Setting Up Your First Live Stream with Wowza Streaming Engine

Live video is one of the most powerful ways to connect with users today, but getting a scalable, robust streaming architecture deployed quickly can be a hurdle for developers. Recently, we created a detailed developer guide showing how to set up a complete live streaming pipeline in minutes using the popular and open-source live video streaming software, OBS Studio. This tutorial utilizes Wowza Streaming Engine and Wowza Flowplayer to get a working proof-of-concept running locally via Docker.

This powerful media architecture, built on Wowza Streaming Engine, can empower exciting, AI-powered capabilities like live subtitling, on-the-fly translations, and custom object detection. Watch the full video walkthrough below, and if you’re ready to get started with Wowza Streaming Engine, download a free trial at www.wowza.com/free-trial.

Here are the essential steps for developers to build a fully embedded live stream using Wowza Streaming Engine.

Step 1. Finding Your Wowza Streaming Engine License Key & Flowplayer Token

The first step is to secure the necessary credentials for both the Wowza Streaming Engine streaming server and the Wowza Flowplayer online video player (OVP) front end. Make sure you have your:

• Wowza Streaming Engine License
  • Sign up for a free trial of Wowza Streaming Engine to receive your trial license key, if you don’t already have one
    • This key is necessary to run Wowza Streaming Engine
• Flowplayer Token
  • Log into the Wowza Portal and generate a new Flowplayer trial token, if you don’t already have one
  • This token is required to embed the Flowplayer OVP on a custom web page

Store your Wowza Streaming Engine license key and your Flowplayer token in a secure location. You will use these to configure separate environment files later in the process.

Step 2. Deploying Wowza Streaming Engine with Docker

For a streamlined setup, we recommend using the pre-configured deployment files available in the Dev Guides GitHub repo. This repository includes Docker files that make deploying Wowza Streaming Engine nearly instantaneous.

1. First, clone the Dev Guides GitHub repository locally.
2. Then, configure Docker by navigating to the relevant subfolder (e.g., one_first_live_stream). You will find a docker-compose file and a placeholder .env.example file.
3. To set the License Key, copy the .env.example to a new .env file. Then, open this new file and paste your Wowza Streaming Engine license key where indicated.
4. From your terminal, run “docker compose up” to start the Docker images and deploy your local Wowza Streaming Engine instance.

Step 3. Creating and Verifying Your Live Stream Source

With Wowza Streaming Engine running, you can now configure and push a live video feed. The easiest way to create a source stream is by using a tool like OBS Studio, which is a free and open-source video recording and live-streaming software.

Add your Video Capture Device (your webcam, for example) and configure your audio source (such as your microphone). Then, configure your stream settings to begin feeding video data from your software to Wowza Streaming Engine. You should set the stream server to rtmp://localhost/live and choose your Stream Key (e.g., myStream).

Once you have set your stream key and configured your live-streaming software settings, you can begin pushing video content live from the software to Wowza Streaming Engine. To verify the stream is being received by the server, log into Wowza Streaming Engine using the admin credentials set in your Docker configuration. Navigate to Applications > Live and check Incoming Streams. There, you should see the stream you just started (e.g., myStream) listed as Active.

Step 4. Embedding Your Live Stream with Wowza Flowplayer OVP

The last step is to use the Wowza Flowplayer to embed the live stream in a custom front-end application. The repo includes a sample React application in a subfolder named Front End. The Flowplayer OVP component requires two essential input parameters: the video URL (pointing to your local Streaming Engine instance) and the Flowplayer token.

1. Install the Packages
   1. Navigate to the Front End folder
   2. Run npm install to install necessary packages, including the Flowplayer OVP components
2. Configure Flowplayer Token
   1. Copy the env.example file in the Front End folder to a new local .env file
   2. Paste your Flowplayer trial token into this file
3. Run the Web App
   1. Start the application by running npm run dev

When you open the web page (typically running on localhost:8080), you will see the live feed coming from your live-streaming software, being processed by Wowza Streaming Engine, and displayed seamlessly by Flowplayer.

Building A High-Quality Live Streaming Experience with Wowza

You’re now up and running with a complete, locally hosted live streaming pipeline! This foundation is ready for exploration. Upcoming guides will demonstrate upcoming AI capabilities, such as live subtitling and language translation, and object detection that will enable you to create apps that react to events happening in your video feed.

If you’re ready to get started with Wowza Streaming Engine, download a free trial at www.wowza.com/free-trial. View more developer resources on our Developer’s page.