Comparison of streaming media software explained

This is a comparison of streaming media systems. A more complete list of streaming media systems is also available.

General

The following tables compare general and technical information for a number of streaming media systems both audio and video. Please see the individual systems' linked articles for further information.

NameCreatorFirst Public Release (yyyy-MM-dd)Latest Stable Version (Release Date)Latest Release DateCost (USD)licenseMedia
Adobe Media ServerMacromedia/Adobe Systems//Veriskope Inc2002-07-95.0.16 (2020-2-15)2020-2-15Free Developer and Trial licenses; Subscription Licenses at $33/month; Standard Perpetual License at $995; Amazon Marketplace license starting at $0.13/hourproprietaryVideo, Audio, Data
atmosph3reGuillaume Carrier2005-08-153.0.7 (2015-10-31)2015-10-31$30 perpetual licenseproprietaryAudio
Darwin Streaming ServerApple Inc.1999-03-166.0.3 (2007-05-10)2007-05-10FreeAPSLAudio/Video
FengLSCube[1] 2007-05-312009-10-142009-10-04FreeGPLAudio/Video
FireflyRon Pedde0.2.4.2 (2008-04-19)2008-04-19FreeGPLAudio
Helix DNA ServerRealNetworks2003-01-2211.1 (2006-06-10)2006-06-10FreeRCSL/RPSLAudio/Video
Helix Universal ServerRealNetworks1994-01-0115.2.1 (2014-09-16)2014-09-16Free for 12 months (Basic) and $1,000-$10,000proprietaryAudio/Video
IcecastXiph.Org Foundation1998-122.4.4 (2018-10-31)2018-10-31FreeGPLAudio
IIS Media ServicesMicrosoft2008-11-074.1 (2011-11-09)2011-11-09FreeproprietaryAudio/Video/Data
Lyrion Music ServerLogitech/LMS Community2001-09-168.5.2 (2024-05-20)2024-05-20FreeGPLv2Audio
Nimble StreamerSoftvelum20133.7.1-5 (2020-10-27)2020-10-27FreeproprietaryAudio/Video
OvenMediaEngineAirenSoft2019-05-230.16.8 (2024-07-19)2024-07-19FreeAGPLv3Audio/Video
OpenBroadcasterOpenBroadcaster20035.0.0 (2018-01-27)2018-01-27FreeAGPLv3Audio/Video
Open Broadcaster SoftwareOBS Project2012-9-0130.0.2 (2023-12-10)2023-12-10FreeGPL v2Audio/Video
Plex (software)Plex Media Server2008-07-081.15.6.1079 (2019-05-15)2019-05-15FreeproprietaryAudio/Video
Red5 (open source)Infrared5/community2003-09-221.0.9 (2017-06-11)2018-12-13FreeApache License v2Audio/Video/Data
SHOUTcastNullsoft1998-122.4.7 (Build 256) (2015-03-31)2015-03-31FreeproprietaryAudio
Unreal Media ServerUnreal Streaming Technologies2003-09-1515.0 (2023-01-03)2023-01-03$995 perpetual licenseproprietaryAudio/Video
VLC media playerVideoLAN2.2.4 (2016-06-05)2016-06-05FreeGPL v2Audio/Video
Windows Media ServicesMicrosoft1996-12-109.6 (2010-04-05)2010-04-05FreeproprietaryAudio/Video
Wowza Streaming EngineWowza Media Systems2007-02-174.8.5 build 20200616153358 (2020-06-17)[2] 2020-06-17Free Developer and Trial licenses; Subscription Licenses at $125/month;[3] Perpetual Pro License at $1995; Amazon EC2 with embedded license starting at $0.15/hourproprietaryAudio/Video/Data

Operating system support

NameWindowsmacOSLinuxUnix
Adobe Media Server
atmosph3re
Darwin Streaming Server
Firefly
Helix DNA Server
Helix Universal Server
Icecast
IIS Media Services
Lyrion Music Server
Nimble Streamer
OvenMediaEngine (with Docker) (with Docker)
OpenBroadcaster
Open Broadcaster Software
Plex (software)
Red5 (open source)
SHOUTcast
Unreal Media Server
VLC media player
Windows Media Services
Wowza Streaming Engine

Container format support

Information about what digital container formats are supported.

Name3GPAVIASFQuickTimeOggOGMMatroskaMP4MPEG-TSFLVABRWebM
Adobe Media Server
atmosph3re
Darwin Streaming Server
Firefly
Helix DNA Server
Helix Universal Server
Icecast
IIS Media Services
Nimble Streamer
OvenMediaEngine
OpenBroadcaster
Red5 (open source)
SHOUTcast
Unreal Media Server
VLC media player
Windows Media Services
Wowza Streaming Engine

Protocol support

Information about which internet protocols are supported for broadcasting streaming media content.

NameHTTPMPEG DASHWebRTCRTSPMMSRTPRTCPUDPTCPRTMPMPEG TSReal Data TransportWeb socketsHLSDASHSRTP
class="table-rh" Adobe Media Server
(HTTP Live Streaming, HTTP Dynamic Streaming)
class="table-rh" atmosph3re
class="table-rh" Darwin Streaming Server
class="table-rh" Firefly
class="table-rh" Helix DNA Server
class="table-rh" Helix Universal Server
(HTTP Live Streaming, MPEG-DASH, HTTP Progressive Streaming)
class="table-rh" Icecast
class="table-rh" IIS Media Services
class="table-rh" Nimble Streamer (HTTP Live Streaming, Smooth Streaming)
class="table-rh" OvenMediaEngine
class="table-rh" OpenBroadcaster
class="table-rh" Red5 (open source)[4] In Development (RTMP, RTMPE, RTMPTE, RTMPT, RTMPS, RTMP Dynamic Streaming)
class="table-rh" SHOUTcast
class="table-rh" Unreal Media Server
(HTTP Live Streaming, Smooth Streaming)
(RTMP, RTMPT, Dynamic RTMP)
class="table-rh" VLC media playerYes
class="table-rh" Windows Media Services
(WM-HTTP)
(WM-RTSP)		, for WMS 9.0 and earlier; removed in WMS 2008 (9.5)[5]
(WM-RTSP)
(WM-RTSP/U and MS-MSB)
(WM-RTSP/T and WM-HTTP)
class="table-rh" Wowza Streaming Engine
(HTTP Live Streaming, Smooth Streaming, HTTP Dynamic Streaming)

(RTMP, RTMPE, RTMPTE, RTMPT, RTMPS, RTMP Dynamic Streaming)
NameHTTPMPEG DASHWebRTCRTSPMMSRTPRTCPUDPTCPRTMPMPEG TSReal Data TransportWeb socketsHLSDASHSRTP

Features

NameClient Playback SynchronizationWeb InterfaceGraphical user interfaceiOS SDKAndroid SDKJavascript SDK
class="table-rh" Lyrion Music Server
class="table-rh" Red5 (open source)
class="table-rh" VLC media player

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: index : feng . LSCube . 2013-03-17 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130615110550/http://cgit.lscube.org/cgit.cgi/feng . 2013-06-15 . dead .
  2. Web site: Latest software updates for Wowza Streaming Engine.
  3. Web site: Get Estimated Live Streaming Server Prices Wowza Streaming Engine. 2021-07-30. Wowza Media Systems. en-US.
  4. Web site: Red5. GitHub. 2015-11-05.
  5. Web site: David Nelson . Windows Media protocol reference . Microsoft Corporation . 10 December 2009 . 23 February 2012.

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