Video streaming servers are system software that allow users to stream videos regardless of the operating systems. Some videos streaming servers are OS independent based on Linux and can be installed on any machine. Few others are meant for specific platforms such as Windows, Linux or Mac.
What is a Video Streaming Server?
The server software that provides and manages the video media content remotely called Video Streaming Servers. Not all the video players can work with the video streaming servers instead of that it needs a perfect video player that can work with the remote servers to buffer and play it without downloading such as VLC. This method also protects the publisher to protect their content from piracy. Video media server utilizes particular calculations to pack the media document or information for exchange over the system or Internet association.
What is Video Streaming?
Video streaming is a sort of media streaming in which a user can stream the videos saved on the Video streaming servers. The user can use its local player or web player to stream the media files from remote video streaming servers through the internet or local network. Such servers allow watching videos without being downloaded on a local desktop machine or Smartphone.
For example, YouTube, Dailymotion, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu these are all video on demand sites where you can watch video free or after subscription. These big names use the Video streaming servers for creating Video on demand (display) (VOD) call. VOD allows users to select and watch videos or listen to audio content such as music, movies and TV shows whenever they want rather waiting for some specific broadcast time.
There are dozens of free and open-source video streaming servers available online to stream and share videos. Today, we have listed the best ones in this article. Also, these media streaming servers are enterprise-class and can handle the streaming at large scale.
Best Free & Open source Video Streaming Servers Software
Red5 Open source media server
Red5 is an open source media server available in both Open source and paid licensed versions. It gives support for all kinds of live streaming. This design of this media server is very flexible and can enhance the capability using the simple plugins. The plugin architecture also allows for customization of virtually any VOD and live streaming scenario.
There are few big names like Amazon and Facebook using the Red5 video streaming server solution.Red5 is now used for live streaming beyond Flash including HLS, WebSockets, and RTSP.As part of the Google Summer of Code, the Red5 team is currently building support for WebRTC to enable streaming in the browser without a plugin.
MistServer Open Source
MistServer Open Source edition of MediaServer Pro edition but there are no software limitations in the Open source version. The only difference between the pro and opensource Miniserver edition is the features. The free open source media server edition has fewer features than the pro version. The open source version is On the fly stream repackager, comes with browser-based management interface, low footprint high-performance, modular design, low latency, Multiplatform, Smart HTML5 meta player, API, Stream meta-data, and Basic analytic integration.
Some other features:
- Stream password protection
- Fast boot times
- One set of binaries per customer,
- Live inputs:RTMP single bitrate
- VoD input: FLV, MP3, Video Output:MP4, HLS, RTMP (single bitrate), MPEG-TS (unicast), HDS, FLV, MP3, OGG,
- Stream analyzers:RTMP, MP4, RTMP, OGG, FLV, DTSC
- Video codecs: H264, Flash, Theora
- Audio codecs AAC, MP3, Flash, Vorbis
- Standard support
Supported operating systems: Unix, Solaris, Linux x86, Linux x86_64, Linux ARM, Linux MIPS, OS X, Windows 64 bits.
Kurento Media server
Kurento is an Open source WebRTC media server. This support both audio and video and also offers a set of client APIs which allows the developer to create advanced video applications for WWW and smartphone platforms. Kurento Media Server features include group communications, transcoding, recording, mixing, broadcasting and routing of audiovisual flows.
The Kurento Audio/ Video streaming server provides media processing capabilities involving computer vision, video indexing, augmented reality and speech analysis. Kurento can easily integrate third-party media processing algorithms such asspeech recognition, sentiment analysis, face recognition, etc.
Streamhash–Netflix Clone Free Lite version
Streamhash has the ability to create subscription-based Video-on-demand streaming sites like Netflix and Amazon Prime orvideo streaming like Youtube or Live Video Streaming like Facebook Live.
The Streamhash three products or scripts:
StreamView: It is a Netflix Clone Script and ability to create like Netflix and Amazon Prime.
StreamNow: This product gives the capability to create a Live Streaming video option justlike Facebook Live and YouTube Live. You can create Live streaming ads to generate profits.
StreamTube: It is a YouTube clone script tocreate a website like YouTube or Vimeo. The user can signup, upload videos and allow to generate easy revenue using Video ads and Banner Ads.
It offers three versions Free Lite, ($699)Ultimate and ($199) Deluxe. The lite version is for the lifetime and comes with basic features mentioned below:
StreamView Free VersionFeatures:
- 100% source code
- Web Script
- Unlimited Users
- Unlimited Video Uploads
- Dynamic Admin Panel
- Responsive Frontend
- Categories and Subcategories
- Track number of users
- Add / Edit pages
- Google Analytics
Clipbucket:Enterprise OpenSource Video Broadcasting Solution
ClipBucket is an OpenSource Multimedia Management Script which lets you manage Videos, Photos & Audios from one platform. You can create websites sharing websites like Youtube, Metacafe, Veoh, Hulu or any other.
