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Overview

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.
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Livepeer Protocol

The protocol is the ruleset + on-chain logic governing:
  • staking
  • delegation
  • inflation & rewards
  • orchestrator selection
  • slashing
  • probabilistic payments
  • verification rules
The economic and coordination layer that enforces correct behavior.

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Livepeer 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.
INSERT LIVEPEER ACTOR DIAGRAM HERE [THIS ONE LOOKS OLD (whitpaper)

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Broadcasters (deprecated -> Gateway)

Who: The users and builders of the network. What they do:

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Orchestrators (GPU Nodes)

aka: Transcoders / Workers Who: What they do:

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Gateways

aka: Broadcasters Who: What they do:

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Delegators

Who: What they do: Historical Livepeer Actors:
  1. Orchestrator
GPU node that performs transcoding / AI jobs, earns fees + staking rewards.
  1. Transcoder (Worker)
Child processes or machines managed by an orchestrator to perform compute.
  1. Broadcaster
Client submitting jobs (video or AI) into the network.
  1. Delegator
LPT holder who stakes to an orchestrator.
  1. Broadcaster (now a behavior, not an actor)
In modern Livepeer, which has expanded beyond just video transcoding: A gateway acts as a broadcaster when submitting video A service (e.g., Studio) can also be a broadcaster The term is no longer treated as a standalone actor Broadcaster is no longer considered its own actor - it’s now a function performed by a gateway or service, not a role a user operates. “Broadcaster” is now just a function gateways perform, not a user-facing or protocol-facing actor
  1. Worker (legacy)
Workers are still used, but only inside GPU node setups. Workers are not protocol actors They do not appear on-chain They are implementation detail for orchestrator/GPU Node setups
  1. Delegator (protocol-defined actor)
They stake LPT They help secure the network They share in inflation + orchestrator rewards Protocol Actors GPU Node (Orchestrator) — supply-side compute provider Delegator — stake from demand side

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Network / Execution Actors

Gateway Node — submits and manages jobs (AI/video) Worker — internal compute role (not user-facing) Behaviors (not actors anymore) Broadcaster — any gateway/service sending video or AI jobs Transcoder — a type of worker behavior
Last modified on January 13, 2026