Deliver WebRTC streams to viewers using the Wowza Video REST API
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WebRTC lets you capture video from your browser without installing plug-ins or downloading third-party software. With Wowza Video, you can deliver WebRTC streams to viewers or other video services directly from the transcoder. Egress costs for direct playback are typically greater than the costs associated with delivering streams to viewers through a CDN. For more information about cost, audience size, and other workflow considerations, see WebRTC workflows in Wowza Video.

Before you start

You should be familiar with the following concepts:

API authentication methods. We use JSON web tokens for API authentication. See Authentication for more information.
Environment variables. We use environment variables for the API version and your JWT in the cURL API request examples in this topic to make it easier for you to copy, paste, and run commands in your Terminal or Command Prompt window. If you don't set environment variables for these values, you'll need to manually enter the correct values in the code samples throughout this tutorial. See Tools for testing the API for instructions.

You should choose between the following two workflows:

Decide between the live stream or transcoder workflow. See Decide between a live stream or transcoder workflow for more information about these workflows.

Live stream workflow

1. Create a live stream

Create a live stream that receives a WebRTC source by sending a POST request to the /live_streams endpoint.

You can use the following sample request, making sure to:

Set encoder to other_webrtc.
Set aspect_ratio_height to 1280. Recommended value for WebRTC streams.
Set aspect_ratio_width to 720. Recommended value for WebRTC streams.
Set broadcast_location to the region that's closest to your video source.
Set delivery_method to push. Wowza Video doesn't support pull or cdn connections for WebRTC.
Change any values unique to your broadcast, using the API reference documentation as a resource. See the Endpoint Reference button below.

Sample request

Endpoint Reference

curl -X POST \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer ${WV_JWT}" \
-d '{
   "live_stream": {
     "aspect_ratio_height": 720,
     "aspect_ratio_width": 1280,
     "billing_mode": "pay_as_you_go",
     "broadcast_location": "us_west_california",
     "delivery_method": "push",
     "encoder": "other_webrtc",
     "name": "MyWebRTCStream",
     "transcoder_type": "transcoded"
   }
}' "${WV_HOST}/api/${WV_VERSION}/live_streams"

Sample response

The response includes:

An id for the live stream you'll use in the next step.
source_connection_information you'll use in the next step to configure the WebRTC publish page.
- sdp_url, application_name, and stream_name.
An array of direct_playback_urls. You'll use the URL with the name webrtc.

{
   "live_stream": {
     "id": "1234abcd",
     "name": "MyWebRTCStream",
     ...
     "encoder": "other_webrtc",
     ...
     "source_connection_information": {
       "sdp_url": "wss://[subdomain].entrypoint.video.wowza.com/webrtc-session.json",
       "application_name": "app-30zl5349",
       "stream_name": "32a5814b",
     },
     ...
     "direct_playback_urls": {
      ...
     "webrtc": [
        {
            "name": "source",
            "url": "wss://[subdomain].entrypoint.video.wowza.com/webrtc-session.json",
            "application_name": "app-1880020Q",
            "stream_name": "3f8f1889"
        },
        {
            "name": "webrtc",
            "url": "wss://[subdomain].entrypoint.video.wowza.com/webrtc-session.json",
            "application_name": "app-1880020Q",
            "stream_name": "3f8f1889_stream1",
            "output_id": "wpdlffwf"
        }
      ]
    },
    ...
  }
}

(Optional) Decrease latency

The default buffer size for a live stream is 4 seconds. To decrease the latency of the stream and get closer to real-time, you can change the buffer to 0. You'll make this change on the transcoder created for the live stream.

Send a request to GET /transcoders to get the transcoder ID for your live stream. See the API reference for more information about this endpoint.
Send a request to PATCH /transcoders/[ID], where ID is the transcoder ID returned in the previous step, and set the buffer_size to 0. See the API reference for more information about this endpoint.

