How Live Streaming Works
Live video streaming is complicated — but it doesn’t have to be. The Complete Guide to Live Streaming takes you through the entire streaming process, answering any questions you might have along the way.
Ever wondered what video codecs you should use? How about the best way to reduce latency? Our guide’s got you covered. Discover everything you need to know to professionally stream at scale.
Live Video Streaming For Every Use Case
Wowza’s products and solutions are built to power high-quality, reliable live streaming for every use case and industry.
IP Camera Streaming
Embed IP camera streams into websites and mobile apps to broadcast video without needing a separate encoder.
Live Event Streaming
Take your local events to a global scale by live streaming concerts, sports, and more.
Broadcast & OTT
Deliver leading-edge broadcasts to any device and connect with your viewers wherever they are.
What’s the Best Live Streaming Solution for Me?
Cloud Streaming Service
The Wowza Streaming Cloud service powerslive streaming over a managed infrastructure, with robust developer tools and autoscaling capabilities.
Choose Wowza Streaming Cloud if you…
- Need to automatically scale to reach any-size audience across the globe
- Need to start streaming quickly or stream live events periodically
- Want a cloud-based solution with pay-as-you-go pricing
- Don’t want to purchase and manage hardware and software
- Want an out-of-the-box solution
Media Server Software
Wowza Streaming Engine media streaming software gives you the ability to deploy on premises or in the cloud, with complete control, cost-effective monthly pricing, and Java and REST APIs.
Choose Wowza Streaming Engine if you…
- Have deep customization requirements
- Want to self-manage your infrastructure either on premises or in the cloud
- Want to deploy on your network behind a firewall
- Require server security or digital rights management
- Need both live streaming and video-on-demand capabilities
Live Video Streaming Features and Functionality
Playback on Any Device
Cost-effectively stream your live event to any device and any network, with transcoding for adaptive bitrates.
Encoder Flexibility
Simply point your IP camera feed or RTMP, RTSP/RTP, or MPEG-TS stream to the Wowza server and let us do the rest.
Achieve Global Reach
Send your live streams to CDNs, video-sharing websites, and more for built-in scaling and redundancy.
Customize Your Workflow
Leverage Wowza APIs and third-party integrations to build a solution that’s just right for you.
Record Your Live Streams
Enrich your users’ experience with features from basic stream recording to time-shifted functionality with Wowza’s recording capabilities.
Benefit From Streaming Expertise
Count on Wowza Professional Services for everything from live event support and training to architecture recommendations and custom-build solutions.
What Customers Are Saying about Live Streaming with Wowza
“We use more than 100 Wowza servers on our own CDN across Latin America to deliver live events like music shows and sports to multiple screens. We’re very happy with Wowza Streaming Engine performance and stability.”
Senior support analyst, Terra
“Wowza provided us with the most advanced tools for streaming, a flexible and extensible architecture, excellent technical support, and impressive reliability.”
CIO, SpaceX
Frequently Asked Questions
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What is live video streaming?
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Live video streaming is the broadcasting of audiovisual content over the internet in real time.
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How does live streaming work?
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Live video streaming often requires a camera to capture the content, an encoder to compress the data, a media server to process the data and convert it when required, a content delivery network (CDN) to distribute the live video across the world, and an internet-connected device for playback. While a lot goes into getting that live stream from capture to playback, we designed our software, services, and hardware to help you along the way.
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What is the difference between streaming and video on demand?
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Video streaming can take the form of both live and recorded content. With live streaming, the content plays as it’s being captured. Video on demand (VOD), on the other hand, describes prerecorded content that internet-connected users can stream by request.
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What are the benefits of streaming?
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Live streaming is one of the most flexible and authentic ways to connect end users. With adoption rates exploding, use cases proliferating, and video quality increasing, the streaming industry’s influence on everyday life continues to grow. From virtual doctor visits to military-grade body cams, we can’t begin to predict how this technology will be used next.
