The World of RTMP Servers and Live Streaming: A Journey Through the Digital Frontier

The World of RTMP Servers and Live Streaming: A Journey Through the Digital Frontier

It was a crisp autumn morning when I first stumbled into the world of live streaming. I had just finished my morning coffee, scrolling through my social media feed, when I came across a live stream of a musician performing in a cozy café halfway across the world. The video was smooth, the audio crystal clear, and the connection seamless. I was mesmerized. How was this possible? How could I be sitting in my living room, yet feel like I was right there in that café, sipping a latte and tapping my foot to the rhythm? That moment sparked a curiosity in me—a curiosity that led me down the rabbit hole of RTMP servers and the intricate world of live streaming.

This is my story of discovery, and along the way, I’ll share what I’ve learned about RTMP servers, live streaming, and how they work together to bring the world closer, one stream at a time.


The Café That Started It All

Let me take you back to that café. The musician, a young woman with a guitar, was singing an original song. Her voice was raw and emotional, and the chat beside the video was buzzing with comments from viewers all over the globe. Some were complimenting her talent, others were asking about the chords she was using, and a few were even sending virtual tips. It was a community, a digital gathering of people who shared a love for music.

But what fascinated me most wasn’t just the content—it was the technology behind it. How was this live stream being delivered to me so effortlessly? I decided to dig deeper.


What is Live Streaming, Anyway?

Live streaming, as I soon learned, is the process of transmitting audio and video content over the internet in real-time. Unlike pre-recorded videos, live streams are broadcast as they happen, creating a sense of immediacy and connection. Whether it’s a concert, a gaming session, a webinar, or even a casual chat, live streaming allows people to share moments with an audience, no matter where they are.

But live streaming isn’t as simple as pointing a camera and hitting “go.” There’s a lot happening behind the scenes to ensure that the video reaches viewers without buffering, lag, or loss of quality. And that’s where RTMP servers come into play.


Enter RTMP: The Backbone of Live Streaming

RTMP, or Real-Time Messaging Protocol, is a technology developed by Adobe in the early 2000s. It’s designed to deliver audio, video, and data over the internet in real-time. While it was originally created for streaming between a Flash player and a server, it has since become a cornerstone of live streaming, even as Flash has faded into obscurity.

Here’s how it works: When you start a live stream, your camera captures the video and audio, which is then encoded into a digital format. This encoded data is sent to an RTMP server, which acts as a middleman. The server receives the stream, processes it, and then distributes it to viewers through various platforms like YouTube, Twitch, or Facebook.

Think of the RTMP server as a post office. You send a package (your live stream), and the post office (the RTMP server) ensures it gets delivered to the right addresses (your viewers). Without this server, your stream would have nowhere to go.


My First Encounter with an RTMP Server

My curiosity led me to set up my own live stream. I wanted to share my piano performances with friends and family, and I figured it couldn’t be that hard. I bought a decent webcam, downloaded some streaming software, and started researching how to get my stream online.

That’s when I hit my first roadblock: RTMP servers. I needed one to host my stream, but I had no idea where to start. After some Googling, I discovered that there are two main types of RTMP servers: self-hosted and cloud-based.

Self-hosted servers require you to set up and maintain your own server hardware and software. This option gives you complete control over your stream, but it’s also complex and resource-intensive. Cloud-based servers, on the other hand, are hosted by third-party providers. They handle all the technical details, allowing you to focus on creating content.

As a beginner, I opted for a cloud-based solution. I signed up for a service that offered RTMP hosting, and within minutes, I had my own RTMP URL and stream key. These are like the address and password for your stream, ensuring that your content goes to the right place.


The Night of My First Live Stream

I’ll never forget the night of my first live stream. I set up my webcam, adjusted the lighting, and positioned my piano in the frame. My heart was racing as I opened the streaming software and entered my RTMP URL and stream key. I took a deep breath, hit “Start Streaming,” and began to play.

At first, everything seemed to be working perfectly. The software showed that my stream was live, and I could see the chat window filling up with messages from friends who had joined to support me. But then, about ten minutes in, the stream froze. My heart sank. I frantically checked my internet connection, restarted the software, and tried again. This time, the stream stayed stable, and I was able to finish my performance without any further issues.

Afterward, I did some troubleshooting and realized that my internet upload speed wasn’t fast enough to handle the stream’s bitrate. I adjusted the settings in my streaming software to lower the quality, and that solved the problem. It was a valuable lesson: live streaming isn’t just about having the right equipment—it’s also about understanding the technical aspects, like bitrate, resolution, and frame rate.


