Comparison of streaming media software

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 Pedde?0.2.4.2 (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
Logitech Media ServerLogitech?7.7.5 (2014-11-28)2014-11-28FreeGPLv2Audio
Nimble StreamerSoftvelum20133.7.1-5 (2020-10-27)2020-10-27FreeproprietaryAudio/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 playerVideoLAN?2.2.4 (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 ServerYesYesYesNo
atmosph3reYesNoNoNo
Darwin Streaming ServerYesYesNoYes
FireflyYes?YesYes
Helix DNA ServerYes?YesYes
Helix Universal ServerYesNoYesYes
IcecastYesYesYesYes
IIS Media ServicesYesNoNoNo
Logitech Media ServerYesYesYesYes
Nimble StreamerYesYesYesNo
OpenBroadcasterNoNoYes?
Open Broadcaster SoftwareYesYesYes?
Plex (software)YesYesYesYes
Red5 (open source)YesYesYesYes
SHOUTcastYesYesYesYes
Unreal Media ServerYesNoNoNo
VLC media playerYesYesYesYes
Windows Media ServicesYesNoNoNo
Wowza Streaming EngineYesYesYesYes

Container format support

Information about what digital container formats are supported.

Name3GPAVIASFQuickTimeOggOGMMatroskaMP4MPEG-TSFLVABRWebM
Adobe Media Server???????YesNoYesYes?
atmosph3re???????Yes????
Darwin Streaming ServerYes??Yes???YesNoNoNo?
Firefly?No??Yes???????
Helix DNA Server?NoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo??
Helix Universal ServerYesNoYesYesYesNoNoYesYesYesYes?
Icecast?Yes??Yes????NoNoYes
IIS Media ServicesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYes?
Nimble StreamerNoYesNoNoNoNoYesYesYesYesYes?
OpenBroadcasterNoYesNoYesYesYesNoYes?No??
Red5 (open source)YesNoNoYesNoNoNoYesYesYesYes?
SHOUTcast?Yes??Yes????NoNo?
Unreal Media ServerYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYes??
VLC media player?Yes?YesYes?YesYesYesYes??
Windows Media Services??Yes??????NoNo?
Wowza Streaming EngineYesNoNoYesNoNoNoYesYesYesYes?

Protocol support

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

NameHTTPMPEG DASHWebRTCRTSPMMSRTPRTCPUDPTCPRTMPMPEG TSReal Data TransportWeb socketsHLSDASHSRTP
Adobe Media ServerYes
(HTTP Live Streaming, HTTP Dynamic Streaming)
?NoNoNoNoNoYesYesYesNoYesYesYes??
atmosph3reYes???????????
Darwin Streaming ServerNo??YesNoYesYes?????
Firefly????????????
Helix DNA ServerYesNoNoYesNoYesNoYesYes??Yes
Helix Universal ServerYes
(HTTP Live Streaming, MPEG-DASH, HTTP Progressive Streaming)
YesNoYesYesYesYesYesYesYesNoYes
IcecastYes??NoNoNoNo?????
IIS Media ServicesYes?NoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
Nimble StreamerYes (HTTP Live Streaming, Smooth Streaming)YesNoYesNoYesNoYesYesYesYesNoYesYesYes
OpenBroadcasterYesNoNoYesNoYesYesYesYesNo?Yes
Red5 (open source)[4]YesNoIn DevelopmentNoNoNoNoNoYesYes (RTMP, RTMPE, RTMPTE, RTMPT, RTMPS, RTMP Dynamic Streaming)NoYesYes?No
SHOUTcastYes??NoNoNoNo?????
Unreal Media ServerYes
(HTTP Live Streaming, Smooth Streaming)
NoYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYes
(RTMP, RTMPT, Dynamic RTMP)
YesNoYesYesYes
VLC media playerYes?NoYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYes?Yes
Windows Media ServicesYes
(WM-HTTP)
?NoYes
(WM-RTSP)
Yes, for WMS 9.0 and earlier; removed in WMS 2008 (9.5)[5]Yes
(WM-RTSP)
NoYes
(WM-RTSP/U and MS-MSB)
Yes
(WM-RTSP/T and WM-HTTP)
NoNoNo
Wowza Streaming EngineYes
(HTTP Live Streaming, Smooth Streaming, HTTP Dynamic Streaming)
Yes
YesYesNoYesYesYesYesYes
(RTMP, RTMPE, RTMPTE, RTMPT, RTMPS, RTMP Dynamic Streaming)
YesNoNoYesYes
NameHTTPMPEG DASHWebRTCRTSPMMSRTPRTCPUDPTCPRTMPMPEG TSReal Data TransportWeb socketsHLSDASHSRTP

Features

NameClient Playback SynchronizationWeb InterfaceGraphical user interfaceiOS SDKAndroid SDKJavascript SDK
Logitech Media ServerYesYesNo
Red5 (open source)NoYesYesNoNoNo
VLC media playerYesYesYes

See also

References

External links

  • See the container and protocol of VLC Media Player from here: [1]