Did you know that not all live video streaming is created equal? And the event that you thought you were watching “live” may actually have happened over a minute ago?
That’s because the most popular live video streaming protocols such as HLS and RTMP, whilst often described as “real-time”, are subject to encoding, transmission, and then decoding. Each of these processes introduces a delay before the content arrives at you.
This delay can be anything from 15 seconds up to 90 seconds – a whole minute and a half after the original event.
This article will cover:
RTMP and HLS stream limits and limitations
How to enable RTMP or HLS streaming
What are RTMP and HLS?
RTMP and HLS provide high performance of video and audio data. You can broadcast your meeting to platforms that support RTMP, such as Facebook Live, Youtube Live, or IBM Cloud Video (currently supported through KUDO). For platforms that do not support RTMP, you can use HLS (HTTP Live Stream)
RTMP and HLS stream limits and limitations
RTMP streams are limited by the number of viewers supported by the RTMP provider Facebook Live, Youtube Live, or IBM Cloud Video);
Limitations:
- Facebook Live - Facebook supports only one language per stream. You can set up to three streams/meeting;
- Youtube Live - Youtube supports only one language per stream. You can set up to three streams/meeting;
- IBM Ustream - IBM supports multiple languages per stream (up to 5);
- If you stream a foreign language, and the Interpreter stops interpreting, through RTMP we cannot automatically change the stream to the language spoken on Floor, as it happens on KUDO; (This means that if we stream a meeting in a specific language on YouTube using RTMP, when the interpreter stops publishing in that channel, the user watching the stream doesn't get the floor audio);
NOTE: All the configured language channels should be active/broadcasting before the stream is started;
HLS streams support an unlimited number of viewers.
How to enable RTMP or HLS streaming
RTMP streaming is available only for Large meetings. In order to enable it, after creating a large meeting, you should see a Broadcast tab as on the screenshot below:
Once you have enabled RTMP and set the broadcast duration, you can add the RTMP stream by clicking on the + Add RTMP Stream button.
The next steps are important, but not difficult:
- Select the Casting Medium (Facebook Live, Youtube Live, or IBM Cloud Video
- Select the Server URL and Server Key. Here is how to obtain it on Youtube
- Select the desired channel you want to stream (Floor, or an interpreted language)
- Select to code for that language; Find here the supported languages with their codes.
- Once done, click on Save and your RTMP stream will be added in KUDO. You can add up to three streams
- Note that you will need to start the broadcast from the same page once you are ready, or directly from the meeting:
- Once done, you will be able to see next to the added stream, this message
NOTE:
- For IBM Cloud Video streaming you can find here a list of language codes for each language'
- The streaming can be started only by Host, Operators or Organizer
When not to use RTMP or HLS
- Using RTMP or HLS will allow anyone to access your meeting as a viewer. If you would like your participants to interact in real-time, then you will need to invite them as Participants to your meeting.
- RTMP and HLS are available only for Large meetings if you would like to stream to your users not using a Large meeting, then we suggest the other alternative, as detailed below.
Stream live (not RTMP or HLS)
KUDO offers you the ability to stream on Small and Event type meetings as well. In order to use this feature, after you have created the meeting, you can share the viewer link from the meeting Information tab. Do take into consideration the number of viewers that you can have, using the attached calculator.
On the Large event mode, we use HLS for broadcasting and Live streaming. Using HLS would enable you to reach a larger audience with a small delay. The number of viewers that you can have for Live Streaming can be calculated using the above calculator link.