PickYourTechPickYourTech home
OvenMediaEngine logo

OvenMediaEngine

Sub-second latency streaming server for massive HD live audiences

Live Streaming Platforms

OvenMediaEngine delivers sub-second live streaming at scale, ingesting via WebRTC, SRT, RTMP, RTSP and outputting adaptive bitrate LLHLS and WebRTC to hundreds of thousands of viewers.

Overview

Overview

OvenMediaEngine (OME) is a high‑performance media server designed for developers and operators who need sub‑second live streaming at large scale. It supports ingest from WebRTC, WHIP, SRT, RTMP, RTSP, and MPEG‑2 TS, then transcodes to adaptive‑bitrate streams for delivery.

Capabilities

OME provides LLHLS and WebRTC output with built‑in DRM (Widevine, FairPlay), subtitle support, DVR, and metadata handling. Advanced features include clustering with an origin‑edge architecture, embedded TURN server, NACK retransmission, ULPFEC, and a REST API for automation. Monitoring, access control, and admission webhooks give fine‑grained operational control.

Deployment

The server runs on Linux and is distributed as a Docker image, with quick‑start commands for common distributions (Ubuntu, Rocky, AlmaLinux, Fedora). Configuration files can be mounted as volumes, and the platform supports hardware‑accelerated H.265 encoding where available. Comprehensive documentation and a demo service (OvenSpace) help teams get up and running quickly.

Highlights

Sub‑second latency via LLHLS and WebRTC
Multi‑protocol ingest (WebRTC, SRT, RTMP, RTSP, MPEG‑2 TS)
Integrated adaptive‑bitrate transcoder with DRM support
Scalable origin‑edge clustering for massive audiences

Pros

  • Ultra‑low latency streaming
  • Broad protocol compatibility
  • Built‑in transcoding, DRM, and monitoring
  • Simple Docker‑based deployment

Considerations

  • Primarily Linux/Docker environment
  • Clustering setup requires expertise
  • No native Windows package
  • AGPL‑3.0 license may limit commercial use

Managed products teams compare with

When teams consider OvenMediaEngine, these hosted platforms usually appear on the same shortlist.

Agora Interactive Live Streaming logo

Agora Interactive Live Streaming

Real-time interactive live video with sub-second latency.

Amazon IVS logo

Amazon IVS

Managed low-latency live streaming on AWS.

Ant Media Server logo

Ant Media Server

Ultra-low latency live streaming server with WebRTC, HLS, SRT, and RTMP

Looking for a hosted option? These are the services engineering teams benchmark against before choosing open source.

Fit guide

Great for

  • Companies needing sub‑second live streaming at scale
  • Developers building custom streaming platforms
  • Live events with hundreds of thousands of concurrent viewers
  • Teams seeking an extensible open‑source media server

Not ideal when

  • Static VOD sites without live requirements
  • Users requiring native Windows installation
  • Projects that need a permissive license
  • Organizations without resources to manage clustering

How teams use it

Live sports broadcasting with instant replay

Viewers receive sub‑second feeds, enabling real‑time commentary and near‑instant replays.

Interactive gaming streams

Gamers and audiences experience minimal lag, fostering real‑time interaction and competition.

Remote news production

Field reporters stream via WebRTC or SRT, and editors distribute adaptive streams to global viewers instantly.

Large virtual conferences

Thousands of participants join sessions with low latency, supporting Q&A and live polls without delay.

Tech snapshot

C++95%
C1%
Shell1%
Makefile1%
Go1%
Perl1%

Tags

ultra-low-latencybroadcastinglive-streaming-serverllhlslldashlow-latencylow-latency-hlslow-latency-dashomertmphlslow-latency-httplarge-scale-streamingcmafrtmp-to-webrtcsub-second-latencywebrtcstreamingovenmediaenginestreaming-server

Frequently asked questions

What latency can OvenMediaEngine achieve?

Sub‑second latency is typical, often under 500 ms, depending on network conditions and client configuration.

Which ingest protocols are supported?

WebRTC (including WHIP), SRT, RTMP, RTSP, and MPEG‑2 TS/UDP are natively supported.

Does OME provide DRM capabilities?

Yes, it includes Widevine and FairPlay DRM integration for protected content.

How can I scale the service for large audiences?

Use the built‑in origin‑edge clustering architecture to distribute load across multiple nodes.

What is the recommended deployment method?

Deploy via the official Docker image on a supported Linux distribution; configuration can be mounted as volumes.

Project at a glance

Active
Visit siteView repo
Stars
3,033
Watchers
3,033
Forks
1,106
LicenseAGPL-3.0
Repo age7 years old
Last commit11 hours ago
Primary languageC++

Last synced 4 hours ago