choose a statistic and period. Follow AWS’s recommended statistic for the metric where documented, and balance recent detail against the duration of deviation operators can tolerate.
- Set threshold and evaluation behavior from your baseline. Use expected input/output settings, historical normal behavior, tolerated incident duration, and escalation requirements—not an arbitrary generic value.
- Decide how missing data should behave. Account for initializing, paused, stopped, or waiting-for-input states so expected transitions do not create noisy alerts.
- Route and validate the notification path. Confirm the alarm’s notification or action reaches the people or system responsible for response.
MediaLive state-change and alert events are also available through CloudWatch Events, now commonly surfaced through EventBridge. AWS describes event delivery as best-effort, so use events as a complement to an operationally selected metric-alarm strategy rather than as its replacement. MediaLive state-change and alert events
MediaLive workflow monitor can associate alarm template groups with signal maps. Templates use an existing CloudWatch metric and define its statistic, comparison operator, threshold, period, and datapoints. AWS offers recommended templates, but check that they match the actual resources and response objectives in your workflow. Workflow monitor alarm templates
Use the MediaLive Health tab or CloudWatch for the right view
The MediaLive console’s Health tab displays some metrics for time ranges from the last hour through the last week. AWS says CloudWatch exposes all MediaLive metrics and longer historical data; metrics can also be retrieved through the CLI, REST API, or SDK. The CloudWatch console’s minimum refresh rate for MediaLive metrics is 30 seconds. A MediaLive namespace card appears in a selected Region only when a channel has been started within the previous 15 months. AWS guidance on viewing metrics
AWS states there is no charge to view the metrics supported on MediaLive’s Health tab. For CloudWatch console viewing and API retrieval, check the current CloudWatch documentation and pricing for your usage; the Health tab’s no-charge statement should not be generalized to all CloudWatch dashboard or API operations. MediaLive pricing information
Troubleshoot common dashboard surprises
- A metric widget is blank: Confirm the selected Region and channel state, check whether the channel has been started, and verify the metric’s dimensions. In particular, remove
ActiveInputFailoverLabelif automatic input failover is not configured. - InputVideoFrameRate is zero: Check whether frames stopped arriving during the selected period, then inspect the input and channel state. A zero value is distinct from no datapoints.
- ActiveOutputs is zero: Check whether outputs are actually failing to write, but also verify whether pause-on-input-loss behavior makes zero expected.
- FillMsec is non-zero: Investigate dropped input frames and input health. If automatic failover is enabled, confirm which input is active and whether the selected dimensions expose that path.
- Network rates do not match media bitrate: These metrics include non-media service traffic. Use them as context, not as an exact measure of encoded media payload.
- An alarm fires during a normal transition: Revisit missing-data treatment, period, datapoints, and the channel’s initializing, paused, stopped, or waiting-for-input states before changing the threshold.
- CloudWatch does not update as quickly as datapoints arrive: MediaLive sends datapoints every second, but the CloudWatch console’s documented minimum refresh interval is 30 seconds.
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