Learn how to use the Wowza Video™ REST API to set up a Wowza stream source with a live stream or transcoder. This allows Wowza Video to automatically detect broadcast location, automatically start a stream when the video source starts, and automatically stop a stream after the video source disconnects.
For information about stream sources and their benefits see About Stream Sources.
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 complete the following tasks:
- Install the latest firmware installed for your encoder.
You should have access to the following items:
- The encoder's user guide for details about how to operate the device or software and how to specify settings such as resolution, bitrate, and frame rate.
You'll need to choose which workflow you'll use, live stream or transcoder, before you begin this task. 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 RTMP source, generates a player, and configures a hosted page by sending a POST request to the /live_streams endpoint.
You can use the following sample request, making sure to:
- Set encoder to other_rtmp.
- Set broadcast_location. This is a required parameter, so you'll have to set it even though it will be overriden by use_stream_source. To test the stream source automatically determining your Broadcast Location, we recommend you set this to a location on another continent. For example: set the location to Asia if you are primarily streaming from North America.
- Set use_stream_source to true.
- Change any values unique to your broadcast, using the API reference documentation as a resource. See the Endpoint Reference button below.
Sample request
curl -X POST \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer ${WV_JWT}" \
-d '{
"live_stream": {
"aspect_ratio_height": 1080,
"aspect_ratio_width": 1920,
"billing_mode": "pay_as_you_go",
"broadcast_location": "us_west_oregon",
"encoder": "other_rtmp",
"delivery_method": "cdn",
"name": "Live stream for Wowza Stream Source",
"transcoder_type": "transcoded",
"use_stream_source": "true"
}
}' "${WV_HOST}/api/${WV_VERSION}/live_streams"
Sample response
The response includes:
- An ID for the live stream that you can use to perform various operations.
- Outputs, a stream source, and a stream target that have been automatically associated with a Wowza stream source.
- source_connection_information you can use to configure a source encoder for the live stream.
- primary_server, host_port, application, stream_name, username, and password. Wowza stream sources don't allow source authentication so both username and password are returned as null.
{
"live_stream": {
"id": "abcwksvr",
"name": "Live Stream for Wowza Stream Source",
"transcoder_type": "transcoded",
"billing_mode": "pay_as_you_go",
"broadcast_location": "us_west_california",
"recording": false,
"closed_caption_type": "none",
"low_latency": false,
"encoder": "other_rtmp",
"delivery_method": "cdn",
"target_delivery_protocol": "hls-https",
"use_stream_source": true,
"aspect_ratio_width": 1920,
"aspect_ratio_height": 1080,
"delivery_protocols": [
"rtmp",
"rtsp",
"wowz"
],
"source_connection_information": {
"primary_server": "rtmp://origin.cdn.wowza.com:1935/live",
"host_port": 1935,
"stream_name": "0I3q1ZXVEYX9nMDhmVGMUK0SZqXt6026",
"username": "null",
"password": "null"
},
...
"stream_source_id":ab9cidkp,
"stream_targets": [
{
"id": "htwtwqxv"
}
],
"direct_playback_urls": {...},
"created_at": "2019-01-22T20:14:41.000Z",
"updated_at": "2019-01-22T20:14:42.000Z"
}
}
2. Configure your video source
Use the primary_url and stream_name from the live stream response to configure your encoder. You'll need to refer to documentation for your specific encoder to determine where to input the source_connection_information settings, which include the stream and user credentials for authentication.
If you were configuring OBS as the encoder, you'd enter the following stream settings in OBS:
- URL is formatted as:
rtmp://[primary_server]:[host_port]/[application]
Where:- [primary_server] is the ingest location of the server
- [host_port] is the port (by default 1935)
- [application] is the application name for the stream assigned by Wowza Video
- Stream key is the stream_name value, such as b01bda67.
Other encoders might use different names in their user interface, like Address instead of URL and Stream instead of Stream key. Make sure to refer to your encoder's documentation to determine the correct locations.