The Role of RTMP Servers in Scaling Live Streams

As I continued to experiment with live streaming, I began to appreciate the role of RTMP servers in scaling streams to larger audiences. When you’re streaming to just a few people, the demands on the server are minimal. But what happens when thousands or even millions of people want to watch your stream at the same time?

This is where RTMP servers truly shine. They’re designed to handle large volumes of data and distribute it efficiently to viewers. Many cloud-based RTMP services use Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) to ensure that streams are delivered quickly and reliably, no matter where the viewers are located. CDNs work by caching the stream on servers around the world, so when someone clicks to watch, they’re connected to the nearest server, reducing latency and buffering.


The Future of RTMP and Live Streaming

While RTMP has been a reliable workhorse for live streaming, it’s not without its challenges. The protocol was designed for a different era of the internet, and as streaming technology evolves, newer protocols like SRT (Secure Reliable Transport) and WebRTC (Web Real-Time Communication) are gaining traction. These protocols offer lower latency and better performance for modern streaming needs.

However, RTMP isn’t going away anytime soon. Its widespread adoption and compatibility with existing infrastructure make it a trusted choice for many streamers and platforms. Plus, many newer protocols still use RTMP as an intermediate step, highlighting its enduring relevance.


A World Connected by Streams

Looking back on my journey, I’m amazed at how far I’ve come. What started as a simple curiosity has turned into a deep appreciation for the technology that makes live streaming possible. RTMP servers may not be the most glamorous part of the process, but they’re the unsung heroes that keep the digital world connected.

That musician in the café may never know how her stream inspired me to explore this fascinating world. But I like to think that somewhere out there, someone is watching my piano performances and feeling the same sense of wonder I felt that autumn morning. And who knows? Maybe they’ll be inspired to start their own journey into the world of live streaming.


Final Thoughts

Live streaming is more than just a technological feat—it’s a way to share experiences, build communities, and connect with people across the globe. Whether you’re a musician, a gamer, a teacher, or just someone with a story to tell, live streaming gives you a platform to be seen and heard.

And at the heart of it all is the humble RTMP server, quietly doing its job to ensure that your stream reaches its audience. So the next time you tune into a live stream, take a moment to appreciate the technology that makes it possible. Behind every pixel and every note is a complex network of servers, protocols, and code, working together to bring the world closer, one stream at a time.

Why RTMP is the Backbone of HLS-Based Streaming

Why RTMP is the Backbone of HLS-Based Streaming

In the world of live streaming, Real-Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP) has long been a cornerstone for delivering high-quality, low-latency streams. While HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) has taken over as the standard for playback on modern devices, RTMP remains indispensable for ingesting live video feeds. This article delves into why RTMP is still the backbone of HLS-based streaming workflows and compares the tools that make this combination so effective.

RTMP: A Proven Performer

RTMP was developed to provide a low-latency, high-quality streaming solution. Its ability to quickly transmit data made it the protocol of choice for real-time interactions like video chats and live broadcasts in the early 2000s. Although RTMP has lost its direct playback capabilities on modern browsers due to the decline of Flash, it continues to excel as an input protocol for streaming servers like NGINX and Wowza.

Take the story of a small startup in Southeast Asia, which used NGINX RTMP to build a cost-effective live streaming platform. They began with basic RTMP setups and later expanded to include HLS for playback. RTMP’s reliability during the ingestion phase ensured seamless live streaming, even as their audience grew to tens of thousands.

How HLS and RTMP Work Together

HLS is widely adopted for its compatibility and adaptability. By breaking video into small chunks and delivering them via HTTP, it ensures smooth playback on diverse devices. However, the process of creating and buffering these chunks introduces latency, which is where RTMP comes in.

In a typical workflow:

  1. RTMP captures and transmits live video to a server.
  2. The server processes the stream and converts it to HLS.
  3. Viewers access the HLS stream on their devices, benefiting from its high compatibility.

This division of labor allows broadcasters to leverage RTMP’s low-latency ingestion and HLS’s adaptive playback capabilities.

