The RTMP API is the newest API feature from Livepeer.com  It allows a user to ingest RTMP streams into the Livepeer.com service, and receive a transcoded HLS output stream that enables adaptive bitrate streaming. RTMP, the Real-Time Messaging Protocol, and HLS, HTTP live streaming, are two of many standards for transporting video, audio, and data over the internet. In this tutorial, we'll go through the steps of creating and viewing transcoded streams with the RTMP feature of Livepeer.com.

**Step 1: Create a free account at Livepeer.com, and [generate an API key] (https://livepeer.com/app/user/keys).**

On Livepeer.com, hit the Sign Up button at the top right of the homepage, enter your email and a password, wait for a verification email from Livepeer, click on the verify email button, and once signed into Livepeer.com, navigate to the API keys section of the site. Click the Create button to generate an API key, which should look something like this: d210eded-46a9-4119-86f9-64c33e003f1b. Be sure to record the API key once you generate it, as you won't be able to view it again after closing the window.

**Step 2: Get a location-specific “base” URL**

Depending on where you are in the world, you’ll need access to a different “ingest” and “playback” urls. This is important, because where your video enters the Livepeer ecosystem should be as close to where you are broadcasting from as possible to reduce latency. You’ll use this base URL to populate the “ingest base URL” and “playback base url” in step 4.

To get the base URL, curl https://livepeer.com/api/ingest. You should see results similar to this:

```bash
[{"ingest":"rtmp://mdw-rtmp.livepeer.com/live",
"playback":"https://mdw-cdn.livepeer.com/hls"}]
```

**Step 3: Create a stream**

It’s time to create a stream, which will give us a couple of important fields: a "streamKey", a "playbackId", and an "id" (or a "streamId"). We’ll use all of these in steps 4 and 6.

 To create a stream, send an HTTP POST request to https://livepeer.com/api/stream. In that request, include an Authorization header of `Bearer YOUR_API_KEY`, a JSON body with a stream name of your choosing, and details about which video profiles or renditions you’d like to transcode your stream into.

For example: 
```bash
curl -X POST \
-H 'content-type: application/json' \
-H 'authorization: Bearer {api_key}' \
-d '{
  "name": "test_stream",
  "profiles": [
    {
      "name": "720p",
      "bitrate": 2000000,
      "fps": 30,
      "width": 1280,
      "height": 720
    },
    {
      "name": "480p",
      "bitrate": 1000000,
      "fps": 30,
      "width": 854,
      "height": 480
    },
    {
      "name": "360p",
      "bitrate": 500000,
      "fps": 30,
      "width": 640,
      "height": 360
    }
  ]
}' \
https://livepeer.com/api/stream
```
The result from that HTTP POST request should look something like this:
```bash
{
    "name":"test_stream",
    "profiles":[
        {"name":"720p","bitrate":2000000,"fps":30,"width":1280,"height":720},
        {"name":"480p","bitrate":1000000,"fps":30,"width":854,"height":480}],
        {"name":"360p","bitrate":500000,"fps":30,"width":640,"height":360}],
    "id":"0bf161f3-95bd-4971-a7b1-4dcb5d39e78a",
    "createdAt":1596081229373,
    "streamKey":"rlmn-uimq-jtgy-x98v",
    "playbackId":"emh3b2mxupongp5k"
}
```

**Step 4: Broadcast a stream**

To broadcast a stream, you may use whatever capture device or software you’d like. We’ll use OBS for this example, video software that is available for free. Download [here] (https://obsproject.com/download).

![](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/dp4k3mpw/production/a723fe7111c30836ffdc4ddf3896a6c0fb6714d8-949x525.png?w=1000&h=1000&fit=max)

Once you’ve got OBS downloaded and open, go to "Settings", then select "Stream", and click on the "Service" dropdown to select "Custom". 

To fill in the empty fields on that page, copy and past the “ingest” base URL from step 2 and copy into the “Server” or “Url” field. In this case, it’s rtmp://mdw-rtmp.livepeer.com/live. For "Stream key", use "streamKey" from the newly created stream object in step 3. From our example, it’s rlmn-uimq-jtgy-x98v. Click "OK" to save the configuration.

![] (https://cdn.sanity.io/images/dp4k3mpw/production/29b972e68aa846057c419b8fe759e0ce9be6e2ec-940x574.png?w=1000&h=1000&fit=max)

Now go to "Settings" -> "Output", and hit “Output Mode” to “Advanced”. In the “Keyframe Interval” further down the page, type in "2". This will ensure a more consistent playback experience. Click "OK" to save the configuration. If you are building a live streaming application, you should help your users set their keyframe interval to 2 seconds as well.

When you click "Start Streaming", the RTMP stream will be pushed into the ingest point.