3. Test the connection
Now that you have configured your source, you can test your live stream. You'll need the[live_stream_id] returned in step 1.
- Start the stream in the RTMP encoder and the live stream in Wowza Video will also start. How you start the encoder varies by device.
- Check the state to make sure the live stream started.
curl -X GET \ -H "Authorization: Bearer ${WV_JWT}" \ "${WV_HOST}/api/${WV_VERSION}/live_streams/[live_stream_id]/state" - Fetch a URL to a thumbnail that you can enter into a browser and visually confirm the stream is playing.
curl -X GET \ -H "Authorization: Bearer ${WV_JWT}" \ "${WV_HOST}/api/${WV_VERSION}/live_streams/[live_stream_id]/thumbnail_url" - In order to confirm that your current broadcast location was correctly identified, check the Broadcast Location for the live stream. If you created your stream source using the Wowza Video REST API, the GET/live_stream/{id} call will return the specific details.
"live_stream": { "id": "z17fzfsb", "name": "Mystreamsource", "transcoder_type": "transcoded", "billing_mode": "pay_as_you_go", "broadcast_location": "asia_pacific_australia", - Stop the stream in the source camera or encoder, which will also stop the live stream in Wowza Video.
Related API requests
- GET /live_streams — View all live streams for an account.
- GET /live_streams/[ID] — View the details of a live stream, including the player embed code and hosted page URL.
- PATCH /live_streams/[ID] — Update a live stream's configuration.
Transcoder workflow
1. Create a Wowza stream source
In the transcoder workflow, you'll first add the stream source and then manually configure the transcoder to use it.
Create a Wowza stream source by sending a POST request to the /stream_sources/wowza endpoint.You can use the following sample request, making sure to:
- Set name to a short, descriptive, alphanumeric string for your Wowza stream source.
- Change any values unique to your broadcast, using the API reference documentation as a resource. See the Endpoint Reference button below.
Sample request
curl -X POST \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer ${WV_JWT}" \
-d '{
"stream_source_wowza": {
"name": "Auto-starting stream source"
}
}' "${WV_HOST}/api/${WV_VERSION}/stream_sources/wowza"
Sample response
The response includes:
- An id for the stream source that you'll use throughout the rest of this task.
{
"stream_source_wowza": {
"id": "def0vjqv",
"name": "Auto-starting stream source",
"primary_url": "rtmp://origin.cdn.wowza.com:1935/live",
"stream_name": "012p2abcKS3Vq93MGJIF6V5tIYS9560a",
"state": "stopped",
"created_at": "2018-12-12T15:37:55.000Z",
"updated_at": "2018-12-12T15:37:55.000Z"
}
}
Note: Wowza stream sources don't allow source authentication.
2. Create a transcoder
Create a transcoder with a delivery_method of cdn and associate it with the stream source by sending a POST request to the /transcoders endpoint.
You can use the following sample request, making sure to:
- Set delivery_method to cdn.
- Set broadcast_location. This is a required parameter, so you'll have to set it even though it will be overriden by the stream source. To test the stream source automatically determining your Broadcast Location, we recommend you set this to a location on another continent. For example: set the location to Asia if you are primarily streaming from North America.
- Set stream_source_id to the ID returned in step 1.
- Change any values unique to your broadcast, using the API reference documentation as a resource. See the Endpoint Reference button below.
Sample request
curl -X POST \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer ${WV_JWT}" \
-d '{
"transcoder": {
"billing_mode": "pay_as_you_go",
"broadcast_location": "us_west_oregon",
"delivery_method": "cdn",
"name": "Transcoder for Wowza Stream Source",
"protocol": "rtmp",
"stream_source_id": "def0vjqv",
"transcoder_type": "transcoded"
}
}' "${WV_HOST}/api/${WV_VERSION}/transcoders"
The response includes:
- An ID for the transcoder that you'll use throughout the rest of this task.
