Medal.tv is a clip-sharing platform built for gamers who stream on Twitch, YouTube, or Discord

Medal.tv is software that runs in the background while you play games and automatically saves short video clips of your best moments — kills, funny deaths, close calls, anything you mark as worth keeping. Instead of manually recording, editing, and uploading to social media, Medal.tv handles the recording and gives you a one-click way to share clips to Twitter, TikTok, Discord, or your streaming channel. The platform is free to use, and the clips stay on Medal's servers so you don't need to store them on your own computer.

The software works by constantly recording your gameplay in a rolling buffer — think of it like a DVR that keeps the last few minutes of video in memory. When something exciting happens, you hit a hotkey (a keyboard shortcut you set yourself) and Medal saves that moment as a clip. You can then trim it, add a title, and share it when ready. For streamers, this means clips from your live broadcast get saved automatically without you having to ask viewers to clip them or do the work yourself.

Key Takeaways

  • Medal.tv records your gameplay automatically in the background and saves clips when you press a hotkey, so you don't have to manually record or edit.
  • The software works with Twitch, YouTube, Discord, and most PC games, and clips are stored on Medal's servers rather than taking up space on your computer.
  • You can share clips directly to social media platforms like Twitter and TikTok with one click, making it faster to build an audience outside your main streaming channel.
  • Medal.tv is free, though a paid tier called Medal+ removes ads from your clip pages and adds features like custom branding and longer clip lengths.

How Medal.tv records and saves your gameplay

When you install Medal.tv on your PC, it runs as a background process while you play. The software continuously records video and audio from your game, but it doesn't save everything — instead, it keeps a rolling buffer of the last few minutes in your computer's RAM (temporary memory). This is why Medal.tv uses less disk space than traditional recording software like OBS or Shadowplay.

When you press your hotkey during gameplay, Medal captures that moment and saves it as a clip file. You choose how long the clip is — typically 15 seconds to a few minutes depending on your settings. The clip then uploads to Medal's servers, where it stays permanently unless you delete it. This means you can access your clips from any device, and they won't disappear if your computer crashes or you reinstall Windows.

Medal.tv also integrates with Twitch and YouTube, so if you're streaming live, the software can automatically detect highlights from your broadcast and suggest them as clips. Some streamers use this feature to build a library of their best moments without having to mark each one manually.

Sharing clips to social media and your audience

Once a clip is saved, Medal.tv gives you a shareable link and a preview image. You can post this link directly to Twitter, TikTok, Discord, or Reddit, and viewers see an embedded video player. The clip page shows your username, a play count, and options for viewers to follow you or visit your Twitch channel — so sharing clips becomes a way to drive traffic to your main streaming presence.

For streamers trying to grow an audience, this matters because clips are easier to share than full VODs (video-on-demand recordings of entire streams). A 30-second clip of a funny moment spreads faster on social media than a 3-hour stream archive. Medal.tv makes creating and sharing those clips frictionless, so you're more likely to actually do it instead of letting good moments disappear.

You can also customize how your clips look — add a title, description, and tags so they show up in Medal's search and recommendation system. The free version includes ads on your clip pages; the paid Medal+ tier removes those ads and lets you add custom branding like a watermark or banner.

What Medal.tv costs and what the paid tier includes

Medal.tv's core features — recording, saving clips, and sharing to social media — are free. You can use the platform indefinitely without paying anything. The free version includes up to 4K recording (depending on your hardware), unlimited clip storage, and the ability to share to all major social platforms.

Medal+ is the paid subscription tier, which costs a monthly fee (the exact amount varies by region and changes periodically, so check Medal's website for current pricing). Medal+ removes ads from your clip pages, lets you upload clips up to 30 minutes long instead of the free limit, adds custom branding options, and gives you access to advanced analytics showing how many people watched your clips and where they came from. For casual gamers, the free tier is usually enough. For streamers trying to build a brand, Medal+ can be worth the cost because it removes the ads that might distract viewers.

