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.