Answers to common questions relating to Live Streaming.
For a standard live stream, latency is expected to be greater than 20 seconds and typically about 25 - 30 seconds. We offer a reduced latency mode which will reduce latency to about 12 - 20 seconds. A low-latency live streamBeta can go as low as 4 seconds of glass-to-glass latency but the latency can vary depending on your viewer's geographical location and internet connectivity.
We currently do not support direct WebRTC ingest to a Live Stream, but the Mux Real-Time Video product uses WebRTC as transport, and real-time sessions can easily be broadcast to a Live Stream.
We have focused on RTMP and RTMPS for live streams from an encoder as they are the most universal ingest protocols.
To go live directly from a browser, you need to convert the browser stream into a format that can be consumed by RTMP on our end.
For example, we’ve had customers use Zoom to provide the video from a browser, and use its RTMP-out feature to broadcast a stream with Mux for streaming to a larger conference-like audience.
You can also use Mux Real-Time Video's Web SDK to go live from a browser, and broadcast the video to a Live Stream.
For interactive multi-party video applications, you should use the Mux Real-Time Video product. Composited Real-Time Video can then be broadcast to a Live Stream for reliable delivery to large audiences, at a higher latency.
DVR (Digital Video Recorder) mode is a live stream feature that lets it rewind. Mux supports DVR and non-DVR modes for live streams.
non-DVR mode is enabled by default for live streams and only has access to the most recent 30 seconds of the live stream.
DVR mode is possible by utilizing the live stream's active_asset_id. When constructing the playback URL, the playback_id for the associated active_asset_id is used. When the live video ends, the Playback IDAPI associated with the active_asset_id will automatically transition to an on-demand asset for playback instead.
For more information and caveats behind these two modes, refer to our Stream recordings of live streams guide.
Currently, we have a 12 hour limit for continuous streaming to our live endpoints. The live stream is disconnected after 12 hours.
If the encoder reconnects, Mux will transition to a new asset with its own playback ID.
No, stream keys can be re-used as many time as you want. It's common for applications to assign one stream key to each user (broadcaster) in their system and allow that user to re-use the same stream key over time.
There is no limit on how many stream keys and live streams you can create.
Once created, stream keys are persistent and can be used for any number of live events.
We don’t charge for creating stream keys, only when sending us an active RTMP feed.
Mux does not support generating simulated live from on-demand assets. Such a service is also called a "Playout service".
However, you can run a simulated live stream using a tool like OBS and Wirecast to send your on-demand asset to us as an RTMP stream. See how to configure your RTMP encoder on our Configuring Broadcast Software docs page.
For a more comprehensive guide and common options we recommend for work-arounds, see this guide of how to Stream simulated live.
Yes. Mux Video live service supports up to six simultaneous restreams to third party platforms that support RTMP feed.
Read more in this blog post: Help Your Users be in 5 Places at Once: Your Guide to Simulcasting.
Yes. Mux will automatically create an on-demand (VOD) assetAPI after your live stream ends, which can be streamed again instantly after the live stream ends.
Yes, you can enable downloading of the entire event recording using Master access feature.
With Master access enabled, you will receive a Webhook notification after the live stream ends, indicating that the master copy of the video asset is available to download.
Yes. You can use our thumbnail and animated GIF API while the live event is active.
Many customers use thumbnails or GIFs to show what content is currently playing or to as a way to promote the live stream.
Yes. You can create free test live streams to help evaluate the Mux Video APIs without incurring any cost.
We give you access to create an unlimited number of test live streams. Test live streams are watermarked with the Mux logo, limited to 5 minutes, and disabled after 24 hours.
No, we currently support only one audio track for all videos and live streams.
You may want your users to be able to select a language on the player and view a stream showing the same video content but play different audio. One workaround would be first, ingest multiple streams with one in each language. Then add logic to the player to switch between different playback URLs and the complete stream when the user changes the language.