Whether you're handling streaming production in-house or working with a professional production company like Meeting Tomorrow, this article provides encoding requirements and advice, explains how to use the Webex Events RTMP Player, and offers answers to frequently asked questions.

Not sure what RTMP is or why it's useful? Read our Introduction to the Webex Events RTMP Player article to learn more!

Our encoding settings recommendations follow common industry standards and best practices, and they aim to provide your audience with the best possible experience.

Webex Events RTMP accepts 480p, 720p, and 1080p H.264 video and AAC audio streams.

Bitrate, FPS, and resolution are interrelated, and the stream’s resolution largely determines its bitrate and frame rate (frames-per-second, or FPS). Use the following recommended settings, which are available in most H.264 video-encoding software or hardware APIs:

Please refer to the Amazon IVS Streaming Configuration article for more details on how to set up your streaming software correctly for the best experience.

We support the following settings:

Always use wired internet for the most stable and consistent connection.

An unstable internet connection could result in stream buffering and lagging for your viewers, so the video and audio bitrate, FPS, and keyframe settings you choose must be viable based on your network strength. The higher your settings, the more bandwidth you'll need for your stream.

The unique RTMP URL and Stream Key that Webex Events provides for each live stream in your event tells your streaming software where to broadcast the stream. Use stream keys as many times as you need and test as much as you like! 👍

When you create a Live Stream feature or Session, select RTMP Player as the Stream provider. If you want to use additional features like Webex Events Closed Captions & Translations, human captioning, or Attendee Engagement options, now is a good time to activate those options.

Click Save changes when you're done making changes.

Now, edit the Live Stream feature or Session again and note that the RTMP URL and Stream Key fields are now filled in. Click the Copy button next to each — you'll paste them into your streaming software in the next step.

For the best experience, copy the RTMP URL and Stream Key for multiple live streams into a spreadsheet that contains the live stream or Session names and start times. This makes it easy to reference and share the URLs and keys for each Session.

Not sure whether to use the Live Stream feature or an Agenda Session live streaming? Read our Live Stream feature and Session comparison article for more information to help you decide.

Now that you've copied the URLs and keys, it's time to plug them into the streaming software.

If you're managing your own broadcast software, you'll need to copy and paste the URLs and keys into each stream yourself. The process for entering the RTMP URLs and Stream Keys into broadcast software varies from platform to platform. Refer to the documentation for your chosen software for the exact process. Here's a screenshot example of Vimeo's streaming settings:

After the URLs and keys are in place, you're ready to go! Within a few seconds of your stream starting, it will appear to your attendees inside your Event App. 📺

Now you know all about using RTMP for your live stream. Are you working with an AV team for a hybrid event? Read our article about preparing your hybrid event AV team!

Tons! Online sites like YouTube, Twitch, and Facebook Live plus local software such as Wirecast, Teradek, and vMix have all worked for our customers. Check the site or software's documentation to find out if they support RTMPS. If they do, we highly recommend that you test to ensure everything works as expected. 👍

We've verified that Webex and Zoom work with Webex Events RTMP, though we strongly encourage you to test any meeting software you use so you know how it will behave and what to expect.

Customers have reported success with Blackmagic encoders.

Yes. However, depending on your eCDN provider, it may be better to embed the provider's player using an i-frame as described in our Vbrick and Webex Events article.

No. The Webex Events RTMP player can only receive streams from external platforms. It can't broadcast a video feed to an external platform. However, some providers let you send a single stream to multiple destinations.

Yes. If the broadcast platform you're using doesn't support RTMPS, it won't work with Webex Events.

Yes! Use RTMP information as many times as you need for testing or streaming from multiple different sources over the course of your session. Simply remember that each Session or Live Stream feature has its own unique URL and key.

Providers like Webex and Zoom automatically include their logo as a watermark in the stream. Since this is a provider-specific setting, reach out to your streaming or meeting provider to discuss removal. For Webex Meetings or Webinars, contact your Webex Customer Success Manager. Read the Webex article about configuring branding for your Cisco Webex site in Control Hub for more information.

Some streaming platforms may require that the RTMP URL include a specific port, exclude an extra character, or include some other information. This depends on the provider, and the exact steps could vary widely. For example, Wirecast and Teradek require you to add :443 to the RTMP URL and remove the last forward slash.

Original: rtmps://ff39bcb7eb65.global-contribute.live-video.net/apps/
​Edited: rtmps://ff39bcb7eb65.global-contribute.live-video.net:443/apps

Always test your RTMP streams before event day. If you encounter any problems, your chosen provider's documentation or forums can likely help you find a resolution.