diff --git a/catalyst-uploader.go b/catalyst-uploader.go
index ca95efd..9eb9842 100644
--- a/catalyst-uploader.go
+++ b/catalyst-uploader.go
@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ func run() int {
 	verbosity := fs.String("v", "", "Log verbosity.  {4|5|6}")
 	timeout := fs.Duration("t", 30*time.Second, "Upload timeout")
 	storageFallbackURLs := CommaMapFlag(fs, "storage-fallback-urls", `Comma-separated map of primary to backup storage URLs. If a file fails uploading to one of the primary storages (detected by prefix), it will fallback to the corresponding backup URL after having the prefix replaced`)
+	segTimeout := fs.Duration("segment-timeout", 5*time.Minute, "Segment write timeout")
 
 	defaultConfigFile := "/etc/livepeer/catalyst_uploader.conf"
 	if _, err := os.Stat(defaultConfigFile); os.IsNotExist(err) {
@@ -99,7 +100,8 @@ func run() int {
 		return 1
 	}
 
-	out, err := core.Upload(os.Stdin, uri, WaitBetweenWrites, *timeout, *storageFallbackURLs)
+	start := time.Now()
+	out, err := core.Upload(os.Stdin, uri, WaitBetweenWrites, *timeout, *storageFallbackURLs, *segTimeout)
 	if err != nil {
 		glog.Errorf("Uploader failed for %s: %s", uri.Redacted(), err)
 		return 1
@@ -109,7 +111,7 @@ func run() int {
 	if out != nil {
 		respHeaders = out.UploaderResponseHeaders
 	}
-	glog.Infof("Uploader succeeded for %s. storageRequestID=%s Etag=%s", uri.Redacted(), respHeaders.Get("X-Amz-Request-Id"), respHeaders.Get("Etag"))
+	glog.Infof("Uploader succeeded for %s. storageRequestID=%s Etag=%s timeTaken=%vms", uri.Redacted(), respHeaders.Get("X-Amz-Request-Id"), respHeaders.Get("Etag"), time.Since(start).Milliseconds())
 	// success, write uploaded file details to stdout
 	if glog.V(5) {
 		err = json.NewEncoder(stdout).Encode(map[string]string{"uri": uri.Redacted()})
diff --git a/core/uploader.go b/core/uploader.go
index 0bb8e9d..d0e9746 100644
--- a/core/uploader.go
+++ b/core/uploader.go
@@ -13,11 +13,10 @@ import (
 	"strings"
 	"time"
 
-	"golang.org/x/sync/errgroup"
-
 	"github.com/cenkalti/backoff/v4"
 	"github.com/golang/glog"
 	"github.com/livepeer/go-tools/drivers"
+	"golang.org/x/sync/errgroup"
 )
 
 type ByteCounter struct {
@@ -29,40 +28,57 @@ func (bc *ByteCounter) Write(p []byte) (n int, err error) {
 	return n, nil
 }
 
-func newExponentialBackOffExecutor() *backoff.ExponentialBackOff {
+func newExponentialBackOffExecutor(initial, max, totalMax time.Duration) *backoff.ExponentialBackOff {
 	backOff := backoff.NewExponentialBackOff()
-	backOff.InitialInterval = 30 * time.Second
-	backOff.MaxInterval = 2 * time.Minute
-	backOff.MaxElapsedTime = 0 // don't impose a timeout as part of the retries
+	backOff.InitialInterval = initial
+	backOff.MaxInterval = max
+	backOff.MaxElapsedTime = totalMax
 	backOff.Reset()
 	return backOff
 }
 
+func NoRetries() backoff.BackOff {
+	return &backoff.StopBackOff{}
+}
+
 func UploadRetryBackoff() backoff.BackOff {
-	return backoff.WithMaxRetries(newExponentialBackOffExecutor(), 2)
+	return newExponentialBackOffExecutor(30*time.Second, 4*time.Minute, 15*time.Minute)
 }
 
-const segmentWriteTimeout = 5 * time.Minute
+func SingleRequestRetryBackoff() backoff.BackOff {
+	return newExponentialBackOffExecutor(5*time.Second, 10*time.Second, 30*time.Second)
+}
 
 var expiryField = map[string]string{
 	"Object-Expires": "+168h", // Objects will be deleted after 7 days
 }
 