It is one of the most popular to create YouTube-like clone website. It also offers internal management systems that allow users to communicate and send messages via a built-in messaging service. Clipbucket Video streaming server offers advanced modules like FFMPEG to make on fly Video Conversions. So, users can stream it straight away using HTML 5 Players.
OBS Studio (Open Broadcaster Software)
Creating videos and presenting them on YouTube or Facebook is relatively easy. The transmission of live streams on the Internet is more demanding. The free program “OBS Studio” (formerly “Open Broadcaster Software”) is suitable for this. For example, you can use the current desktop content or the signal of your webcam, record a game via game mode and local MP4, MOV, FLV, TS or MKV videos, MP3, AAC, OGG – or use WAV sounds and an external video source. Text screens and images can also be integrated. You also have the option of using the blue screen technique (colour key), masking and transitions.
OBS Studio (Open Broadcaster Software) Live streaming server software
The “OBS Studio” also records the associated sound or enables the use of external audio hardware, such as a microphone. Up to five audio sources (three microphones/aux sources and two audio files) can be recorded in parallel.
This open source Live streaming server for audio and video supports a number of streaming platforms such as Twitch, Dailymotion, YouTube, Smashcast, Facebook and Beam.pro. Furthermore, alternatively, we can send directly via your own server. For fast work, we can control all important actions with hotkeys, for example starting a stream or recording or switching off a microphone. The auto-configuration wizard is practical for beginners.
Tips:
- How to Live stream games on Youtube using OBS software
Install OBS Studio 23.0.1 on Ubuntu
- How to live stream your gameplay on Facebook using OBS and NDI Tools
It is available for Windows, Linux and macOS.
Plex Media Server
Plex Media Server comes with two components: Plex Media Server and Plex clients. The Plex Media Server is a desktop application and gives the Windows, Linux and macOS compatibility. Also, some NAS devices offer in-built Plex Media server option to turn the NAS server into an Audio/image/video streaming server. You can also install the Plex cloud on without any hardware on Dropbox, Google Drive, and OneDrive. Even the Plex Media Server can run on NETGEAR Nighthawk X10 Wireless. Install Plex on Windows 10 with just one command.
This client-server offer client for almost every platform to play the media. The clients available for mobile devices, smart TVs, and streaming boxes, a web app, and the Plex Home Theater. See: Install Plex media server on Ubuntu 19.04 -Simplest method
openflixr 2
OpenFLIXR Media Server is a full-fledged all-in-one media server that can handle the videos, images, and audios. You can install it on any virtual machine like VirtualBox, VMware, ESXi, Parallels Desktop, KVM or Microsoft Hyper-V. It brings some well-known open-source project together such as CouchPotato, SickRage, Headphones, and SABnzbd. Completely web-based and includes monitoring and management tools. It also features Plex Media Server as well as torrent. Install it on VirtualBox
Opencast
Opencast is video streaming server but for corporate events. It lets you recorded any video or event schedule on specific days and times of the week and distribute it to different channels.
Features:
- Split-screen player for viewing video and slide content simultaneously
- Heat maps integration to get most watched video analytics
- REST APIs make it easy to extend to or integrate players
- Easy player interface customization and localization
- Customizable permissions settings
- User directory integration (LDAP, CAS etc.)
- Adaptive Streaming support with HTTP Live Streaming (HLS)
- And more…
If you know some other best and free opensource videos streaming server please let us know and we will try to add that to this list.
Other Resources:
- Create a Forum or Question or Answer Website with free and opensource Forum Software
- Free VPN Server Software
- Best Desktop Media Servers for Windows, Linux, and Mac
FAQs
Which server is best for video streaming? ›
- Plex.
- Stremio.
- PlayOn.
- Emby.
- OSMC.
- Kodi.
- Jellyfin.
- Subsonic.
- Set up your server. There's no reason to reinvent the wheel. ...
- Install and configure your streaming software. Your server is ready to roll. ...
- Build your Content Delivery Network (CDN) ...
- Set up your media player. ...
- Additional configurations.
- Wirecast. With unlimited inputs, unlimited destinations, and simultaneous video conferencing, Wirecast studio is the perfect live streaming software. ...
- vMix. ...
- VidBlasterX. ...
- OBS Studio. ...
- Streamlabs OBS. ...
- FFmpeg. ...
- XSplit Broadcaster. ...
- SplitCam.
- Plex.
- Stremio.
- PlayOn.
- OSMC.
- Kodi.
- Jellyfin.
