How to build live stream server with rtmp nginx

Set Up live streaming server with rtmp nginx

Table of contents

Prerequisites and usage

• Ubuntu server 20.04
• OBS (Free and open source software for video recording and live streaming)
• Nginx rtmp module
• Nano

Step 1: Install Nginx and the RTMP Module

1. Update the system:

   sudo apt update
   sudo apt upgrade -y

2. Install the necessary dependencies:

   sudo apt install build-essential libpcre3 libpcre3-dev libssl-dev zlib1g zlib1g-dev -y

3. Download and install Nginx:

   cd /usr/local/src
   wget http://nginx.org/download/nginx-1.21.0.tar.gz
   tar -zxvf nginx-1.21.0.tar.gz
   cd nginx-1.21.0

4. Download and install the RTMP module:

   git clone https://github.com/arut/nginx-rtmp-module.git

5. Compile Nginx with the RTMP module:

   ./configure --with-http_ssl_module --add-module=../nginx-rtmp-module
   make
   sudo make install

Step 2: Configure Nginx with the RTMP Module

1. Open the Nginx configuration file:

   sudo apt install nano
   sudo nano /usr/local/nginx/conf/nginx.conf

2. Add the RTMP configuration to the nginx.conf file:

   worker_processes  1;
   events {
       worker_connections  1024;
   }
   
   http {
       include       mime.types;
       default_type  application/octet-stream;
   
       sendfile on;
       keepalive_timeout  65;
   
       # nodejs server received notify
       server {
           listen 80;
           server_name sv.example.com;
           client_max_body_size 64M;
   
           location / {
                   proxy_set_header Host $host;
                   proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
                   proxy_redirect off;
                   proxy_buffering off;
                   proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:8000;
           }
       }
   
       server {
           listen 80;
           server_name  live.example.com;
   
           location /hls {
               alias /var/www/hls;
   
               types {
                   application/vnd.apple.mpegurl m3u8;
                   video/mp2t ts;
               }
               add_header 'Access-Control-Allow-Origin' '*' always;
               add_header 'Access-Control-Allow-Headers' 'Range' always;
               add_header 'Cache-Control' 'no-cache' always;
               add_header 'Access-Control-Expose-Headers' 'Content-Length,Content-Range' always;
           }
   
           location /vod {
               alias /var/www/rtmp;
               autoindex on;
           }
   
           location /html {
               alias /var/www/html;
           }
   
           # rtmp stat
           location /stat {
               rtmp_stat all;
               rtmp_stat_stylesheet stat.xsl;
           }
   
           error_page   500 502 503 504  /50x.html;
           location = /50x.html {
               root   html;
           }
       }
   }
   
   rtmp {
       server {
           listen 1935;
           ping 30s;
   
           application src {
                   live on;
                   # push to rtmp://localhost/live/$name;
                   exec_push ffmpeg -i rtmp://localhost/src/$name -vcodec libx264 -vprofile baseline -g 10 -acodec aac -ar 44100 -ac 1 -f flv rtmp://localhost/live/$name 2>>/var/log/ffmpeg-$name.log;
           }
   
           application live {
               live on;
               sync 10ms;
   
               # notify publisher
               exec_push         curl http://localhost:8000/api/livestream/onplay?status=exec_push&name=$name;
               # notify when publish done
               exec_publish_done curl http://localhost:8000/api/livestream/onplay?status=exec_publish_done&name=$name;
   
               # convert recorded file to mp4 format
               exec_record_done ffmpeg -y -i $path -acodec libmp3lame -ar 44100 -ac 1 -vcodec libx264 $dirname/$basename.mp4;
   
               # sample recorder
               recorder rec1 {
                 record all;
                 record_path /var/www/rtmp;
               }
   
               # sample HLS
               hls on;
               hls_cleanup off;
               hls_path /var/www/hls;
               hls_sync 100ms;
               hls_continuous on;
           }
       }
   }

3. Save and exit the editor.

Step 3: Start Nginx

1. Start Nginx:

   sudo /usr/local/nginx/sbin/nginx

2. Check Nginx status:

   sudo /usr/local/nginx/sbin/nginx -t

If everything is working correctly, you will see messages saying “syntax is ok” and “test is successful”.

Step 4: Live Stream

To start live streaming, you can use OBS (Open Broadcaster Software) or any streaming software that supports RTMP.

1. Install OBS:

   • Download and install OBS from the OBS Project website.

2. Configure OBS:

   • Open OBS, go to Settings -> Stream.
   • Select Service as Custom....
   • Enter Server as rtmp://<YOUR_SERVER_IP>/live.
   • Enter Stream Key as any string you want, for example: stream.

Step 5: Check the Live Stream

Open a browser or any software that supports RTMP video playback and enter the URL: rtmp://<YOUR_SERVER_IP>/live/stream

If you are streaming, you will see your video playing. With this, you have completed the setup of a live streaming server with RTMP and Nginx.