Comparing Tools: NGINX vs. Wowza

Both NGINX and Wowza are popular choices for managing RTMP and HLS workflows. Here’s how they compare:

FeatureNGINX RTMPWowza RTMP
CostFreePaid
ScalabilityHighHigh
SupportCommunity-drivenProfessional-grade
Additional FeaturesLimited to RTMP/HLSAdvanced analytics, DRM

While NGINX is a lightweight, open-source solution that works well for small-to-medium setups, Wowza offers enterprise-grade features like digital rights management (DRM) and advanced analytics, justifying its higher cost for larger-scale operations.

RTMP’s Role in Broadcasting

RTMP’s utility isn’t limited to live streaming. It plays a significant role in professional broadcasting setups, particularly for TV channels and large-scale events. For example:

  • A European TV station uses RTMP to ingest live feeds from remote correspondents, which are then converted to HLS for nationwide distribution.
  • An international music festival streams performances globally using a Wowza-based RTMP-to-HLS workflow.

These examples highlight RTMP’s robustness in handling real-time inputs while ensuring high-quality delivery via HLS.

Advantages of RTMP-HLS Workflows

The RTMP-to-HLS workflow combines the best of both worlds:

  • Low Latency: RTMP ensures minimal delay during ingestion.
  • Wide Compatibility: HLS supports playback on virtually all devices.
  • Scalability: Servers like NGINX and Wowza handle increased traffic with ease.

Overcoming Challenges

One of the challenges with this workflow is HLS’s initial latency. While not ideal for scenarios like sports betting, it’s perfectly suitable for applications where a few seconds of delay are acceptable, such as live concerts, corporate events, and TV broadcasts.

Broadcasters are also adopting low-latency HLS (LL-HLS) to reduce delays further. A gaming company in North America, for instance, managed to lower their HLS stream’s latency from 10 seconds to under 3 seconds by integrating LL-HLS with their RTMP workflow.

The Future of RTMP and HLS

While new protocols like WebRTC are gaining traction for ultra-low latency streaming, RTMP and HLS remain industry standards for their balance of performance, scalability, and accessibility. As streaming technology evolves, these protocols will likely continue to play complementary roles in delivering seamless live experiences.

Conclusion

RTMP’s enduring relevance lies in its ability to reliably ingest live streams with minimal delay. Paired with HLS, it forms a robust workflow that meets the needs of modern broadcasters. Whether you’re a small streamer or a major broadcaster, understanding and leveraging the strengths of RTMP and HLS can elevate your live streaming game.


Hashtags: #StreamingBackbone #RTMPIntegration #HLSForStreaming #WowzaVsNGINX #TechStreaming

Success Stories: Dedicated Streaming Servers in Action

Tired of buffering woes and frustrated viewers? Ditch shared hosting and unlock the power of dedicated streaming servers! But don’t just take our word for it. Let’s delve into real-world success stories, showcasing how businesses and creators conquered streaming challenges with dedicated solutions.

Case Study 1: From Laggy Lectures to Global Engagement – Online Education Platform

Challenge: An online education platform faced constant buffering and dropped connections during live lectures, resulting in frustrated students and negative reviews. Shared hosting struggled to handle the surge of concurrent viewers, impacting their reputation and growth.

Solution: They switched to a dedicated streaming server with high bandwidth and a powerful processor, ensuring smooth delivery of live lectures even during peak traffic hours. Additionally, they implemented a Content Delivery Network (CDN) for global reach and reduced latency.

Outcome: Buffering became a thing of the past, leading to improved student satisfaction and brand reputation. Increased platform engagement and higher enrollment rates highlighted the positive impact of the dedicated server.

Case Study 2: From Hobby Streamer to Gaming Pro – Individual Twitch Streamer

Challenge: A passionate gamer, starting as a hobby streamer, encountered frequent lag and disconnects during gameplay streams, hindering audience engagement and growth. Shared hosting couldn’t handle the demands of high-resolution game streaming and live chat interactions.

Solution: They invested in a dedicated server with moderate bandwidth and a mid-range processor, optimized for streaming performance. Additionally, they opted for user-friendly streaming software and configured it for optimal quality based on their internet connection.

Outcome: The dedicated server eliminated lag and provided a stable, high-quality viewing experience for their audience. This, coupled with engaging content, led to significant follower growth and potential sponsorship opportunities, propelling the streamer toward a promising career.

Case Study 3: From Local Fitness Studio to Global Community – Fitness & Wellness Brand

Challenge: A fitness studio with loyal local following aimed to expand online, offering live and on-demand workout videos. Shared hosting couldn’t handle the anticipated global audience and high-definition video uploads, hindering their reach and scalability.

