When a guest uploads a video, you will see a "Processing" chip on the tile in the gallery for a few minutes before the video becomes playable. This is expected, we are transcoding the video so it plays on every phone, tablet, and TV without re-buffering.
Here is what is happening, how long to expect, and what to do if a video seems stuck.
What is actually happening
Every guest's phone records video in its own flavor. iPhones ship HEVC. Androids often ship H.264 in an MP4 container. Occasionally someone uploads something exotic from a dedicated camera. If we played those files directly, half your guests would see a black screen or hit a "format not supported" error.
Instead we run the upload through Mux, which:
- Decodes the source file
- Creates multiple encoded versions at different resolutions (480p, 720p, 1080p, 4K if the source is 4K)
- Packages them as HLS so the video adapts to the viewer's connection speed
- Generates a thumbnail
- Returns the playback URL, which we plug into the gallery
Only after all that does the "Processing" chip disappear and the video become playable.
How long it takes
Rough expectations based on typical wedding content:
| Source | Typical processing time |
|---|---|
| 30 second clip, 1080p, from a phone | 30 to 90 seconds |
| 1 minute clip, 1080p | 1 to 3 minutes |
| 5 minute clip, 1080p | 3 to 8 minutes |
| 30 second clip, 4K from iPhone | 2 to 5 minutes |
| 10 minute ceremony clip, 1080p | 8 to 15 minutes |
| 20+ minute full ceremony | 15 to 40 minutes |
Longer clips and 4K source take meaningfully longer because Mux is re-encoding more frames.
Is it stuck, or is it just slow?
A video is only "stuck" if it has been processing for more than 3x the expected time. For a 30 second clip, that means more than 4-5 minutes. For a 20 minute ceremony, that means over 2 hours.
If the processing chip is still there inside the normal window, relax, it is working. Reload the gallery every few minutes and it will transition to playable on its own.
We also have a built-in polling loop on the event dashboard that re-checks every open video's status while the tab is visible. Leave the event page open in a background tab and it will keep itself fresh.
What to do if a video really is stuck
If a clip has been processing for way longer than its expected window, one of a few things happened:
1. The source file is corrupted
Sometimes guests' phones save a half-written video file (they quit the camera app mid-recording, or iCloud synced a partial copy). Mux returns an "errored" status on these.
From your event dashboard, an errored video shows a different chip, red "Processing failed" instead of gray "Processing." If you see that, the only fix is to delete that upload and ask the guest to try again with a fresh recording.
2. The source format is unusual
9 times out of 10, Mux handles the format fine. Occasionally someone uploads a file from a drone, GoPro, or DSLR in a codec we do not expect. Those usually still work, they just take 3-5x longer.
If it has been truly stuck (not erroring, just not finishing) for more than an hour on a normal-length clip, contact support with the event ID and the approximate upload time and we can inspect the Mux job directly.
3. A Mux outage
Very rare, but Mux itself occasionally has ingest delays or API issues. Check status.mux.com. If there is an active incident, everything queued during that window will back up and then drain in a burst once the incident clears.
We will send a support notification to affected events if we see a Mux incident impacting you.
While a video is processing
The upload is already saved. Closing the tab, switching phones, or losing signal does not undo it. The processing happens on Mux's servers, not on anyone's device.
Guests can close their browser and walk away. Hosts can close the event page. When Mux finishes, the video is ready, you do not need to keep anything open.
Can I watch while it is processing?
No. The preview requires the encoded playback URL, which does not exist until Mux finishes. The thumbnail also arrives at the end of the processing job.
The one exception is that on the guest upload form, right after they upload, some browsers can play the local file from the device's memory before it is cleared. That is the source file, not the processed version. That preview disappears when they navigate away.
Live streams are different
If you are using the Live Streaming feature, the stream itself has near-zero latency (2-6 seconds depending on your encoder). But the VOD recording of that stream, the playback copy that saves after the stream ends, still needs to process, and processing time is roughly the length of the stream plus 20%.
So a 45-minute ceremony stream takes about 55 minutes of processing before the VOD replay is available. Set expectations with the couple accordingly.
Does processing cost me against my quota?
No. You are billed on completed, stored minutes. Processing time does not count. A failed/errored upload that never finishes is not billed.
Getting a video to the top of the queue
You cannot manually prioritize. Mux processes in FIFO order. If you are rushing to get a specific clip ready for the reception slideshow, upload that clip first before dumping the rest of the cards.