- Media Portal.
- Serviio.
The Plex Media Server is free to use and includes the Plex Web App. Our 'Movies & Shows' streaming service is free to all users and ad-supported. Connect a compatible tuner and antenna to your server to let you watch over-the-air broadcasts available at your location live.
Is Plex the best media server? ›- Best choice for your media library categorization, sharing & streaming.
- Allows you to access your digital media collection from anywhere you want.
- Supports 43+ languages with subtitles.
- Works on the server-client model; you can create a server on PC and access it from your mobile easily.
How To Code A Video Streaming Server in NodeJS - YouTube
How do I create a free RTMP server? ›- Step 1: Establish connection to the server.
- Step 2: Install Nginx with RTMP module.
- Step 3: Configure RTMP.
- Step 4: Release port.
- Step 5: start stream.
Real Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP) is an application-level network communication system that transfers real-time data from multimedia to an endpoint device by communicating directly with the server streaming the data.
What software is needed to live stream? ›To stream live videos on your favorite social platforms, you don't necessarily need encoding software. Instead, you can use a web-based streaming application that broadcasts your content from within a web browser — no download needed.
What is Livestream software? ›
Livestream Studio is a live production switcher that incorporates many elements of a professional live multi-camera production into one desktop software. Think of it as a live production truck or a TV station's master control room on your computer.
Is OBS streaming free? ›OBS Studio (formerly Open Broadcaster Software or OBS, for short) is a free, open-source, and cross-platform screencasting and streaming app. It is available for Windows, macOS, Linux distributions, and BSD.
What are open source media? ›Open source technology is a means of developing computer software through a more collaborative approach than most traditional software. When software is considered "open source," all or part of its source code is made available to the public or purchasers of the software.
Is Universal Media Server free? ›Universal Media Server is a free DLNA, UPnP and HTTP/S Media Server. We support all major operating systems, with versions for Windows, Linux and macOS. The program streams or transcodes many different media formats with little or no configuration.
What is the best media server 2021? ›- Plex. Plex is a powerful media application that organizes the media content of your choice in one place and you can access it from anywhere you want. ...
- Kodi. ...
- Emby. ...
- Universal Media Player. ...
- Serviio. ...
- OSMC. ...
- Media Portal. ...
- PlayOn.
...
Plex Pass.
Plex is perfectly legal whenever you're streaming from their server or whenever you upload personal media that was acquired and reproduced legally. On the other hand, the user can put illegally obtained content on their personal media server.
Is Plex free and safe? ›To set things straight, all of the basic stuff that comes with Plex—the server, all the media you add to your server, movies, TV shows, podcasts, news, and web shows—are completely free. The app is free to download on any device.
What is better than Plex Media Server? ›The best alternative is Emby, which is free. Other great apps like Plex are Jellyfin, Stremio, Universal Media Server and Serviio. Plex alternatives are mainly Media Servers but may also be Media Centers or Music Streaming Services.
How much does Plex cost a month? ›Plex is available both as a free service and a premium tier it calls Plex Pass. While free tier doesn't bill you monthly, there's a $5-per-platform activation fee if you want to use the Plex Android and iOS apps. The Premium tier costs $5 per month, $40 per year or $120 for a lifetime pass.
Which is better Plex or Emby? ›
Plex's streamlined user experience, lower yearly price point, and slightly better add-ons make it inch ahead of Emby overall. Plex takes it.
How do I make a streaming video website for free? ›- Step 1: Choose your domain name. ...
- Step 2: Choose your web hosting plan. ...
- Step 3: Install WordPress. ...
- Step 4: Install Elementor. ...
- Step 5: Install MemberPress. ...
- Step 7: Choose a Video Streaming Template Kit. ...
- Step 7: Customizing the template kit.
C++ is the object-oriented programming language and reimplementation of C language. It is the language which plays an important role in video streaming concept. If you want to use the concept of video streaming in C++, then you should know Next Gen media server.
How do you make your own Netflix server? ›How To Create Your Own Media Server Like Netflix, Amazon Prime ...
Is RTMP free? ›The Community Edition License is a free, self-hosted, and self-managed solution where you get: Low latency of 8 to 12 seconds. RTMP and WebRTC ingesting. RTSP, RTMP, and HLS pulling.
What RTMP means? ›RTMP stands for Real-Time Messaging Protocol. It is a TCP-based protocol developed by Macromedia (Adobe) in 2002 to stream audio, video, and data over the internet. The primary role of RTMP was to enable the smooth transmission of increased amounts of data, which was needed to play video on Adobe's Flash Player.
What is OBS ninja? ›OBS. Ninja is an open-source and free web-based programme designed to bring live video from an external source into OBS Studio. It does this using WebRTC, a framework within browsers and mobile applications that lets you communicate in real time with little to no lag.