**Step 5: Verify stream status**

To verify a stream is running, you can fetch the stream status using the "id" of the stream object by sending a GET request to https://livepeer.com/api/stream/.

For example:
```bash
curl -H 'authorization: Bearer {api_key}' \
"https://livepeer.com/api/stream/{streamId}"
```
Your results will look like this:
```bash
{
  "name":"test_stream",
  "profiles":[
    {"bitrate":2000000,"fps":30,"height":720,"name":"720p","width":1280},
    {"bitrate":1000000,"fps":30,"height":480,"name":"480p","width":854},
    {"bitrate":500000,"fps":30,"height":360,"name":"360p","width":640}],
  "id":"2d10f1fd-dbf7-495b-8aef-08916507fcce",
  "createdAt":1596118509635,
  "lastSeen":1596119750455
}
```
The "lastSeen" field represents when the stream was last observed by the monitoring system. It should contain an epoch that's close to the current time. To easily convert an epoch to a human-readable date, use this [online calculator] (https://www.epochconverter.com/) or take a look at this [forum] (https://stackoverflow.com/questions/4631928/convert-utc-epoch-to-local-date) that might be helpful.

**Step 6:  Playback a live stream**

Once the broadcast session is started, transcoding will automatically happen. Users can view the live stream with any HLS video player by using the playback URL: 
```
{playback_base_url}/{playbackId}/index.m3u8
```
From our example, the playback url should look like this: https://mdw-cdn.livepeer.com/hls/emh3b2mxupongp5k/index.m3u8

Livepeer.com supports and has tested with video.js, hls.js, safari/ios native player, and Theoplayer. On safari, you can simply enter the playback URL into the address bar, and see your transcoded video come to life!

If you’d like to examine the playlist in more detail by using the playback URL, which should give you the full HLS playlist that includes all 4 different renditions, you may curl the URL for more information.

For example:
```
curl "https://mdw-cdn.livepeer.com/hls/emh3b2mxupongp5k/index.m3u8"
```

You should see a response like this:
```bash
#EXTM3U
#EXT-X-STREAM-INF:PROGRAM-ID=1,BANDWIDTH=2145120,RESOLUTION=1920x1080,FRAME-RATE=30,CODECS="avc1.4d4028,mp4a.40.2"
1_0/index.m3u8?sessId=23351
#EXT-X-STREAM-INF:PROGRAM-ID=1,BANDWIDTH=2018712,RESOLUTION=1280x720,FRAME-RATE=29.97,CODECS="avc1.4d401f,mp4a.40.2"
2_0/index.m3u8?sessId=23351
#EXT-X-STREAM-INF:PROGRAM-ID=1,BANDWIDTH=1111792,RESOLUTION=854x480,FRAME-RATE=29.97,CODECS="avc1.4d401f,mp4a.40.2"
3_0/index.m3u8?sessId=23351
#EXT-X-STREAM-INF:PROGRAM-ID=1,BANDWIDTH=638672,RESOLUTION=640x360,FRAME-RATE=29.97,CODECS="avc1.4d401e,mp4a.40.2"
4_0/index.m3u8?sessId=23351
```
If you don't see a response like this, it's likely because the stream is not live. What we’re seeing here is rendition manifests, with file type information, the EXTM3U header, and information on individual renditions being returned, the EXT-X-STREAM-INF header.

_For more information on streaming with the livepeer API, please visit our documentation page here: https://livepeer.com/docs/livepeer-api/list-all-streams.
_

Update: To learn how to stream with Livepeer Video Services using Postman, visit 

The RTMP API is the newest API feature from Livepeer Video Services. It allows a user to ingest RTMP streams into the Livepeer network, and receive a transcoded HLS output stream that enables adaptive bitrate streaming. RTMP, the Real-Time Messaging Protocol, and HLS, HTTP live streaming, are two of many standards for transporting video, audio, and data over the internet. In this tutorial, we'll go through the steps of creating and viewing transcoded streams with the RTMP feature of Livepeer.com.

Step 1: Create a free account with Livepeer Video Services, and

On Livepeer.com, hit the Sign Up button at the top right of the homepage, enter your email and a password, wait for a verification email from Livepeer Video Services, click on the verify email button, and once signed into Livepeer Video Services, navigate to the API keys section of the site. Click the Create button to generate an API key, which should look something like this: d210eded-46a9-4119-86f9-64c33e003f1b. Be sure to record the API key once you generate it, as you won't be able to view it again after closing the window.

Step 2: Get a location-specific “base” URL

Depending on where you are in the world, you’ll need access to a different “ingest” and “playback” urls. This is important, because where your video enters the Livepeer network should be as close to where you are broadcasting from as possible to reduce latency. You’ll use this base URL to populate the “ingest base URL” and “playback base url” in step 4.

