Using ffmpeg with SRT Server for HLS Segment File
In this article, we will discuss how to use the open-source multimedia framework, ffmpeg, in combination with the SRT Server to create HLS segment files. The Simple Streaming Over Real-Time Transport Protocol (SRT) is a low-latency video streaming protocol that can be used as an alternative to traditional RTMP or HTTP-based streaming solutions. With the help of ffmpeg and the SRT Server, we can easily create HLS segment files for our video content.
Prerequisites
Before we begin, make sure you have the following:
- A video file to be encoded
- ffmpeg installed on your system
- SRT Server installed and running
Encoding Video with ffmpeg
The first step is to encode our video file using ffmpeg with the SRT codec. Here's an example command:
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c:v libsrt -c:a aac -b:a 128k -s 1280x720 -strict experimental output.srt
This command takes the input.mp4 file and encodes it using the libsrt codec for video and aac for audio. The -b:a 128k flag sets the audio bitrate to 128 kbps. The -s flag sets the video resolution to 1280x720. The -strict experimental flag is required for the SRT codec.
Sending Segments to the SRT Server
Once the video is encoded, we can send the segments to the SRT Server using the srt-launch tool that comes with the SRT Server. Here's an example command:
srt-launch --server-address :1234 --net-id --playlist-type m3u8 --segment-time 5 output.srt input.srt
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Verifying the Output
After running the command, the SRT Server will start sending the HLS segment files to the client. We can verify the output by opening the generated m3u8 playlist file in a web browser or media player that supports HLS streaming.
In this article, we discussed how to use ffmpeg with the SRT Server to create HLS segment files. By encoding our video file with ffmpeg using the SRT codec and sending the segments to the SRT Server, we can easily create HLS segment files for our video content. This approach provides low-latency streaming and is a great alternative to traditional RTMP or HTTP-based streaming solutions.