Enterprise customers have the ability to stream to their Livestream events using third-party encoding products, rather than a product developed by Livestream. This is possible if your desired encoder can stream via RTMP.
What is RTMP?
RTMP stands for real-time messaging protocol. It provides for high-performance transmission of audio, video, and data from an encoder to a server, which distributes the signal across the Internet. Many streaming providers and encoder developers support RTMP streaming, including Livestream.
Which encoders support RTMP?
Encoders that can be used to stream to Livestream via RTMP include, but are not limited to, Open Broadcaster Software (OBS), Wirecast, and XSplit Broadcaster.
Cloud Transcoding
This feature also includes cloud transcoding. This means you can stream a single bitrate from your encoder, which Livestream then converts into various lower bitrates in the cloud for you. For example, if you send your stream at 1920x1080 at a minimum bitrate of 4Mbps, the possible qualities viewers can watch are:
- 1080p: 1920x1080, 5256kbps
- 720p: 1280x720, 2756kbps
- 540p: 854x480, 1756kbps
- 360p: 640x360, 628kbps
Cloud transcoding maxes out at 1080p. When the incoming RTMP stream is 4K, we will only display the 1080p qualities and below
The player will automatically adjust which bitrate each viewer sees depending on that person's internet connection speed. This greatly reduces the required bandwidth you need in order to stream in multiple bitrates while also providing the best possible experience for your viewers.
Get started
You must have an Enterprise plan to access this feature. If you are not Enterprise, you will need to upgrade your plan.
If you already have an Enterprise plan, you can set up an RTMP stream by following these instructions.
If you have a Vimeo Premium plan, you do have access to RTMP & Cloud Transcoding on Vimeo. See Vimeo's live overview.