Which is better RTSP or RTMP? ›RTSP: Performance Comparison. Both RTMP and RTSP are designed for efficient and low-latency streaming of video files. While RTMP is widely used by broadcasters, RTSP is mainly used for localized streaming from IP cameras.
What are CCTV streams? ›In CCTV and security camera systems the media is a video stream that can be with or without audio. The protocol packs complex transcoding and programming together behind the scenes to transfer video over a network or to the internet with an easy to use link.
What is RTMP camera? ›Real-Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP) was initially a proprietary protocol developed by Macromedia for streaming audio, video and data over the Internet, between a Flash player and a server. For PTZOptics cameras, this protocol is used to stream directly to a website.
Which OBS is best for streaming? ›
- OBS Studio [Best for beginners] ...
- Streamlabs OBS [Best for professional streamers] ...
- OneStream [Best overall streaming software] ...
- vMix [For Windows users] ...
- Lightstream [Cloud-based streaming] ...
- XSplit Broadcaster [Best for gamers] ...
- Restream [Best for engaging audiences]
- OBS. Probably every streamer is familiar with OBS – it is the most used streaming software, not just among amateurs, but among professionals as well. ...
- SLOBS. Streamlabs OBS is a bit improved version of OBS. ...
- XSplit. ...
- Wirecast. ...
- Lightstream Mixer. ...
- 1AVStreamer. ...
- Bandicam.
- Camtasia. Source. ...
- Bandicam Screen Recorder. Source. ...
- Screencast-O-Matic. Source. ...
- ShareX. Source. ...
- Movavi Screen Recorder. Source. ...
- XSplit Broadcaster. Source. ...
- Streamlabs OBS. Source. ...
- Lightstream Studio. Source.
Yes. You can use XSplit Broadcaster for free but there will be some restrictions as well as missing features.
What is XSplit app? ›What is XSplit Connect : Webcam? XSplit Connect: Webcam is a free mobile companion app available on iOS and Android devices that allows you to pair your mobile phone with XSplit VCam and use your front-facing or rear-facing phone camera as your PC webcam.
How do I get XSplit for free? ›Qualified Non Profit Organizations and Educational Institutions are eligible for a Free 12 Months XSplit Premium License. Simply fill out this form and a member of our team will get back to you.
Is free Streamlabs good? ›While Streamlabs is the clear winner of the big three free options, some companies that offer sponsorship deals will be partnered with another company's platform, like StreamElements OBS. (While I was writing this article, controversy rose surrounding Streamlabs' new premium service.
Which is better OBS or Xsplit? ›Xsplit offers an easy and very straight forward kind of setup. You will find its default program extremely easy but users need to work on other settings like tweek resolution etc to get better results. When compared with OBS, the powerful in-game overlays are an advantage for xSplit platform as it initiates easy chats.
Which is better Streamlabs or OBS? ›Performance-wise, both Streamlabs and OBS Studio achieve excellent results. However, OBS Studio requires fewer system resources. If you're a gamer and have a powerful PC, Streamlabs is the better choice. However, if you want to get the most out of your live streams, try multistreaming with Restream.
Is open source software free? ›Nearly all open source software is free software, but there are exceptions. First, some open source licenses are too restrictive, so they do not qualify as free licenses. For example, Open Watcom is nonfree because its license does not allow making a modified version and using it privately.
Is Chrome an open source? ›
Most of Chrome's source code comes from Google's free and open-source software project Chromium, but Chrome is licensed as proprietary freeware.
Which is open source software? ›Open source software (OSS) is software that is distributed with its source code, making it available for use, modification, and distribution with its original rights.
How do I turn my phone into a media server? ›- Tap the Settings cog.
- Click Services > UPnP / DLNA.
- Here, switch Enable UPnP support to On.
- Similarly, switch Share my libraries to On.
The VideoLAN streaming solution includes two programs: VLC media player which can be used as a server and as a client to stream and receive network streams.
How do I create a media server? ›- Buy a NAS or set up a dedicated computer.
- Install hard drives to store the media files.
- Connect the media server to the network via an Ethernet cable(s).
- Transfer the files to the hard drives and install any apps you would like to use.
Right now Plex is better for streaming content you don't have on your computer as they are moving more into Netflix territory. UMS is better at sending your media at its highest quality, since Plex will usually transcode more than we do, and we are much better for privacy and security.
What Plex is best? ›The Nvidia Shield TV is the best Plex media server for most users. It's not necessarily the most powerful, but it's certainly the easiest to set up and the most versatile. Whereas most Plex network-attached storage devices are traditional servers or NAS boxes, the Shield TV Pro 2019 is a streaming device.