-func Upload(input io.Reader, outputURI *url.URL, waitBetweenWrites, writeTimeout time.Duration, storageFallbackURLs map[string]string) (*drivers.SaveDataOutput, error) {
-	if strings.HasSuffix(outputURI.Path, ".ts") || strings.HasSuffix(outputURI.Path, ".mp4") {
+func Upload(input io.Reader, outputURI *url.URL, waitBetweenWrites, writeTimeout time.Duration, storageFallbackURLs map[string]string, segTimeout time.Duration) (*drivers.SaveDataOutput, error) {
+	ext := filepath.Ext(outputURI.Path)
+	inputFile, err := os.CreateTemp("", "upload-*"+ext)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to write to temp file: %w", err)
+	}
+	inputFileName := inputFile.Name()
+	defer os.Remove(inputFileName)
+
+	if ext == ".ts" || ext == ".mp4" {
 		// For segments we just write them in one go here and return early.
 		// (Otherwise the incremental write logic below caused issues with clipping since it results in partial segments being written.)
-		fileContents, err := io.ReadAll(input)
+		_, err = io.Copy(inputFile, input)
 		if err != nil {
-			return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to read file")
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to write to temp file: %w", err)
+		}
+		if err := inputFile.Close(); err != nil {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to close input file: %w", err)
 		}
 
-		out, bytesWritten, err := uploadFileWithBackup(outputURI, fileContents, nil, segmentWriteTimeout, true, storageFallbackURLs)
+		out, bytesWritten, err := uploadFileWithBackup(outputURI, inputFileName, nil, segTimeout, true, storageFallbackURLs)
 		if err != nil {
 			return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to upload video %s: (%d bytes) %w", outputURI.Redacted(), bytesWritten, err)
 		}
 
-		if err = extractThumb(outputURI, fileContents, storageFallbackURLs); err != nil {
+		if err = extractThumb(outputURI, inputFileName, storageFallbackURLs); err != nil {
 			glog.Errorf("extracting thumbnail failed for %s: %v", outputURI.Redacted(), err)
 		}
 		return out, nil
@@ -70,8 +86,11 @@ func Upload(input io.Reader, outputURI *url.URL, waitBetweenWrites, writeTimeout
 
 	// For the manifest files we want a very short cache ttl as the files are updating every few seconds
 	fields := &drivers.FileProperties{CacheControl: "max-age=1"}
-	var fileContents []byte
 	var lastWrite = time.Now()
+	// Keep the file handle closed while we wait for input data
+	if err := inputFile.Close(); err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to close input file: %w", err)
+	}
 
 	scanner := bufio.NewScanner(input)
 
@@ -89,11 +108,21 @@ func Upload(input io.Reader, outputURI *url.URL, waitBetweenWrites, writeTimeout
 
 	for scanner.Scan() {
 		b := scanner.Bytes()
-		fileContents = append(fileContents, b...)
+
+		inputFile, err = os.OpenFile(inputFileName, os.O_WRONLY|os.O_APPEND, 0644)
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to open file: %w", err)
+		}
+		if _, err := inputFile.Write(b); err != nil {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to append to input file: %w", err)
+		}
+		if err := inputFile.Close(); err != nil {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to close input file: %w", err)
+		}
 
 		// Only write the latest version of the data that's been piped in if enough time has elapsed since the last write
 		if lastWrite.Add(waitBetweenWrites).Before(time.Now()) {
-			if _, _, err := uploadFileWithBackup(outputURI, fileContents, fields, writeTimeout, false, storageFallbackURLs); err != nil {
+			if _, _, err := uploadFileWithBackup(outputURI, inputFileName, fields, writeTimeout, false, storageFallbackURLs); err != nil {
 				// Just log this error, since it'll effectively be retried after the next interval
 				glog.Errorf("Failed to write: %v", err)
 			} else {
@@ -107,7 +136,7 @@ func Upload(input io.Reader, outputURI *url.URL, waitBetweenWrites, writeTimeout
 	}
 
 	// We have to do this final write, otherwise there might be final data that's arrived since the last periodic write
-	if _, _, err := uploadFileWithBackup(outputURI, fileContents, fields, writeTimeout, true, storageFallbackURLs); err != nil {
+	if _, _, err := uploadFileWithBackup(outputURI, inputFileName, fields, writeTimeout, false, storageFallbackURLs); err != nil {
 		// Don't ignore this error, since there won't be any further attempts to write
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to write final save: %w", err)
 	}
@@ -115,20 +144,32 @@ func Upload(input io.Reader, outputURI *url.URL, waitBetweenWrites, writeTimeout
 	return nil, nil
 }
 