Solution: They opted for a dedicated server with high storage capacity and scalable bandwidth to accommodate video uploads and future growth. Additionally, they integrated a CDN for seamless global delivery and implemented robust security measures to protect their content.

Outcome: The dedicated server enabled smooth live streaming and on-demand video playback for their global audience. This expansion led to increased brand awareness, subscriber growth, and potential partnerships with international fitness providers.

Key Takeaways:

These success stories illustrate the transformative power of dedicated streaming servers. From improved viewing experiences and audience engagement to brand reputation and business growth, the benefits are undeniable. When considering your streaming needs, remember:

  • Dedicated servers offer superior performance and reliability compared to shared hosting.
  • Tailor your server choice to your specific content type, audience size, and future growth plans.
  • Seek expert advice if needed, and explore managed streaming services for a hassle-free setup.

By understanding your needs and investing in the right dedicated server, you can unlock a world of streaming possibilities, just like the success stories presented here. So, ditch the buffering, embrace the power of dedicated servers, and stream your way to success!

Case Studies on Dedicated Streaming Servers in Action

Exploring real-world applications of dedicated streaming servers provides valuable insights into their impact. Red5Server, with its rich history of powering live streams, offers compelling case studies of success. Their clients, ranging from small content creators to large broadcasting companies, have benefited from Red5Server’s expertise in delivering high-quality live streaming services. These success stories highlight how Red5Server’s solutions, built on advanced technologies like Wowza and NGINX RTMP and supported by 10Gbps connectivity, ensure flawless streaming experiences, showcasing the tangible benefits of their dedicated streaming servers in diverse scenarios.

How to fix The media playback was aborted due to a corruption problem or because the media used features your browser did not support.

Sometimes the player stops and you will see this error

"The media playback was aborted due to a corruption problem or because the media used features your browser did not support."

This could be to a number of reasons.

Browser issues

Poor Internet connection

Website plugins not supported by browser

Cached data in the system

The video file has a problem

Irrespective of the browser you’re using – Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Opera – try the below fixes first to resolve the issue:

Refresh your webpage
Try opening the page in another browser
Check your Internet connection
Delete cookies, cache and browsing history
Disable all plugins on your browser
Restart the browser

If none of the above quick fixes work, there may be some deeper issues with the video.

Copying the link of the stream to VLC, I can see the direct m3u8 file is opening in VLC. However, the error displayed in Google Chrome is:

The media playback was aborted due to a corruption problem
ERROR: (CODE:3 MEDIA_ERR_DECODE) The media playback was aborted due to a corruption problem or because the media used features your browser did not support

I believe it is due to the audio codec used on the stream, which VLC is showing as “ADTS”. Most browsers only support AAC or MP3 audio. You should check the media files streamed to ensure they have the correct format. I recommend reading this article on encoding your video files: How to Encode your Video Files Properly Before you Upload to the RTMP Server

RTMP Server in the era of HTTP video streaming

Given the growing popularity and support of HTTP video streaming, it may be tempting to consider Real Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP) streaming obsolete. But in many cases, working with RTMP server is still very meaningful. As soon as Macromedia first pronounced RTMP with Flash Player 6 in 2002, the brand new Macromedia Flash Communication Server MX (FCS) required to stream the evolving Flash Video (FLV) format, stream was live or VOD.

However, for FCS, licensing costs were high (up to $5,000 per server), and as a result, CDN costs were high than other proprietary streaming formats. Some manufacturers in the industry have called RTMP streaming costs a “Flash tax”. But Flash Player has been a ubiquitous introduction to desktop browsers for well over a decade, much larger than other plug-ins. Though, streaming server technology has traditionally been harder for web developers to implement, and simpler HTTP delivery has mostly been easier and more cost-effective. In 2003, Macromedia enabled Flash Player 7 to support HTTP delivery of FLV files, allowing integrators to use standard web server technology to deploy online video.

So in many ways, RTMP as a VOD transport delivery has not been a requirement for web video for more than a decade. As a video solution architect, I think of business requirements as the leader in most audio video decisions. And still, in 2014, RTMP is the de facto standard for the following use cases:

Publishing live streams from software/hardware encoders: Almost all streaming devices support RTMP to publish to CDN providers and streaming servers. Some native mobile applications also use RTMP libraries to publish live video from their mobile camera.

