When watching a TV program or live broadcast of an event, delay within 1min from real time is not a problem and does not affect the comfort of the viewer. Most popular OTT and streaming services use video streaming standards over HTTP with a delay of about 30-40 sec.
However, as soon as interactivity is added to passive viewing and the viewer becomes a participant in the action, asking questions in a text chat (webinar) or connecting by video call, the minimum delay immediately becomes important. And for game projects with bets or requiring speed response - in general a fundamental point. Broadcast video with a delay of no more than 1-2 seconds belong to the Low Latency streaming category. So, if you:
then the delay time of the video stream will be the main factors for choosing the streaming technology.
Broadcast video with a delay of no more than 1-3 seconds belong to the Low Latency streaming category. To solve such problems, the Wowza Streaming Engine software, unlike other manufacturers offering their proprietary solutions, supports several open technologies at once and, most importantly, allows you to use a combination of these technologies. You can publish a stream to Wowza using one technology, and view a stream from Wowza using another.
To publish a Low Latency stream to a media server, an IP camera (RTP / RTSP, RTMP), hardware or software encoder (SRT, RTMP, RTP / RTSP), web page with WebRTC application.
To view such a broadcast in a browser application or on a mobile device, one of the modern technologies is used: Low Latency HLS or WebRTC. If the first of them is just starting its way and is now supported exclusively on devices with iOS (and not in the browser, but only in the application), then WebRTC technology has been known for a long time and has actually replaced Adobe Flash in web applications. WebRTC technology is well-documented and allows you to create your own video viewing and transmission applications. Moreover, to simplify the task of developers, an example of a ready-made WebRTC application for viewing and publishing a video stream is supplied with the Wowza Streaming Engine. Also, for the fastest possible launch of Low Latency broadcasting on a site or in a mobile application, PWI developed a WebRTC video player, which we are pleased to offer all new customers of the Wowza Streaming Engine licenses or existing users of a media server.