(Optional) Change viewer limit

The default viewer limit is 10 for direct playback URLs, but most transcoders can support up to 300 viewers for WebRTC playback. You'll make this change on the transcoder created for the live stream.

Send a request to GET /transcoders to get the transcoder ID for your live stream. See the API reference for more information about this endpoint.
Send a request to PATCH /transcoders/[ID], where ID is the transcoder ID returned in the previous step, and set the play_maximum_connections to a value between 10 and 300. See the API reference for more information about this endpoint.

2. Start the live stream

Before you can connect to the stream through the WebRTC publish page in the next step, you need to start the live stream. You'll need the [live_stream_id] returned in step 1.

Endpoint Reference

curl -X PUT \
-H "Authorization: Bearer ${WV_JWT}" \
"${WV_HOST}/api/${WV_VERSION}/live_streams/[live_stream_id]/start"

3. Publish the WebRTC live stream

With the live stream started, you can now configure the WebRTC publish page as the source of the stream.

Go to wowza.com/webrtc/publish and grant access to your camera and microphone when prompted.
Info
The WebRTC hosted publish page is supported on the latest versions of Chrome and Safari, as well as Edge version 79 and later.
Click the Settings button on the upper-right corner of the page.
Specify the following settings:
- SDP URL – The sdp_url from the WebRTC source_connection_information object.
- Application Name – The application_name from the WebRTC source_connection_information object.
- Stream Name – The stream_name from the WebRTC source_connection_information object.
- Audio Bitrate – You can leave Audio Bitrate set to the default value, 64.
- Video Bitrate – You can leave Video Bitrate set to the default value, 3500.
Close the Settings dialog box to apply your changes.
To change which microphone to use, click the arrow next to the microphone icon.
To change the video source, click the arrow next to the video camera icon. To share your screen, select Screen Share.
Info
- The video source can't be changed after the broadcast is started.
- Screen share functionality isn't supported on mobile devices or Safari.
Click Publish.

The stream now has source video that you can view on the WebRTC playback page.

4. Play the WebRTC stream

You can test the playback using our WebRTC playback page. See the Distributable viewer URL section to get a URL you can send to your viewers.

In a new browser tab, go to wowza.com/webrtc/play.
Info
The WebRTC hosted playback page is supported on the latest versions of Chrome and Safari, as well as Edge version 79 and later.
Click the Settings button on the upper-right corner of the page.
Specify the following settings:
- SDP URL – The url from the webrtc rendition of the WebRTC direct_playback_urls object.
- Application Name – The application_name from the webrtc rendition of the WebRTC direct_playback_urls object.
- Stream Name – The stream_name from the webrtc rendition of the WebRTC direct_playback_urls object.
Close the Settings dialog box to apply your changes.
Click Play.

Distributable viewer URL

You can get a URL to distribute to your viewers so they can watch the WebRTC stream on a preconfigured, hosted page in one of two ways:

Log into Wowza Video and use the WebRTC Playback Page URL on the Overview page for the transcoder.
Using the information in step 3, build the URL with the following format:
https://wowza.com/webrtc/play?playApplicationName=[application_name]&playSdpURL=[sdp_url]&playStreamName=[stream_name]&title=[title]
Where sdp_url is escaped as in this example: wss%3A%2F%2F[subdomain].entrypoint.video.wowza.com%2Fwebrtc-session.json

5. Stop the transcoder

To avoid incurring additional billing charges, remember to stop the transcoder after the stream broadcast is over.

Endpoint Reference

curl -X PUT \
-H "Authorization: Bearer ${WV_JWT}" \
"${WV_HOST}/api/${WV_VERSION}/transcoders/[transcoder_id]/stop"

Before you start

Live stream workflow

1. Create a live stream

Sample request

Sample response

(Optional) Decrease latency

(Optional) Change viewer limit

2. Start the live stream

3. Publish the WebRTC live stream

4. Play the WebRTC stream

Distributable viewer URL

5. Stop the transcoder

More transcoder resources

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