Comparison of streaming media software

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This is a comparison of streaming media systems. A more complete list of streaming media systems is also available.

## General

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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.

Name  | Creator  | First Public Release (yyyy-MM-dd)  | Latest Stable Version (Release Date)  | Latest Release Date  | Cost (USD)  | license | Media

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Adobe Media Server | Macromedia/Adobe Systems//Veriskope Inc | 2002-07-9  | 5.0.16 (2020-2-15)  | 2020-2-15  | Free Developer and Trial licenses; Subscription Licenses at $33/month; Standard Perpetual License at $995; Amazon Marketplace license starting at $0.13/hour  | proprietary | Video, Audio, Data
Ant Media Server | Ant Media Inc.  | 2017  | 2.12 / 12-12-2024  | 2.12  | Free Trial License, Monthly, Annual and Perpetual License Offerings  | Proprietary | Video, Audio,Data
atmosph3re  | Guillaume Carrier  | 2005-08-15  | 3.0.7 (2015-10-31)  | 2015-10-31  | $30 perpetual license  | proprietary | Audio
Darwin Streaming Server | Apple Inc. | 1999-03-16  | 6.0.3 (2007-05-10)  | 2007-05-10  | Free  | APSL | Audio/Video
Feng  | LSCube[1] | 2007-05-31  | 2009-10-14  | 2009-10-04  | Free  | GPL | Audio/Video
Firefly | Ron Pedde  | ?  | 0.2.4.2 (2008-04-19)  | 2008-04-19  | Free  | GPL | Audio
Helix DNA Server | RealNetworks | 2003-01-22  | 11.1 (2006-06-10)  | 2006-06-10  | Free  | RCSL/RPSL | Audio/Video
Helix Universal Server | RealNetworks | 1994-01-01  | 15.2.1 (2014-09-16)  | 2014-09-16  | Free for 12 months (Basic) and $1,000-$10,000  | proprietary | Audio/Video
Icecast | Xiph.Org Foundation | 1998-12  | 2.4.4 (2018-10-31)  | 2018-10-31  | Free  | GPL | Audio
IIS Media Services | Microsoft | 2008-11-07  | 4.1 (2011-11-09)  | 2011-11-09  | Free  | proprietary | Audio/Video/Data
Lyrion Music Server | Logitech/LMS Community  | 2001-09-16  | 8.5.2 (2024-05-20)  | 2024-05-20  | Free  | GPLv2 | Audio
Nimble Streamer | Softvelum  | 2013  | 3.7.1-5 (2020-10-27)  | 2020-10-27  | Free  | proprietary | Audio/Video
OvenMediaEngine | AirenSoft  | 2019-05-23  | 0.16.8 (2024-07-19)  | 2024-07-19  | Free  | AGPLv3 | Audio/Video
OpenBroadcaster | OpenBroadcaster  | 2003  | 5.0.0 (2018-01-27)  | 2018-01-27  | Free  | AGPLv3 | Audio/Video
Open Broadcaster Software | OBS Project  | 2012-9-01  | 30.0.2 (2023-12-10)  | 2023-12-10  | Free  | GPL v2 | Audio/Video
Plex (software) | Plex Media Server  | 2008-07-08  | 1.15.6.1079 (2019-05-15)  | 2019-05-15  | Free  | proprietary | Audio/Video
Red5 (open source) | Infrared5/community  | 2003-09-22  | 1.0.9 (2017-06-11)  | 2018-12-13  | Free  | Apache License v2 | Audio/Video/Data
SHOUTcast | Nullsoft | 1998-12  | 2.4.7 (Build 256) (2015-03-31)  | 2015-03-31  | Free  | proprietary | Audio
Unreal Media Server | Unreal Streaming Technologies  | 2003-09-15  | 15.0 (2023-01-03)  | 2023-01-03  | $995 perpetual license  | proprietary | Audio/Video
VLC media player | VideoLAN | ?  | 2.2.4 (2016-06-05)  | 2016-06-05  | Free  | GPL v2 | Audio/Video
Windows Media Services | Microsoft | 1996-12-10  | 9.6 (2010-04-05)  | 2010-04-05  | Free  | proprietary | Audio/Video
Wowza Streaming Engine | Wowza Media Systems  | 2007-02-17  | 4.8.5 build 20200616153358 (2020-06-17)[2] | 2020-06-17  | Free Developer and Trial licenses; Subscription Licenses at $125/month;[3] Perpetual Pro License at $1995; Amazon EC2 with embedded license starting at $0.15/hour  | proprietary | Audio/Video/Data
xiu  | Harlan Chen  | 2020-08-16  | 0.13.0 (2024-08-11)  | 2024-08-11  | Free  | MIT | Audio/Video