. You should see results similar to this:

It’s time to create a stream, which will give us a couple of important fields: a "streamKey", a "playbackId", and an "id" (or a "streamId"). We’ll use all of these in steps 4 and 6.

To create a stream, send an HTTP POST request to 

. In that request, include an Authorization header of 

, a JSON body with a stream name of your choosing, and details about which video profiles or renditions you’d like to transcode your stream into.

The result from that HTTP POST request should look something like this:

test_stream

720p

480p

360p

To broadcast a stream, you may use whatever capture device or software you’d like. We’ll use OBS for this example, video software that is available for free. Download 

Once you’ve got OBS downloaded and open, go to "Settings", then select "Stream", and click on the "Service" dropdown to select "Custom".

To fill in the empty fields on that page, copy and past the “ingest” base URL from step 2 and copy into the “Server” or “Url” field. In this case, it’s rtmp://mdw-rtmp.livepeer.com/live. For "Stream key", use "streamKey" from the newly created stream object in step 3. From our example, it’s rlmn-uimq-jtgy-x98v. Click "OK" to save the configuration.

Now go to "Settings" -> "Output", and hit “Output Mode” to “Advanced”. In the “Keyframe Interval” further down the page, type in "2". This will ensure a more consistent playback experience. Click "OK" to save the configuration. If you are building a live streaming application, you should help your users set their keyframe interval to 2 seconds as well.

When you click "Start Streaming", the RTMP stream will be pushed into the ingest point.

To verify a stream is running, you can fetch the stream status using the "id" of the stream object by sending a GET request to 

The "lastSeen" field represents when the stream was last observed by the monitoring system. It should contain an epoch that's close to the current time. To easily convert an epoch to a human-readable date, use this 

Once the broadcast session is started, transcoding will automatically happen. Users can view the live stream with any HLS video player by using the playback URL:

{playback_base_url}/{playbackId}/index.m3u8

From our example, the playback url should look like this: 

https://mdw-cdn.livepeer.com/hls/emh3b2mxupongp5k/index.m3u8

Livepeer Video Services supports and has tested with video.js, hls.js, safari/ios native player, and Theoplayer. On safari, you can simply enter the playback URL into the address bar, and see your transcoded video come to life!

If you’d like to examine the playlist in more detail by using the playback URL, which should give you the full HLS playlist that includes all 4 different renditions, you may curl the URL for more information.

If you don't see a response like this, it's likely because the stream is not live. What we’re seeing here is rendition manifests, with file type information, the EXTM3U header, and information on individual renditions being returned, the EXT-X-STREAM-INF header.

For more information on streaming with the livepeer API, please visit our documentation page 

How to Analyze Livepeer Video Engagement Metrics with Timeplus

 Lenstube offers video on demand for both long-form and short-form videos

web3 social platform for video sharing built on Lens Protocol

 is a web3 social platform for video sharing that combines the best of traditional video-sharing platforms with the latest web3 functionalities. Whether you're a professional creator or an amateur, Lenstube gives you the ability to upload and monetize your video content with ease. Currently, Lenstube offers video on demand for both long-form videos and short-form videos.

Lenstube sets itself apart from traditional video-sharing platforms by incorporating web3 features such as connecting to a crypto wallet, enabling creators to receive tips in MATIC coins, collecting videos as NFTs, and charging membership fees for subscribers. These features are made possible through Lenstube's implementation of various web3 technologies, including Livepeer, Arweave, IPFS, and Lens. By utilizing decentralized technologies, Lenstube is revolutionizing the way creators can share and monetize their content, and provides a new and exciting way to engage with their audience.

 founded Lenstube with the goal of creating a decentralized video sharing platform for content creators. The idea for Lenstube came about after Sasi saw some of his favorite creators, who were creating and teaching web3, being unjustly removed from traditional web2 platforms. This led Sasi to understand the importance of web3 for content creators, and the significance of permanent data storage and content ownership. With this in mind, Sasi set out to create his own web3 video-sharing platform. The first step in this process was to find a video-on-demand service that transcodes and serves video from Arweave.

“I knew that creating a video delivery infrastructure and transcoding videos would be a significant challenge, and I definitely didn't want to spend all my time and resources on these technicalities, especially in the early stages of development. Luckily, I discovered Livepeer on the sponsor list of one of the EthGlobal hackathons. Livepeer provided exactly what I needed to move Lenstube forward, and integrating it into my platform was one the first, and easiest, decisions I made.”

Lenstube's partnership with Livepeer has been a vital component of the platform's success. Currently, all videos on Lenstube, whether they are long or short form, are powered by Livepeer. This means that Livepeer handles all the technical aspects of video delivery, such as ingesting, processing, and transcoding. This has afforded Sasi and the Lenstube team the freedom to focus on other important growth areas, like attracting new creators to the platform and improving user experience.