Near-instant search/playback: One of the benefits of RTMP streaming is its enhanced search capability. With real-time streaming, the player can search anywhere in the video with less buffering than HTTP delivery. However, to enjoy this feature, you need a Flash Player on your desktop and as such, it is not possible in mobile browsers. HTML5 browsers use HTTP domain requests to facilitate faster searching of VOD files.

Content Protection: RTMP Server can facilitate different levels of content protection, from obfuscation to true DRM. RTMP streams are not stored for playback on a desktop browser.

Adaptive Streaming: One of the preferred uses of RTMP is adaptive streaming playback, where we provide the video player with more bitrates and content resolutions, providing the best resolution at the current network speed. Some HTTP adaptive streaming technologies, such as HLS and MPEG-DASH, allow similar delivery, but RTMP may be more responsive to switching one bitrate to another. Unfortunately, there is no standard for HTTP adaptive streaming between HTML5 video-enabled browsers. As such, the Flash-based display of adaptive streaming is still a requirement for adaptive streaming.

rtmp control panel

Live Streaming Playback: While live streams do not need to be adaptive, compressed video segments apply the same principle to all live streaming playback. For desktop playback within the browser, virtually every live streaming event requires a video player that supports Flash-based rendering and RTMP playback. Apple Safari on iOS natively supports HLS, and luckily, all modern streaming servers, including the Wowza Streaming Engine, support RTMP and HLS compression.

The requirement for a Live Streaming Flash Player will only change if MPEG-DASH appears everywhere as Flash currently. If Internet Explorer 8, 9 and 10 support is required to install live streaming, then RTMP streaming is still required. Also, if you need a delay close to zero in a live stream, then HTTP streaming will almost certainly not meet your needs while RTMP is capable; HTTP mechanisms require that multiple packets be collected on the server before being sent to the video player.

In summary, if your video workflow involves live streaming or any kind of packaged video installation, RTMP is the key to a successful video experience. HTTP delivery has already replaced most Flash VOD installs on video, but HTTP video can’t handle all RTMP video use cases.

Another important setup on Red5 Server is the Python Hosting offered to all hosting customers, with python cpanel hosting the advantage is cheaper and easier to install and run python scripts on a normal hosting. With Python Hosting and rtmp server the customer can really start a webmasters and increase a number of usages to host python scripts or even video chat or live streaming.

As my university professor used to say the computers language for the next 50 years will be python, fast, easier with multiple modules which allow any developer to start an application running python is a few short hours.

Ethiopia Hosting

Web design is a web development process that creates a website that has a good layout, graphic design, typography, user interface, etc to make it appealing to users and easy to use. Starting a business requires the implementation of the business plan but sustaining and maintaining requires tremendous efforts because at this stage the effectiveness and proficiency of the business plan and strategies in achieving the desired goal are put to test. Livin in a digital world, web design is an important part of the online marketing platforms and strategies that must be properly utilized to skyrocket your business to achieve your business goal. The importance of good web design to your business include

  1. It provides easy accessibility of information on product and services at customer convenient time.
  2. It brands business and creates awareness for goods and services than other forms of advertisement if properly optimized for users and search engines.
  3. It represents your business in the online community.
  4. It makes your business more credible and reliable because of the opportunity to make an inquiry.
  5. It creates a good impression in the mind of your potential customers.
  6. It helps to thrive in your competitive niche and increase sales.
  7. It is best adaptable in solving customers problems in buying services.

Website is essential for sustainable growth of business but when poorly designed will not yield the desired result thus choosing an expert in web designing must be done with care to maximize utilization of time and money and prevent damage to your business because web design services vary in quality depending on the competency and experience of the expert hired. In need of high-quality web design at an affordable price, prove your seriousness by patronizing and buying the unprecedented and transcendent services of Ethiopia Web Hosting and Design company where customers expectations metamorphose into fruition.

About Ethiopia Web Designing and Hosting Company

Ethiopia Web hosting and Design is a premier Web design company of notable standard that specializes in web design and hosting. We have twelve years of experience with magnificent achievement and remarkable success in web design and hosting. We have built an appreciable reputation for the creation of positive return on investment for our clients which we are not willing to stanch and relinquish. We have our first class servers in the USA and we partner with Hosting Marketers Inc, one of the main web hosts in the United States of America. Ethiopia web hosting is the leading provider of shared web hosting in Ethiopia. We have our main data center located in Chicago board of trading Building which is one of the world largest institutions equipped with infrastructures to provide:

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  4. 24×7×365 datacenter staff to provide assistance for customers.
  5. Network assets

Our infrastructures are the state of the art to provide you with the best hosting services.