## Operating system support

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Name  | Windows | macOS | Linux | Unix

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Adobe Media Server | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | No
atmosph3re  | Yes  | No  | No  | No
Darwin Streaming Server | Yes  | Yes  | No  | Yes
Firefly | Yes  | ?  | Yes  | Yes
Helix DNA Server | Yes  | ?  | Yes  | Yes
Helix Universal Server | Yes  | No  | Yes  | Yes
Icecast | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes
IIS Media Services | Yes  | No  | No  | No
Lyrion Music Server | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes
Nimble Streamer | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | No
OvenMediaEngine | Yes (with Docker)  | Yes (with Docker)  | Yes  | No
OpenBroadcaster | No  | No  | Yes  | ?
Open Broadcaster Software | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | ?
Plex (software) | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes
Red5 (open source) | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes
SHOUTcast | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes
Unreal Media Server | Yes  | No  | No  | No
VLC media player | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes
Windows Media Services | Yes  | No  | No  | No
Wowza Streaming Engine | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes
xiu  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes

## Container format support

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This section needs expansion with: information. You can help by adding to it. (October 2007)

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Information about what digital container formats are supported.

Name  | 3GP | AVI | ASF | QuickTime | Ogg | OGM | Matroska | MP4 | MPEG-TS | FLV | ABR | WebM

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Adobe Media Server | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | Yes  | No  | Yes  | Yes  | ?
atmosph3re  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | Yes  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?
Darwin Streaming Server | Yes  | ?  | ?  | Yes  | ?  | ?  | ?  | Yes  | No  | No  | No  | ?
Firefly | ?  | No  | ?  | ?  | Yes  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?
Helix DNA Server | ?  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | ?  | ?
Helix Universal Server | Yes  | No  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | No  | No  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | ?
Icecast | ?  | Yes  | ?  | ?  | Yes  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | No  | No  | Yes
IIS Media Services | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | ?
Nimble Streamer | No  | Yes  | No  | No  | No  | No  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | ?
OvenMediaEngine | No  | Yes  | No  | No  | Yes  | No  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes
OpenBroadcaster | No  | Yes  | No  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | No  | Yes  | ?  | No  | ?  | ?
Red5 (open source) | Yes  | No  | No  | Yes  | No  | No  | No  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | ?
SHOUTcast | ?  | Yes  | ?  | ?  | Yes  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | No  | No  | ?
Unreal Media Server | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | ?
VLC media player | ?  | Yes  | ?  | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | ?
Windows Media Services | ?  | ?  | Yes  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | No  | No  | ?
Wowza Streaming Engine | Yes  | No  | No  | Yes  | No  | No  | No  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | ?
xiu  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | Yes  | Yes  | No  | No

## Protocol support

[edit]

This section needs expansion with: information. You can help by adding to it. (October 2007)

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

Name  | HTTP | MPEG DASH | WebRTC | RTSP | MMS | RTP | RTCP | UDP | TCP | RTMP | MPEG TS | Real Data Transport | Web sockets  | HLS  | DASH  | SRTP

