Wowza Streaming Cloud lets you stream live video to any device, accommodates audiences of any size, anywhere. The platform accepts video from any encoder or IP camera. It automatically transcodes the video in the cloud and delivers the stream in multiple renditions that can be viewed from players on any device.


VIDIZMO provides you with the information you need to connect with your source encoder and your viewers to watch a stream using cloud based adaptive bitrate transcoding and ensuring a robust and reliable connection. 


To set up a live stream using Wowza Streaming Cloud, follow these steps in sequence:


1. Configuring Wowza Streaming Cloud 

2. Configuring VIDIZMO

3. Push Live Stream from Wirecast

4. Schedule and View Live Webcast


1. Configuring Wowza Streaming Cloud


1. Go to https://cloud.wowza.com:


i. Enter your Email Address and Password.


ii. Click on Sign In.



2. You will be redirected to the Homepage of your Wowza Streaming Cloud. In case you are a member of more than one Wowza Streaming Cloud workgroup, select the one which you will use to create a live stream.



3. From the Homepage, go to Live Streams >> Add Live Stream.



4. To add a live stream, you will have to go through the following five steps in sequence. The first step is the Live Stream Setup. From this screen:


i. Enter the name of your live stream.


ii. Select your broadcast location. This is where Wowza Streaming Cloud transcodes the stream. It is advised to choose a broadcast location close to the video source for optimum results. 


iii. Click Next to proceed.



5. The next step is the Video Source and Transcoder Settings:


i. Select the camera or encoder you will use to connect to Wowza Streaming Cloud. In this case, we are selecting Telestream Wirecast through which we will push the stream.


ii. Click Next to proceed.


6. In the next step, set the Playback Settings of your live stream. You can specify the player width, video poster image, countdown clock, and player logo from this setting. 


i. Specify the width of your player. In this case, Fixed width option is selected. However, you can also keep it as Responsive which will maximize your player width depending on the device.


ii. Click on Next. 



7. Next is the Hosted Page Settings. Enter the page title of your stream and click Next.



8. In this Review Settings screen, review your live stream settings. 


If required, go Back and make changes in any of the previous steps. If there are no modifications required, click on the Finish button to proceed.



9. The live stream gets created successfully.



10. From the top menu bar, go to Advanced >> Transcoders.



11. On Transcoders page, click on the Transcoder of the recently added live stream.



12. You will be redirected to the Transcoder page of that stream:


i. Select Transcoder Setup tab.


ii. Click on Edit.



13. From the Transcoder Setup tab, scroll down and locate More Options and select the following to based on your requirements:


Turn Off Sort Packet Buffer 


Select it to speed up the time it takes to decode and deliver video data to the player by turning off the sort packet buffer. The incoming buffer stores packets before they are processed, enabling more efficient transcoding. An optimum Buffer Size reduces stream jittering and helps ensure successful transmuxing.


To learn more about Buffer Settings, click here on Edit a reduced-latency live stream's buffer settings section in the article on How to deliver a reduced-latency HLS stream in Wowza Streaming Cloud. 


Stream Targets Disabled


By default, stream targets start streaming when the transcoder starts. Selecting Disable stream targets on transcoder start, however, keeps stream targets disabled (not broadcasting) when you start the transcoder. If selected, you must manually start the targets on the Outputs & Targets tab of the transcoder detail page when you're ready for viewers to see the broadcast at your stream targets.


To learn more, click here on Add and manage stream targets in Wowza Streaming Cloud.



14. Click on Save to update changes.



15. Now select the Outputs & Targets tab.



16. On the Outputs & Targets, define the adaptive bitrate output renditions (i.e. 240, 360, 720, 1080 etc) that you want to use. Click on the Delete Output icon to delete any renditions that you do not need. 


Here, we are deleting three output renditions.



17. A Delete Output popup window will appear. Click OK to confirm your selection.



18. The changes have been updated successfully.



19. Again, from the top menu bar, go to Live Streams >> [Newly Added Live Stream] and select the stream that you created.



20. Click on Start Live Stream to start the stream. A popup window appears showing a progress bar indicating the starting process.




