Use Cases / Livestreaming
Put the live back in livestreaming
The vast majority of livestreams today use a protocol called HLS. HLS takes advantage of traditional CDNs which are optimized for quickly delivering a sequence of static files. The problem is end-to-end latency; anywhere from 5 to 30 seconds of it between broadcaster and subscriber. LiveKit is a new type of WebRTC CDN, capable of sub-100ms latency for audiences of 1000 or 100,000. True real-time, large-scale events, where anyone and everyone can participate are now possible.
Engage your users
Build the future of participatory media
Live Podcasts
Scale up to large numbers of speakers and thousands in the audience with features like dynamic broadcast and DTX to automatically manage bandwidth, RED for higher audio quality, and listener moderation APIs.
Game Streaming
Capture screen pixels directly from the GPU and ingest streams from multiple players at once. Layer in real-time chat using data messages and record the entire experience directly to your own cloud bucket.
Shopping & Auctions
Import streams in other formats or from any broadcast studio software. Integrate audience interactivity like live chat, reactions, and purchases or bids. Pipe a composite stream to any third-party livestreaming service that speaks RTMP.
MOOCs
Poll thousands of students as a group during lecture and allow anyone to raise a hand and ask a question. Teachers have full control over breakout sessions and lectures can be recorded for students who couldn't attend.
Go live, sooner
Tools to help you reach a global audience
Adaptive Streaming
Put bandwidth management on autopilot. These features magically adjust bitrates, resolutions and fps based on changes to participant device profiles, your app's UI or publisher/subscriber-side network conditions.
Multi-codec Simulcast
Using available bandwidth and capabilities of subscriber devices, MCS dynamically encodes streams with next-gen codecs like AV1 and works with LiveKit server to route them to the appropriate participants.
Data Messages
Send and receive arbitrary data messages between participants. Messages can be 1:1 or 1:N broadcasts with options for reliable (TCP) and unreliable (UDP) delivery methods.
Moderation APIs
Oversee and enforce rules in your app from the backend. Querying or manipulating rooms, altering the state of any participant, or broadcasting data messages to one more clients are just some of the tools at your disposal.
Ingress
Import audio, video or data streams encoded in other formats or from other systems. Stream static files from the command line, pull in feeds from security or drone cameras, or ingest composite output from broadcasting software.
Egress and Recording
Record rooms, participants, or individual streams to any cloud storage bucket. You can also export any stream in real-time to another system or service for further processing.
Case study
LiveKit is a great fit for Stardio
Stardio is building the future of fitness. A streaming platform designed from the ground up for fitness instructors to host live, online classes with television-studio production quality.
LiveKit's quality of service and incredibly detailed metrics are essential tools for us. Cloud's ultra-low latency, global distribution and massive scale enable us to bring a new type of live fitness experience to millions around the world.
— Jonathan Tustain, CEO @ Stardio
Learn more about Stardio
Start with open source
Easily build real-time video or audio features into your application using a modern, end-to-end WebRTC stack.
Start ProjectScale with LiveKit Cloud
LiveKit Cloud is a cloud-native WebRTC platform built and operated by the LiveKit team. With the same open-source APIs, SDKs and features, going to production has never been easier.
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