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Adobe Media Server | Yes
(HTTP Live Streaming, HTTP Dynamic Streaming)  | ?  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | No  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | ?
atmosph3re  | Yes  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  |  |  |  |
Darwin Streaming Server | No  | ?  | ?  | Yes  | No  | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  |  |  |  |
Firefly | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  |  |  |  |
Helix DNA Server | Yes  | No  | No  | Yes  | No  | Yes  | No  | Yes  | Yes  | ?  | ?  | Yes  |  |  |  |
Helix Universal Server | Yes
(HTTP Live Streaming, MPEG-DASH, HTTP Progressive Streaming)  | Yes  | No  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | No  | Yes  |  |  |  |
Icecast | Yes  | ?  | ?  | No  | No  | No  | No  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  |  |  |  |
IIS Media Services | Yes  | ?  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  |  |  |  |
Nimble Streamer | Yes (HTTP Live Streaming, Smooth Streaming)  | Yes  | No  | Yes  | No  | Yes  | No  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | No  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  |
OvenMediaEngine | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | No  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | No  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | No
OpenBroadcaster | Yes  | No  | No  | Yes  | No  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | No  | ?  | Yes  |  |  |  |
Red5 (open source)[4] | Yes  | No  | In Development  | No  | No  | No  | No  | No  | Yes  | Yes (RTMP, RTMPE, RTMPTE, RTMPT, RTMPS, RTMP Dynamic Streaming)  | No  | Yes  | Yes  | ?  |  | No
SHOUTcast | Yes  | ?  | ?  | No  | No  | No  | No  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  |  |  |  |
Unreal Media Server | Yes
(HTTP Live Streaming, Smooth Streaming)  | No  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes
(RTMP, RTMPT, Dynamic RTMP)  | Yes  | No  | Yes  | Yes  |  | Yes
VLC media player | Yes  | ?  | No  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | ?  |  | Yes  |  |
Windows Media Services | Yes
(WM-HTTP)  | ?  | No  | Yes
(WM-RTSP)  | Yes, for WMS 9.0 and earlier; removed in WMS 2008 (9.5)[5] | Yes
(WM-RTSP)  | No  | Yes
(WM-RTSP/U and MS-MSB)  | Yes
(WM-RTSP/T and WM-HTTP)  | No  | No  | No  |  |  |  |
Wowza Streaming Engine | Yes
(HTTP Live Streaming, Smooth Streaming, HTTP Dynamic Streaming)  | Yes
| Yes  | Yes  | No  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes
(RTMP, RTMPE, RTMPTE, RTMPT, RTMPS, RTMP Dynamic Streaming)  | Yes  | No  | No  | Yes  | Yes  |  |
xiu  | Yes
(HTTP Live Streaming)  | No  | Yes
(Whip/Whep)  | Yes  | No  | Yes
(WM-RTSP)  | No  | Yes
(WM-RTSP/U)  | Yes
(WM-RTSP/T)  | Yes
(RTMP)  | Yes  | No  | No  | Yes  | No  | No  |
Name  | HTTP | MPEG DASH | WebRTC | RTSP | MMS | RTP | RTCP | UDP | TCP | RTMP | MPEG TS | Real Data Transport | Web sockets  | HLS  | DASH  | SRTP

## Features

[edit]

This section needs expansion with: information. You can help by adding to it. (January 2013)

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Name | Client Playback Synchronization  | Web Interface  | Graphical user interface | iOS SDK | Android SDK | Javascript SDK

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Lyrion Music Server | Yes  | Yes  | No  |  |  |
Red5 (open source) | No  | Yes  | Yes  | No  | No  | No
VLC media player | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  |  |  |

## See also

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* Community radio
* Comparison of video hosting services
* Content delivery network
* Digital television
* E-commerce
* Internet radio
* Internet radio device
* Streaming television
* IPTV
* List of Internet radio stations
* Comparison of music streaming services
* Multicast
* P2PTV
* Protection of Broadcasts and Broadcasting Organizations Treaty
* Push technology
* Streaming media
* IBM Cloud Video
* Webcast
* Streaming television

## References

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1. ^ "index : feng". LSCube. Archived from the original on 2013-06-15. Retrieved 2013-03-17.
2. ^ "Latest software updates for Wowza Streaming Engine".
3. ^ "Get Estimated Live Streaming Server Prices | Wowza Streaming Engine". Wowza Media Systems. Retrieved 2021-07-30.
4. ^ "Red5". GitHub. Retrieved 2015-11-05.
5. ^ David Nelson (10 December 2009). "Windows Media protocol reference". Microsoft Corporation. Retrieved 23 February 2012.

## External links

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