- An empty outputs array that you'll configure in step 3.
- source_connection_information you'll use in step 4 to configure a source for the stream.
- domain_name, source_port, application_name, stream_name, username, and password
{
"transcoder": {
"id": "bgl4f37t",
"name": "Transcoder for Wowza Stream Source",
"transcoder_type": "transcoded",
"billing_mode": "pay_as_you_go",
"broadcast_location": "us_west_oregon",
"recording": false,
"closed_caption_type": "none",
"protocol": "rtmp",
"delivery_method": "cdn",
"source_port": 1935,
"stream_source_id": "def0vjqv",
"domain_name": "rtmp://origin.cdn.wowza.com",
"application_name": "live",
"stream_name": "012p2abcKS3Vq93MGJIF6V5tIYS9560a",
...
"idle_timeout": 1200,
...
"outputs": []
}
}
3. Add output renditions and stream targets
Complete the transcoder by adding output renditions and stream targets. For instructions, see one of the following articles, depending on whether you're creating an adaptive bitrate or passthrough transcoder:
Note: You'll need the transcoder ID from step 1.
- Adaptive bitrate transcoder — Create an ABR stream and send it to a target with the Wowza Video REST API
- Passthrough transcoder — Pass a stream through the transcoder to a target with the Wowza Video REST API
4. Configure your video source
Use the primary_url and stream_name from the live stream response to configure your encoder. You'll need to refer to documentation for your specific encoder to determine where to input the source_connection_information settings, which include the stream and user credentials for authentication.
If you were configuring OBS as the encoder, you'd enter the following stream settings in OBS:
- URL is formatted as:
rtmp://[primary_server]:[host_port]/[application]
Example: rtmp://origin.cdn.wowza.com:1935/live
Where:- [primary_server] is the ingest location of the server
- [host_port] is the port (by default 1935)
- [application] is the application name for the stream assigned by Wowza Video
- Stream key is the stream_name value, such as 12p2abcKS3Vq93MGJIF6V5tIYS9560a.
Other encoders might use different names in their user interface, like Address instead of URL and Stream instead of Stream key. Make sure to refer to your encoder's documentation to determine the correct locations.
5. Test the connection
Now that you have configured your source, you can test your transcoder. You'll need the [transcoder_id] returned in step 2.
- Start the stream in the RTMP encoder and the live stream in Wowza Video will also start. How you start the encoder varies by device.
- Check the state to make sure the transcoder started.
curl -X GET \ -H "Authorization: Bearer ${WV_JWT}" \ "${WV_HOST}/api/${WV_VERSION}/transcoders/[transcoder_id]/state" - Start the stream in the encoder. How you start the encoder varies by device.
- Fetch a URL to a thumbnail that you can enter into a browser and visually confirm the stream is playing.
curl -X GET \ -H "Authorization: Bearer ${WV_JWT}" \ "${WV_HOST}/api/${WV_VERSION}/transcoders/[transcoder_id]/thumbnail_url" - In order to confirm your correct broadcast location was picked up:
curl -X GET \ -H "Authorization: Bearer ${WV_JWT}" \ "${WV_HOST}/api/${WV_VERSION}/transcoders/[transcoder_id]Which will return a result similar to:
{ "transcoder": { "id": "z17fzfsb", "name": "Mystreamsource", "transcoder_type": "transcoded", "billing_mode": "pay_as_you_go", "broadcast_location": "asia_pacific_australia", "closed_caption_type": "none", "protocol": "webrtc", "delivery_method": "push", "source_port": 443, - Stop the stream in the source camera or encoder, which will also stop the live stream in Wowza Video.
Related API requests
- GET /transcoders — View all transcoders for an account.
- GET /transcoders/[ID] — View the details of a transcoder.
- PATCH /transcoders/[ID] — Update a transcoder's configuration.