-func uploadFileWithBackup(outputURI *url.URL, fileContents []byte, fields *drivers.FileProperties, writeTimeout time.Duration, withRetries bool, storageFallbackURLs map[string]string) (out *drivers.SaveDataOutput, bytesWritten int64, err error) {
-	out, bytesWritten, primaryErr := uploadFile(outputURI, fileContents, fields, writeTimeout, withRetries)
-	if primaryErr == nil {
-		return out, bytesWritten, nil
+func uploadFileWithBackup(outputURI *url.URL, fileName string, fields *drivers.FileProperties, writeTimeout time.Duration, withRetries bool, storageFallbackURLs map[string]string) (out *drivers.SaveDataOutput, bytesWritten int64, err error) {
+	retryPolicy := NoRetries()
+	if withRetries {
+		retryPolicy = UploadRetryBackoff()
 	}
+	err = backoff.Retry(func() error {
+		var primaryErr error
+		out, bytesWritten, primaryErr = uploadFile(outputURI, fileName, fields, writeTimeout, withRetries)
+		if primaryErr == nil {
+			return nil
+		}
 
-	backupURI, err := buildBackupURI(outputURI, storageFallbackURLs)
-	if err != nil {
-		glog.Errorf("failed to build backup URL: %v", err)
-		return nil, 0, primaryErr
-	}
+		backupURI, err := buildBackupURI(outputURI, storageFallbackURLs)
+		if err != nil {
+			glog.Errorf("failed to build backup URL: %v", err)
+			return primaryErr
+		}
+		glog.Warningf("Primary upload failed, uploading to backupURL=%s primaryErr=%q", backupURI.Redacted(), primaryErr)
 
-	glog.Warningf("Primary upload failed, uploading to backupURL=%s primaryErr=%q", backupURI.Redacted(), primaryErr)
-	return uploadFile(backupURI, fileContents, fields, writeTimeout, withRetries)
+		out, bytesWritten, err = uploadFile(backupURI, fileName, fields, writeTimeout, withRetries)
+		if err == nil {
+			return nil
+		}
+		return fmt.Errorf("upload file errors: primary: %w; backup: %w", primaryErr, err)
+	}, retryPolicy)
+	return out, bytesWritten, err
 }
 
 func buildBackupURI(outputURI *url.URL, storageFallbackURLs map[string]string) (*url.URL, error) {
@@ -142,7 +183,7 @@ func buildBackupURI(outputURI *url.URL, storageFallbackURLs map[string]string) (
 	return nil, fmt.Errorf("no backup URL found for %s", outputURI.Redacted())
 }
 
-func uploadFile(outputURI *url.URL, fileContents []byte, fields *drivers.FileProperties, writeTimeout time.Duration, withRetries bool) (out *drivers.SaveDataOutput, bytesWritten int64, err error) {
+func uploadFile(outputURI *url.URL, fileName string, fields *drivers.FileProperties, writeTimeout time.Duration, withRetries bool) (out *drivers.SaveDataOutput, bytesWritten int64, err error) {
 	outputStr := outputURI.String()
 	// While we wait for storj to implement an easier method for global object deletion we are hacking something
 	// here to allow us to have recording objects deleted after 7 days.
@@ -161,14 +202,20 @@ func uploadFile(outputURI *url.URL, fileContents []byte, fields *drivers.FilePro
 	}
 	session := driver.NewSession("")
 
-	var retryPolicy backoff.BackOff = &backoff.StopBackOff{} // no retries by default
+	retryPolicy := NoRetries()
 	if withRetries {
-		retryPolicy = UploadRetryBackoff()
+		retryPolicy = SingleRequestRetryBackoff()
 	}
 	err = backoff.Retry(func() error {
+		file, err := os.Open(fileName)
+		if err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("failed to open file: %w", err)
+		}
+		defer file.Close()
+
 		// To count how many bytes we are trying to read then write (upload) to s3 storage
 		byteCounter := &ByteCounter{}
-		teeReader := io.TeeReader(bytes.NewReader(fileContents), byteCounter)
+		teeReader := io.TeeReader(file, byteCounter)
 
 		out, err = session.SaveData(context.Background(), "", teeReader, fields, writeTimeout)
 		bytesWritten = byteCounter.Count
@@ -182,20 +229,16 @@ func uploadFile(outputURI *url.URL, fileContents []byte, fields *drivers.FilePro
 	return out, bytesWritten, err
 }
 