  • Ethiopia web design service

Web design is multi-facet discipline involving web graphic design, user interface design, typography, and standard code and Search Engine Optimization. We have competent and savvy personnel who tangle as a team to create a website that has these following features:

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  2. Optimal balance between aesthetics and clarity.
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  4. Mobile Optimization for high ranking in Search engine result page (Serp) by using responsive web design in order to increase traffic and conversion rate.
  5. Search engine optimization strategies rightly implemented.
  6. Web browsers supporting typography.
  7. Motion graphics and infographics to make the presentation easier without depleting the target market.
  8. Catching and friendly domain name that matches the business name with a popular top-level domain (.com, .net, .org, .info) to create a good and lasting impression in visitors mind at a reasonable price of 500 birrs per year. Deal with us and experience our outstanding creativity and connection. The minimum price for our web design service is 2000 birr.
  • Ethiopia Web Hosting service

Ethiopia web hosting provides individuals and organizations websites internet access via the world wide web. Our quality hosting services provide personal website creator, small businesses, developers and large institutions customers with various hosting services to meet their target market at competitive prices. The hosting packages have been carefully and well-formulated to provide web spaces, bandwidth, domain name, email addresses, file transfer protocol, techies support, server-side script, frontpage extensions, etc that are users goal replenishing, enhancing and supporting. The availability of website and downtime stated in our Service Level Agreement is duly comply to. We provide the buyer of hosting services with 24 hours a day 365 days a year of customer support desk – a staff to provide the solution to complains made not, thus accounting for our reputation as not just packs of huge bandwidth limit and webspace. The detail description of our hosting packages are as follow :

  1. Hosting one for 1500 birr / 51 dollar per year

Cpanel/softaculous, 5GB web space, file transfer 500GB, unlimited domains/emails/databases, cloudflare directly on Cpanel, PHP version selector, and free SSL certificate.

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Cpanel/softaculous, 10GB webspace, file transfer 1000GB, unlimited domains/emails/databases, CloudFlare directly on Cpanel, PHP version selector and free SSL certificate.

  1. Hosting three for 5200 birr/176.8 dollars per year

Cpanel/softaculous, 20 GB webspace, file transfer 2000GB, unlimited domains/emails/databases, CloudFlare directly on Cpanel, PHP version selector and free SSL certificate.

  1. Reseller one for 4800 birr/163.2 dollars per year

WHM/Cpanel/softaculous, unlimited Cpanel account, 10 GB webspace, file transfer 250 GB, unlimited domains/emails/databases, CloudFlare directly on Cpanel, PHP version selector and free SSL certificate for all your account.

  1. Reseller two for 9000 birr/306 dollars per year

WHM/Cpanel/softaculous, unlimited Cpanel account, 20 GB webspace, file transfer 500 GB, unlimited domains/emails/databases, CloudFlare directly on Cpanel, PHP version selector and free SSL certificate for all your account.

  1. Reseller three for 14500 birr/483 dollars per year

WHM/Cpanel/softaculous, unlimited Cpanel account, 30 GB webspace, file transfer 750 GB, unlimited domains/emails/databases, CloudFlare directly on Cpanel, PHP version selector and free SSL certificate for all your account.

  1. Server one for 2500 birr/85 dollar per month

Dual Quad-Core Xeon E5520, 200 GB hard disk, 8 GB RAM, 10 TB transfer ( 1 Gbps uplink), Cpanel/whm, 5 usable IP addresses, fully managed

  1. Server two for 5200 birr/176.8 dollars per month

Intel Xeon 4 Core, 2×500 GB hard disk, 16 GB RAM, 20 TB transfer ( 1 Gbps uplink), Cpanel/whm, 5 usable IP addresses, fully managed

  1. Server three for 7500 birr/255 dollars per month

Quad-core Xeon 5410, 2×120 GB SSD hard disk, 48 GB RAM, 30 TB transfer ( 1 Gbps uplink), Cpanel/whm, 5 usable IP addresses, fully managed

Which is better for live streaming, RTMP vs HLS vs WebRTC?

It depends according to your streaming project.

