If you already have existing video assets stored in your server/cloud or existing live stream channels (e.g. from AWS, Wowza, DaCast, Tencent, Mux, etc.), and you like to set up video/live streaming for them, then you can follow this guide.
By using VNIS Video Stream for your video/live streaming, you can take advantage of its in-stream CDN switching and/or P2P video delivery capabilities. These capabilities can significantly enhance the performance and quality of experience (QoE) of your video streaming, giving your audience a seamless viewing experience.
The figure below shows the process flow.
To do this, navigate to ‘ Stream’ > ‘Live Streams’, then click the ‘Create live stream’ button.
You will be directed to another page where you can set up the following:
- Stream Details
- CDN Configuration
- P2P Delivery
- Domain Allowlist
Stream Details
The Stream details includes:
- Stream source name: a unique name for the stream source.
- Protocol: specify the video format/container of the video stream. For this scenario, choose HLS as the protocol.
- Origin server: the origin server is where your video streams are hosted. Use the domain name associated with your origin server. You may also set this origin as a ‘CDN candidate’ and by doing so, this server will be used together with other CDNs for in-stream CDN switching.
CDN Configuration
The system will recommend you to install 2 Basic CDNs by default, namely StackPath, and GMA. You may also install additional CDNs depending on your business strategy.
You can add up to a maximum of 10 CDNs per stream source. If you set your origin as a CDN candidate, then your origin will also be counted as 1 CDN.
If you plan to install China RIM CDN, or China CDN, or Custom CDN, you need to assign a site for the CDN.
If you plan to install Custom CDN, you need to set up CDN hostname for the CDN. Check this article to learn how to obtain the CDN hostname.
P2P Delivery
You can decide whether to enable P2P delivery or not.
P2P allows users who are accessing the video to deliver video content to other users. Since, this feature reduces the usage of CDN infrastructure, it can reduce the cost of your video streaming services. In addition, P2P uses WebRTC protocol, which can protect the privacy of the stream source.
You can check this article to learn more about P2P delivery
Domain Allowlist
You can enable the domain allowlist.
Domain allowlist defines which domain/s or website/s are allowed to broadcast your video streams.
You can use any domain or wildcard domain, and input up to a maximum of 10 domains. If this feature is disabled, your video stream can be broadcasted to any domains/websites.
Finally, click the ‘ Create stream’ button, to finish the set up.
You may review the live stream configuration, and proceed to the next step which is setting up the Stream software development kit (SDK) into your video streaming application.
The created stream will then push the content through the Multi CDN and/or P2P for delivery.
The created stream will be available in the Stream List section.
If the stream name already exists, the name of the created stream will be renamed automatically, e.g. stream name will be renamed to “stream(1)” if “stream” already exists.
The Stream List has the following fields:
- Stream name: This is the name of the stream.
- Protocol: This is the streaming protocol, which also identifies the video format of the incoming stream. The value can be either HLS or RTMP.
- Information: For RTMP, this corresponds to the location of RTMP server and its transcoder status. For HLS, this corresponds to the hostname of the origin server.
- Created time: This is the date and time when your stream was successfully created.
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Quick actions:
- Analytics: This will present the Video Stream Analytics of a stream
- Edit: This will redirect users to the video detail info page of a video
- Code Snippet: This provides the code snippet that you can copy into your video application. Read the article about setting up the Stream software development kit (SDK) to learn more
- Delete: This will delete the video.