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wowza and streaming. lesson 4

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user1272047
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Lesson 4: Using DVR (Digital Video Recorder) with Wowza

Digital Video Recorder (DVR) functionality in Wowza Streaming Engine allows viewers to pause, rewind, and resume live streams. This lesson will demonstrate how to enable and use DVR features.

Step 1: What is Wowza DVR?

Wowza DVR stores segments of a live stream for playback. It’s particularly useful for live events, where viewers might join late or need to replay a section.

Step 2: Enable DVR in Wowza

  1. Access Application Settings:

    • Log in to the Wowza Streaming Engine Manager.

    • Navigate to the Applications tab.

    • Select your live application (e.g., LiveStreamApp).

  2. Enable DVR:

    • Go to the DVR section.

    • Enable DVR recording for the application.

    • Configure DVR settings:

      • Storage directory: Where the DVR segments are saved.

      • Window duration: How long segments are stored (e.g., 300 seconds for a 5-minute rewind).

      • Enable HLS or DASH playback.

  3. Save the Settings:

    • Click Save and restart the application.

Step 3: Configure the Stream Encoder

Example Using OBS Studio:

  1. Set Up OBS Stream:

    • Stream to your Wowza application as explained in Lesson 2:

      • Server: rtmp://<your-server-ip>:1935/LiveStreamApp

      • Stream Key: dvrstream

  2. Start Streaming:

    • Begin the stream from OBS.

Step 4: Playback with DVR

  1. HLS Playback:

    • Open a browser or player like VLC.

    • Use the following URL to play with DVR support:

        http://<your-server-ip>:1935/LiveStreamApp/dvrstream/playlist_dvr.m3u8

  2. Test DVR Features:

    • Use a compatible HLS player to:

      • Pause the live stream.

      • Rewind up to the configured DVR window duration.

      • Resume the stream in real-time.

Step 5: Example Scenario

Scenario:

You are live streaming a sports event and want to enable a 10-minute DVR window.

  1. Set Up DVR:

    • Application: SportsEventApp

    • DVR window duration: 600 seconds (10 minutes).

    • Storage location: /usr/local/WowzaDVR/segments.

  2. Stream Configuration:

    • Encoder: OBS Studio

    • Stream Key: sportslive

  3. Playback:

    • Open the DVR-enabled stream:

        http://192.168.1.100:1935/SportsEventApp/sportslive/playlist_dvr.m3u8

    • Use a player to rewind and watch highlights from the last 10 minutes.

Step 6: Monitor and Manage DVR

  1. Monitor DVR Segments:

    • Navigate to the DVR section in the Wowza Manager.

    • View active DVR recordings and segment details.

  2. Manage Disk Space:

    • Configure automatic segment deletion to prevent storage overflow.

Next Steps:

In the next lesson, we will explore Wowza REST APIs to programmatically control streams and integrate with third-party applications.

Wowzastreaming