Livepeer is designed as a modular video/AI network anchored by a minimal on‑chain protocol. The protocol manages assets and incentives on Ethereum, while the off‑chain network performs the heavy lifting of transcoding and AI processing. Official documents clearly separate these domains:On‑chain protocol – smart contracts hold ETH deposits from broadcasters and orchestrators; mint and distribute LPT staking tokens; issue probabilistic payment tickets; enforce staking, slashing and reward rules; and manage governance. The protocol does not transcode video or run AI. Its role is to coordinate payments and maintain trustless state.Off‑chain network – orchestrator nodes run Livepeer software to perform transcoding and AI workloads. They compete on price, quality and latency. Video/AI jobs and routing happen entirely off‑chain. Services like Livepeer Studio and community gateways sit on top of this layer.Bridge – broadcasters deposit ETH into the protocol and send probabilistic tickets with each segment. Orchestrators redeem winning tickets on‑chain for ETH fees, while the work itself is delivered off‑chain. LPT is not used to pay for services; it is only used for staking, delegation and governance.These boundaries ensure that the protocol remains lightweight and censorship‑resistant. Any proposed change must respect this separation—heavy compute must remain off‑chain, while financial rules and governance reside on‑chainU
The Livepeer protocol is the software layer that coordinates decentralized video and AI processing.Its core is implemented as Ethereum smart contracts (now on Arbitrum L2 after the Confluence upgrade) complemented by off-chain nodes and services.The protocol enforces staking, bonding, slashing, and reward rules on-chain, while specialized nodes handle the actual video jobs.
Gateways (Broadcasters): These demand-side nodes submit video/AI jobs to Livepeer. A gateway takes a video stream (or AI task), creates on-chain payment tickets, and routes the work to an Orchestrator. It then collects the transcoded or AI-processed result. Gateways are typically stateless routers that pay for compute.
Orchestrators: These supply-side nodes bond LPT and accept jobs from gateways. An orchestrator advertises which video/audio renditions it can provide, and claims work up to its bonded stake. When it receives a job, it divides the work among its workers (transcoders or AI workers). The orchestrator must also periodically call the on-chain reward function to distribute newly minted LPT to itself and its delegators.
Workers (Transcoders): These are the actual compute units (often GPUs) that perform video encoding or AI inference. In legacy terms, they were called Transcoders. Today they execute the heavy lifting, and they are typically managed by an Orchestrator node. Once a worker finishes processing a segment, the orchestrator returns the result to the Gateway.
Delegators: LPT holders who do not run nodes. Delegators stake their tokens on existing Orchestrators to secure the network. Their stake increases an orchestrator’s bonded weight, which can route more work to it. In return, delegators passively earn a share of the orchestrator’s rewards (both LPT emissions and ETH fees) proportional to their stake.
The job routing flow can be summarized as: a Gateway creates a job request → an Orchestrator accepts the job → the Orchestrator assigns it to a Worker node → the Worker processes the segment → the result is returned to the Gateway. Delegators sit “behind” the orchestrator by staking LPT (shown below). The orchestrator earns ETH fees from the Gateway, and can share a portion of those fees with delegators based on its fee-sharing policy. Smart contracts on Arbitrum enforce each step, ensuring trustless cooperation.This diagram shows a simplified Livepeer job: the Gateway (left) sends work to an Orchestrator (middle), which directs a Worker (right) to process it, and then returns results back to the Gateway. Delegators (dotted line) back the Orchestrator with staked LPT.
Livepeer involves multiple actors, both on-chain (protocol) and off-chain (community).Here’s a breakdown of key roles:
Orchestrator: A bonded node operator that claims work on-chain. Orchestrators maintain active LPT stake, set fee-sharing percentages, and call the on-chain reward function each round. They earn ETH fees from broadcasters and LPT from inflation. (Messari: “Orchestrators (node operators) route transcoding & AI jobs… earning ETH fees and LPT rewards”.)
Transcoder / Worker: A compute node (often a GPU) that performs the actual encoding or inference. Workers do not hold stake themselves; they operate under an Orchestrator.
Gateway (Broadcaster): A stateless demand-side node. Gateways submit video or AI jobs to the network and pay the node that completes the work. They effectively bridge an input stream into Livepeer, handling micropayment tickets on-chain.
Delegator: A token holder who stakes LPT behind one or more orchestrators. Delegators strengthen network security and decentralization. In exchange, they receive a portion of the node’s rewards (both mint emissions and usage fees) according to their stake. As one Livepeer blog notes, “Delegators earn a share of both token emissions (while they last) and usage-based fees”.
Livepeer Foundation: A non-profit entity formed to guide ecosystem growth. The Foundation coordinates long-term strategy and funding, runs community programs (like advisory boards), and helps align core protocol development with the open-source community.
Developers & Builders: Software teams building on Livepeer. This includes decentralized video apps (e.g. on Web3 social networks) and infrastructure tools. Messari notes Livepeer is used by projects ranging from decentralized streaming platforms to tokenized music apps.
AI Artists & Content Creators: Performers and creators who use Livepeer’s tools (like Daydream) to produce content. For example, MetaDJ used Daydream to let fans shape the live visuals in real time. Any streamer, musician, or videographer can leverage the network for novel AI-enhanced experiences.Gateway Operators: Organizations running public Livepeer gateway services. For example, Livepeer Cloud (a community-run gateway) and Livepeer Studio (a production-grade API gateway) provide easy on-ramps to the network. They ensure reliable, scalable access for creators and apps.Special Purpose Entities (SPEs): Community-approved teams funded by the on-chain treasury. SPEs tackle public goods for Livepeer (e.g. building dev tools, infrastructure). For example, Livepeer’s ecosystem has active SPEs like LiveInfra and LISAR working on network upgrades and on-ramp infrastructure.
Livepeer ProtocolThe protocol is the ruleset + on-chain logic governing:Livepeer NetworkThe network is the actual running system of machines performing work:Livepeer ActorsA Livepeer actor is any role or entity that participates in the Livepeer protocol or network and performs actions defined by the system.
Livepeer is a full-stack platform for video streaming & AI. The video streaming software is underpinned by a network of actors that perform the work needed to compute, transcode & orchestrate video & AI jobs in the Livepeer network.The Livepeer Protocol is the underlying code that enforces the mechanisms and rules to ensure the reliability, cooperation and coordination of these decentralised actors.
A Livepeer actor is any role or entity that participates in the Livepeer protocol or network and performs actions defined by the system.
In Livepeer architecture, “actor” is a formal category used to describe participants with distinct responsibilities, incentives, and interactions.
Actors are fundamental to describing how the network functions end-to-end from a systems engineering perspective.Livepeer’s ecosystem involves both protocol actors (on-chain roles) and community actors (network participants and builders)
INSERT LIVEPEER ACTOR DIAGRAM HERE [THIS ONE LOOKS OLD (whitpaper)