If latency is not very critical and 8–10 seconds latency is acceptable, HLS will be the best in terms of scalability and quality.
If latency is critical, the solution may be WebRTC(0.5 – 1.0 sec) or RTMP(2–3 secs)
WebRTC is supported by browser natively and there are some WebRTC media servers. Nevertheless, it is a new technology.
RTMP is not played natively on browsers. It requires flash plugin to play and flash support isn’t available on mobile browsers and its desktop support will end. Although, RTMP is old and mature technology.
I am a developer for Ant Media Server which is open source and free media server supports WebRTC , RTMP and HLS streaming solutions. There are also other solutions on the market like rtmp Wowza, Red5pro, Kurento, etc.

Web Site Management

Hosting Marketers is offering new services to their customers,

Web Site Management

Realizing the difficulty  of hiring trusted web developers, Hosting Marketers is now offering in-house site installation, script upgrades and if anything goes wrong sites fixes.

They also offering web design at very affordable  prices, starting at $60 for a 5 page wordpress site.

They offering also SEO expertize starting at $50 for On-page Analysis.

Please visit https://hosting-marketers.com/hosting-marketers-services/ for more information.

Wowza Hosting

Wowza Streaming Engine previously known as Wowza Media Server is a streaming media server software also called RTMP server. The server is used for broadcasting of live and ondemand video, audio, for video chats, on laptops, and tablet computers, mobile devices, IPTV set-top boxes, game consoles, and other network-connected devices. Wowza is a Java application deployable on most operating systems, from Linux to Macs to Windows.

Few Hosting companies provide Wowza Hosting, if they do it is very expensive and you charged highly for bandwidth, With Wowza hosting you can stream live to all kind of devices, desktops to iPhones, you can also limit to which countries, password protect your RTMP, select the number of viewers and bitrate, and then using our Wowza control panel you have full control, restart your service at any time, check who is online, how many users from which countries. Grab our premium Jwplayer and links for Android and iPhone devices. All this if you just streaming live, during the order process you can select if it is live streaming you want, ondemand video, TV Station, IP camera re-stream. wowza hosting

All Wowza addons are available at Wowza Hosting, from the Transcoder to Wowza nDVR, you can also order to record your live stream and purchase the web space you need which at any time you can upgrade or downgrade.

wowza control panel

Hosting Marketers also offers a Wowza free demo account, lasts 3 days and you can stream at 640kbps, no credit card is needed and you can order the demo account as many times you want.

wowza hosting panel

red5 and wowza news

Red5 is a media server created with Java language. It is a free open source software but recently a new version Red5 Pro came out developed by the same people, this new version supports streaming to mobiles, Android or iOS, which red5 does not. The Red5 Pro is commercial product and costs $55 per server.

A media server allows Flash based applications connect to it using Real Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP). The server can send and receive data to and from the connected users who have a flash player installed. The server also allows users to receive and publish streams. This permits video chat applications, live streaming and even ondemand video streaming.

Most common Video chat software’s are:
1- Avchat
2- Videowhisper
3- Prochatrooms
4- Gchats

For live streaming the necessary tool if you already have a server with red5 installed is an encoder, an encoder is the software that will connect your computer to the red5 server using the RTMP, which your server provider will give you.
1- FMLE, it is an free Adobe product and does a good job.
2- Wirecast, it is an expensive commercial product of very high quality, absolutely necessary if you starting a TV station.

Although red5 is a free product many people prefer to use Wowza Streaming Engine or Adobe Flash Media Server which are commercial software’s and can be quite expensive, the FMS costs $4500 per server. The reason is that the developers of red5 although have created a wonderful system did not spend much time with tutorials and instructions on how to install and manage a red5 server, for this reason if you searching for a red5 server we suggest you pick a web host which specializes on red5 servers and red5 shared hosting.

1- Red5 Servers relatively cheap red5 servers starting at $15 a month.
2- Red5 Hosting, Hosting Marketers, a web host for experienced webmasters, it is the oldest hosting company specialized on Video and media servers, they also offer Wowza Streaming Engine on its shared plans. They have a very experienced customer support and a reputation for going out of their way to help customers. They starting plan with Red5 enabled costs $9.95 a month. Most other red5 hosting companies are resellers of Hosting Marketers.

Red5 is a formidable media server, extremely flexible and has the advantage of being a free product with with many people working on developing it, for now the main version does not yet work with mobiles, if that is what you need we suggest that instead of using the Red5 Pro version to use the Wowza instead. Hosting Marketers also offers Wowza, in fact they even offer a 3 days free trial.