-func extractThumb(outputURI *url.URL, segment []byte, storageFallbackURLs map[string]string) error {
+func extractThumb(outputURI *url.URL, segmentFileName string, storageFallbackURLs map[string]string) error {
 	tmpDir, err := os.MkdirTemp(os.TempDir(), "thumb-*")
 	if err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("temp file creation failed: %w", err)
 	}
 	defer os.RemoveAll(tmpDir)
 	outFile := filepath.Join(tmpDir, "out.png")
-	inFile := filepath.Join(tmpDir, filepath.Base(outputURI.Path))
-	if err = os.WriteFile(inFile, segment, 0644); err != nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("failed to write input file: %w", err)
-	}
 
 	args := []string{
-		"-i", inFile,
+		"-i", segmentFileName,
 		"-ss", "00:00:00",
 		"-vframes", "1",
 		"-vf", "scale=640:360:force_original_aspect_ratio=decrease",
@@ -217,16 +260,6 @@ func extractThumb(outputURI *url.URL, segment []byte, storageFallbackURLs map[st
 		return fmt.Errorf("ffmpeg failed[%s] [%s]: %w", outputBuf.String(), stdErr.String(), err)
 	}
 
-	f, err := os.Open(outFile)
-	if err != nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("opening file failed: %w", err)
-	}
-	defer f.Close()
-	thumbData, err := io.ReadAll(f)
-	if err != nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("failed to read file: %w", err)
-	}
-
 	// two thumbs, one at session level, the other at stream level
 	thumbURLs := []*url.URL{outputURI.JoinPath("../latest.png"), outputURI.JoinPath("../../../latest.png")}
 	fields := &drivers.FileProperties{CacheControl: "max-age=5"}
@@ -235,7 +268,7 @@ func extractThumb(outputURI *url.URL, segment []byte, storageFallbackURLs map[st
 	for _, thumbURL := range thumbURLs {
 		thumbURL := thumbURL
 		errGroup.Go(func() error {
-			_, _, err = uploadFileWithBackup(thumbURL, thumbData, fields, 10*time.Second, true, storageFallbackURLs)
+			_, _, err = uploadFileWithBackup(thumbURL, outFile, fields, 10*time.Second, true, storageFallbackURLs)
 			if err != nil {
 				return fmt.Errorf("saving thumbnail failed: %w", err)
 			}
diff --git a/core/uploader_test.go b/core/uploader_test.go
index 649528b..9717b57 100644
--- a/core/uploader_test.go
+++ b/core/uploader_test.go
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ func TestItWritesSlowInputIncrementally(t *testing.T) {
 	go func() {
 		u, err := url.Parse(outputFile.Name())
 		require.NoError(t, err)
-		_, err = Upload(slowReader, u, 100*time.Millisecond, time.Second, nil)
+		_, err = Upload(slowReader, u, 100*time.Millisecond, time.Second, nil, time.Minute)
 		require.NoError(t, err, "")
 	}()
 
@@ -67,6 +67,9 @@ func TestUploadFileWithBackup(t *testing.T) {
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 	defer os.RemoveAll(dir)
 
+	testFile := filepath.Join(dir, "input.txt")
+	require.NoError(t, os.WriteFile(testFile, []byte("test"), 0644))
+
 	fakeStorage := "s3+https://fake.service.livepeer.com/bucket/"
 	backupStorage := filepath.Join(dir, "backup") + "/"
 	fakeOutput := fakeStorage + "hls/123/file.txt"
@@ -75,7 +78,7 @@ func TestUploadFileWithBackup(t *testing.T) {
 	storageFallbackURLs := map[string]string{
 		fakeStorage: "file://" + backupStorage,
 	}
-	out, written, err := uploadFileWithBackup(mustParseURL(fakeOutput), []byte("test"), nil, 0, false, storageFallbackURLs)
+	out, written, err := uploadFileWithBackup(mustParseURL(fakeOutput), testFile, nil, 0, false, storageFallbackURLs)
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 	require.Equal(t, expectedOutFile, out.URL)
 	require.Equal(t, int64(4), written)