Which games and platforms Medal.tv works with

Medal.tv works with most PC games, including competitive shooters like Valorant and CS:GO, battle royales like Fortnite and Apex Legends, and single-player games like Elden Ring and Baldur's Gate 3. The software runs on Windows and captures gameplay from any game that runs on your PC — it doesn't require the game developer to add special support.

On the streaming side, Medal.tv integrates with Twitch, YouTube Gaming, and Discord. If you stream on Twitch, Medal can pull clips directly from your VOD and suggest them to you. If you use Discord to share gameplay with friends, Medal clips can be posted to Discord channels automatically. Medal.tv does not currently support console gaming (PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch), so if you play games on a console, you would need separate recording software.

How Medal.tv compares to other recording software

The main alternative to Medal.tv is NVIDIA Shadowplay (if you have an NVIDIA graphics card) or AMD ReLive (for AMD cards). Both of these are built into your graphics driver and work similarly — they record gameplay in the background and let you save clips with a hotkey. The difference is that Shadowplay and ReLive store clips on your local hard drive, so you have to manage storage space, whereas Medal.tv stores clips on its servers.

OBS (Open Broadcaster Software) is another option, but it's designed more for live streaming than clip capture. OBS is free and very powerful, but it requires more setup and manual recording — you have to start and stop recording yourself, rather than having the software do it automatically.

For streamers specifically, Medal.tv's advantage is the one-click sharing to social media and the automatic integration with Twitch VODs. Shadowplay and ReLive don't have those features built in, so you'd have to manually upload clips to social platforms. For that reason, Medal.tv has become popular with Twitch streamers who want to grow their audience through clips.

Setting up Medal.tv on your PC

To start using Medal.tv, read the installer from Medal's website and run it on your Windows PC. The installation is straightforward — the software asks where you want to save clips (you can choose a folder on your hard drive or let it use the default location) and which hotkey you want to use to save clips. Common choices are F10 or a side button on your mouse, but you can set it to any key combination you prefer.

Once installed, Medal.tv runs automatically when you start your PC. You don't have to open it or do anything — just launch a game and start playing. When something exciting happens, press your hotkey and the clip saves. The first time you share a clip, Medal asks you to log in with your email or a social media account so it can link your clips to your profile.

If you stream on Twitch, you can connect your Twitch account to Medal so it can access your VODs and suggest highlights. This is optional, but it makes the process faster if you want Medal to automatically find your best moments from a stream.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Medal.tv slow down my game or use a lot of CPU?

Medal.tv is designed to have minimal impact on performance because it uses your graphics card (GPU) to encode video rather than your CPU. Most users report no noticeable slowdown, but the exact impact depends on your hardware. If you have an older graphics card or a weak CPU, you might see a small frame rate drop, especially at high resolutions like 4K.

Can I use Medal.tv if I don't stream on Twitch?

Yes. Medal.tv works for any PC gamer who wants to save and share clips, whether you stream or not. You can record gameplay, save clips, and share them to social media without ever going live. Many casual gamers use Medal.tv just to capture funny moments and share them with friends on Discord or Twitter.

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

Medal.tv is owned by a company called Vindex and has been operating since 2016, so it's an established platform. However, if the service did shut down, you would lose access to clips stored on Medal's servers. For that reason, if you have clips you want to keep permanently, you can read them to your computer as video files.

Can I edit my clips after I save them?

Medal.tv has basic editing tools — you can trim the start and end of a clip, add a title and description, and adjust the thumbnail image. For more advanced editing like adding effects, text overlays, or music, you would need to read the clip and use video editing software like DaVinci Resolve or Adobe Premiere.

Does Medal.tv work with streaming software like OBS?

Yes. Medal.tv records your game directly, not your streaming software, so it works alongside OBS, Streamlabs, or any other streaming tool. You can stream with OBS and use Medal.tv to capture clips at the same time without any conflict.