21. Once the stream has started, scroll down to Source Connection Information and copy the Primary Server and Stream Name values. The Primary Server URL in Wowza is the ingest point and the Stream Name values will be used while Pushing the Live Stream From Wirecast.

 


22. Make note of the the Source Username and Source Password, which will be used to authenticate the stream in Wirecast. 


Also, copy the Playback URLs which will be used when configuring VIDIZMO.

 


2. Configuring VIDIZMO


VIDIZMO requires Playback URLs (HLS, RTMP, MSS, Multicast) from the streaming server in order to playback the live video stream. This can be configured in several ways depending on your current infrastructure and business needs.


i. VIDIZMO ECDN


Wowza Streaming Cloud already has an integrated public CDN (Content Distribution Network) for global delivery of streaming content. However, to accelerate content delivery behind the firewall on your corporate network, many customers choose to implement VIDIZMO ECDN. This allows a more granular control over how your video stream is distributed efficiently without taxing your corporate network.


Click here to learn more on How To Setup VIDIZMO ECDN. 


To enable HLS Playback, you need to provide the Playback URL from Step# 22, Section 1 above, in the ECDN Show Advanced settings in VIDIZMO.


i. Click on the Admin link from the top navigation bar


ii. Select Control Panel



iii. In the ECDN settings, the Streaming URL field should contain only the playback Server URL from Wowza


iv. In the Enable HLS settings, the URL shoube be the complete Playback URL as shown in the example below.



ii. Setup a Publishing Point (Recommended)


A Publishing point refers to the physical location of the streaming server that the live video feed is first delivered to (ingest), via an encoder and the playback URLs the VIDIZMO player uses to playback live stream (egress), effectively hosting the stream for all viewers. A publishing point allows you to fine tune and re-use your Playback URLs for frequent live events.


Click here to learn more on How to Setup Publishing Point for Live Streaming in VIDIZMO.



iii. Direct Playback URL


Using the Custom option, you can copy Playback URLs from Wowza Streaming Cloud and paste them in "Schedule Live Webcast" wizard when scheduling the live webcast in VIDIZMO. This is the simplest method in case you only intend to deliver your live webcast occasionally and over the Internet.


i. HLS Playback URL copied from Step # 22 in Section 1 above when configuring Wowza.


ii. Use the Preview button to verify if stream.



3. Push Live Stream From Live Encoder 


A Live Encoder is a hardware device or software application that captures live audio/video from camera and microphone and converts it into a format that can be streamed over the network typically via streaming servers. As an example, Wirecast is a popular live video encoder developed by Telestream. The tool enables users to create live and on-demand broadcasts for the web. The platform can ingest live camera feeds from various devices such as iOS devices, desktop computers, and web-based feeds, etc. 


Typically, all major encoders support pushing the live audio/video content to the streaming servers via RTMP (Real Time Messaging Protocol) over port 1935 so this port needs to be open between your encoder and Wowza Streaming Cloud (*.akamaihd.net)   


Note that VIDIZMO player pulls the live stream over port HTTP (Port 80) by default from the streaming server for playback, which is typically allowed and open on all public and private networks.

When configuring your encoder for a live stream, use following parameters from Step 21 and Step 22 above:
  • Primary Server
  • Stream Name
  • Source Username & Source Password (under Set Credentials)



  • Open the Encoding settings dialog using the Settings icon and click on "View Details"
  • In the Encoding Presets dialog, enter "60" in the "Key frame every..... frames" field, as this is the general standard for most streaming servers.




For detailed steps on pushing a Live Stream using the Wirecast application, click on How To Capture Live Streams Using Wirecast. 


4. Schedule And View Live Webcast In VIDIZMO


Once your encoder, Wowza Streaming Cloud, and VIDIZMO are all configured to work with each other on the backend, scheduling a live webcast in VIDIZMO for viewers to access it is very easy and straight forward. 


Click on How To Schedule A Live Webcast In VIDIZMO to learn more.


Permissions


Subject: Publishing Point


Action: Get, Update, Delete, Add


Roles


Administrator, Manager