“Working with Livepeer has definitely been a great experience, and we receive tons of support from the team. Recently, Livepeer launched a feature that displays view counts beneath the video player. We were able to implement this feature pretty quickly, and the team was available to answer any questions we had. Although, most of the time we don’t really need the support, as the guides and docs for the Livepeer SDK and API are awesome.”

Today, Lenstube is thriving and making significant strides in its development. The platform has reached notable milestones, such as surpassing 10,000 video uploads in December 2022, averaging more than 1,000 daily sessions, and reaching more than 50,000 average monthly users in January 2023. These milestones demonstrate the effectiveness of the Lenstube team's efforts and the growing appeal of the platform among content creators and viewers alike.

Lenstube boasts a user-friendly interface that includes all of the features commonly found on traditional web2 video sharing platforms. The front page prominently showcases the most recent and popular short-form (Bytes) and long-form videos hosted on the platform, which can be filtered by video category for easy browsing. Users can log in with their Lens handle on the top right corner of the page. Additionally, various exploration tools can be found on the left-hand menu bar for easy access.

Bytes are short-form, vertical videos that are similar to TikToks and YouTube Shorts. Users can scroll through a feed, like and dislike videos, subscribe to channels, and share Bytes via URL or embed videos directly on websites. Additionally, Bytes can be easily shared on Lenster, Twitter, Reddit, and LinkedIn.

Sasi and the Lenstube team have recently made a concerted effort to develop the Bytes feature. This effort was motivated by the increasing popularity of short-form videos on web2 platforms. Not only do short videos have high user retention rates, but they also provide creators with an effective way to capture an audience and lead them to content on other platforms.

“In my opinion, short-form videos are one of the most effective ways to share content with a wide audience, and they offer creators greater opportunities for engagement. We predict that the use of short-form videos as NFTs will become a popular trend in the web3 community."

Do you want to build your own web3 short-form video app? Disrupt TikTok with this 

 walking through the key components of building a social app with quick, bite-sized video.

Lenstube also enables creators to upload long-form, horizontal videos that are similar to standard YouTube videos. In addition to features found on Bytes, these long-form videos also include view counts, video descriptions, and a comment section.

Every video hosted on Lenstube is equipped with a variety of web3 features. These features not only enable content creators to earn revenue from their videos, but also provide fans with a way to support their favorite creators. This is what sets Lenstube apart from traditional web2 video sharing platforms. Some of the web3 features that Lenstube offers include:

Mirroring across Lens, with custom referral fees

Default sharing of all Lenstube videos across Lens ecosystem apps

Lenstube’s frontend was built using Next.Js, an open-source React framework for web applications. Lenstube uses Apollo Client to manage local and remote data, and to fetch data and do mutations through the Lens Protocol’s GraphQL backend.

Middleware is like a “software glue” that acts as a bridge between different technologies, tools, and databases so they can be integrated into a single system. Lenstube uses Lens Protocol’s indexer for its middleware, and this indexer streamlines data between Lens contracts and viewers. The Lens indexer is a GraphQL server that listens to events from Lens contracts and stores the data into a database. This indexer enables viewers to quickly and efficiently access video data, which leads to a better user experience.

Lenstube’s backend consists of four main components: Livepeer, Arweave, IPFS, and Lens

Lenstube uses Livepeer to process and play back video. Livepeer is a protocol built on Ethereum that distributes video transcoding work throughout its decentralized network. The protocol provides cost efficient, secure, and reliable infrastructure. Livepeer's mainnet launch took place in 2018 and the network now processes millions of minutes of video each week.

Lenstube stores its video files on Arweave and IPFS, web3 protocols that offer data storage on decentralized networks. Arweave and IPFS offer permanent and immutable data storage, and anyone can store data in the networks or offer storage space, without there being a centralized point of failure.

Lenstube uses Lens for its social graph. The Lens social graph is fully composable, open source, and decentralized. This helps transfer full rights and complete ownership of content into the hands of creators.

Sasi intends to improve the Lenstube platform by adding new features, with the primary objective of providing exceptional user experience and boosting user engagement on the platform. Furthermore, Sasi is currently building a mobile application that specifically caters to short-form videos, which will be released soon. This further solidifies his belief that short-form videos represent a rapidly expanding area in the video industry and is positioning Lenstube to capitalize on this growth potential.

If you’re a developer that would like to build your own web3 video app, check out these 

 to get started. If you have any questions about building, 

Lenstube is a web3 social platform for video sharing that combines the best of traditional video-sharing platforms with the latest web3 functionalities. Whether you're a professional creator or an amateur, Lenstube gives you the ability to upload and monetize your video content with ease. Currently, Lenstube offers video on demand for both long-form videos and short-form videos.

How to Stream With Livepeer Video Service's RTMP API