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DOCUMENTATION
Overview
Start live streaming
Getting started tutorialConfigure broadcast softwareGet an API keyVerify a live stream is activeCreate a streamPlayback a live streamRecord a live stream sessionStream delivery via CDNUsing webhooksCheck webhook signaturesMultistreamRedundant back-up transcodingTips for reducing latencyHandling disconnectsDebug live stream issuesCreate paywallSupported codecs and workflowsMonitoring stream healthSRT Support
API requests
Application development
Clone an example appLive streaming from your appSelecting a video player for your appUse a custom domain for live streamingPer stream metrics
Usage and billing
Guides / Start Live Streaming / Playback

Playback a live stream

This is how a Livepeer.com playback URL is formatted: https://cdn.livepeer.com/hls/{playbackId}/index.m3u8.

All sessions for a stream have the same playback URL.

The easiest way to the stream playback URL is to login to the Livepeer.com Dashboard, navigate to the Streams page, livepeer.com/dashboard/streams, and click on a stream name. The playback URL is listed on the page.

You can also make a GET request to https://livepeer.com/api/stream/{id}, and note the value of playbackId in the response. The playback URL is https://cdn.livepeer.com/hls/{playbackId}/index.m3u8.

Video player

Users can view the live stream with any HLS video player (for example video.js or JW Player).

Stream delivery via CDN

Playback for all Pro plan streams is delivered via a content delivery network (CDN). The transcoded video stream automatically switches between the transcoded renditions based on the viewers’ available bandwidth, device performance, and network conditions.

Non-CDN delivery for free tier users is limited to 10 viewers per account.

What if playback isn’t working?

Look at the lastSeen and isActive (Status row on the Livepeer.com Dashboard) values. If ingest was properly configured for playback, lastSeen will show the current date and time and isActive will be true (Status row on the Livepeer.com Dashboard will be Active).

If this isn't the case, confirm the streamKey and RTMP ingest URL, rtmp://rtmp.livepeer.com/live, are configured correctly in your broadcast software.

Lastly, check that your playback URL is correct.

Audio-only streams

You can use ?video=false at the end of an .m3u8 URL to get an audio-only stream. For example, https://cdn.livepeer.com/hls/{playbackId}/index.m3u8?video=false.