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I need to set up a media server infrastructure to support live streaming. I have endless questions in relation to this as this area is totally new to me. I have done the research but I received so many different truths that I don't know who to believe.

Context: Wowza

  • Wowza Engine
  • Audio and Video live streaming
  • 15 x 20-minute live streams per day
  • Between 7 and 15 CONCURRENT live streams may happen at the same moment in time
  • 720p quality is sufficient
  • Every live stream will be viewed by only between 1 and 5 viewers
  • Viewers will view the stream on an internet browser of their choice. However if possible they can also view the livestream on their phones (even if its via the website through the phone's browser).
  • Choppy/buffering streams are not an acceptable thing
  • Streams do not need to be recorded and stored
  • Footage may be taken from webcams or phones
  • Audience is in the US (and so are the publisher of the live stream)

Questions:

1) Do I need Wowza transcoder?

  • Some suppliers told me I need the transcoders only if I require adaptive bitrate.
  • Others told me I need the transcoders only if I need to stream to iPhone or apple devices
  • Others told me that I need transcoders because I want to do concurrent live streams and I would consequently need one transcoder licence per concurrent live stream
  • Others told me that concurrent live streams (multiple channels?) can happen even if I do not buy transcoder licences

At this stage I do not know who to believe. The Wowza documentation says transcoders are required to convert incoming streams from one format to another and to provide adaptive bitrate but I am still not sure.

2) Can I host the website at a web hosting provider and buy (and consume) the media server from somewhere else? - For example can I host the website on TSOHost but then have the media server from primcast or serverroom.net?

3) If the answer to the above is yes, will the bandwidth of both hosting providers be consumed when transmitting a live stream?

4) Since footage is taken either from phones or from webcams, which software do the users need to install in order to transmit the footage?

5) For 15 x 20 minute live streams per day, how much bandwidth is consumed? How do I calculate that?

6) Do I need adaptive bitrate streaming? Or is it required only if the audience can be expected to have bad internet speed?

7) Does adaptive bitrate streaming require special software on the encoding side or do the regular Adobe Flash Live Encoder and Wowza GoCoder do the trick?

Thank you in advance. If you know a freelance expert I can hire give me his details :P.

Ramon Saguna
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1 Answers1

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Quite a few questions, I'll try to add some answers (and you can contact me outside of SO of course)

1, Do you need Wowza Transcoder?

If the streams come from software that can send multiple bitrates, like the Flash Media Live Encoder, capable of sending the same stream in 3 different qualities, then you don't. You can use alternatively free software like ffmpeg on publisher side to avoid transcoding, but the cost is more CPU load on publisher side and of course more bandwidth upwards. Or you can still receive one stream with ffmpeg on the server and produce different qualities on the media server internally and feed those to Wowza Streaming Engine. But if you are not sensitive to cost and want a robust and simple solution, Transcoder AddOn is recommended.

2, Can I host the website at a web hosting provider and buy (and consume) the media server from somewhere else?

Sure, you can, this is a typical scenario. In your website you can embed a player like JW Player or similar and simply set them up to pull the stream from anywhere else. If you want to make sure that your streams are not reachable from other sites using the same technique, you can use (my) Wrench for authentication or build something similar.

3, will the bandwidth of both hosting providers be consumed when transmitting a live stream?

No, the player will receive the stream directly from the media server, not via the website's hosting provider.

4, Footage

What is footage?

5, Bandwidth

Multiply the bytes per second with the number of seconds and the number of streams.

6, Adaptive

You need adaptivity if the bandwidth varies, so for mobile devices it is highly recomended, but best for everyone generally, the network speed can drop anytime and if you don't want buffering spinners, you need this.

7, Does adaptive bitrate streaming require special software on the encoding side?

No, it's not the encoding side, it's the player and media server side. If multiple bitrate streams are available on the media server and the chosen technology and player supports it, then you get adaptivity.

jabal
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