RTMP

What is RTMP?

RTMP stands for Real-Time Messaging Protocol. This protocol facilitates the transmission of audio, video, and data in real-time. It is a key component of live streaming technology because of its ability to maintain low-latency connections.

Benefits of RTMP

RTMP is a popular protocol because it has low latency, it is flexible, and it is easy to integrate many different media.

Some top benefits or RTMP are:

• Low latency
• More flexible
• Easy to integrate

Low latency

Low latency keeps video connections stable. Viewers of live-streamed content like webinars can benefit from fast streams that don’t have a lot of lag.

Flexible

RTMP is a flexible protocol that allows for feeds to be consumed in the order the viewer chooses. Instead of being forced to watch something in a linear direction, RTMP feeds can be skipped, rewound, or joined after they’ve already begun.

Easy to integrate

RTMP lets users integrate many different media types into one source. This means it’s possible to blend audio, video, and text together. It is also possible to have many variations of media channels. For example, it is possible to stream both MP3 and AAC audio streams with RTMP.

Challenges of RTMP

RTMP is a practical protocol, but it does come with flaws such as issues with bandwidth, compatibility limitations, and it isn’t supported by HTML5.

Some challenges include:

• Low bandwidth
• HTTP compatibility
• HTML5 support

Low bandwidth

RTMP streams are subject to low bandwidth that cause frequent interruptions in the video feed. Choppy feeds spoil the viewer experience, causing frustration.

HTTP compatibility

RTMP is not compatible with HTTP connections. An HTTP connection is a network channel that stays open to receive further HTTP requests, rather than closing after each exchange. For RTMP streaming It is required to connect to special servers like Adobe Flash and use a third-party content delivery network to access streams.

HTML5 support

HTML 5 players are becoming the modern standard for video streams. RTMP is instead supported by outdated flash players. RTMP can’t play on HTML5 players without HLS converters.