Live streaming

One call starts a live stream that plays worldwide in your app and on the web, and also goes to up to three RTMP, RTMPS or SRT destinations. The phone uploads straight to the cloud; nothing needs a server of yours.

Early access. Code samples are illustrative until the 1.0.0 release. Write to services@symaro.com to join.

Start a stream

LiveOptions describes the stream. Every field has a default.

The SDK checks the options against your tier and limits before anything is sent (LiveOptions.validate on iOS, EveryCord.live.problems(options) on Android) and says what to change in one sentence.

let session = try await EveryCord.live.start(LiveOptions(
    title: "Friday speedruns",
    orientation: .landscape,
    destinations: [
        .rtmp(name: "Twitch", url: URL(string: "rtmp://live.twitch.tv/app")!, streamKey: twitchKey),
        .srt(name: "Studio", url: "srt://ingest.example.com:9000", streamID: "studio", passphrase: passphrase),
    ],
    captions: true
))

val session = EveryCord.live.start(
    LiveOptions(
        title = "Friday speedruns",
        orientation = Orientation.LANDSCAPE,
        destinations = listOf(
            Destination.Rtmp("rtmp://live.twitch.tv/app", twitchKey, name = "Twitch"),
            Destination.Srt("srt://ingest.example.com:9000", streamId = "studio", passphrase = passphrase, name = "Studio"),
        ),
        captions = true,
    ),
    consent,
)

On iOS the session is picked up by your broadcast upload extension once the person starts the broadcast (Quickstart for iOS); on Android the SDK's capture service starts at once (Quickstart for Android). One session runs at a time per app.

Session state

The session also reports viewerCount (people watching on EveryCord's delivery, your player and EveryCord's apps), bitrate, and each output's status. Output messages never contain a URL or a stream key.

addDestination adds a destination while live (still at most 3 in all). stop() ends every output, the capture and the EveryCord session.

EveryCord delivery

With live_delivery, the stream plays in your app and on the web through EveryCord's delivery:

• The phone cuts 2-second HLS segments and uploads each one with a presigned HTTPS PUT straight to Cloudflare R2. Upload URLs are short-lived and scoped to one stream.
• A segment that lands within 2.5 seconds of being cut plays live; a late one is kept for the replay and skipped live, so viewers never fall behind a slow connection.
• Adaptive upload. When 3 of the last 6 segments miss the deadline, the bitrate halves (never under 800 kbps); after 10 on-time segments in a row, a quarter of the maximum comes back. The encoder keeps running, so viewers see no restart.
• The same segments make the cloud copy, so the replay and clips are ready when the stream ends.

limits.maxBitrateKbps in your configuration is the encoder's ceiling (4,500 kbps on the Live tier).

Live Now. Partner streams are kept off EveryCord's Live Now unless postToLiveNow is true and the key is a live key. People who follow the streamer on EveryCord still see the stream in their following list. Test-mode streams are never listed.

Destinations

Up to three, in any mix (limits.maxDestinations).

An SRT URL has a host and a port, no path, and only streamid, latency, passphrase and pbkeylen in its query. Stream keys and passphrases stay on the device and go only to that server.

Bonding

With bonding (Engage tier and up), one stream goes over every connection at once: the phone's cellular plan, Wi-Fi and Ethernet (USB tethering). A weak connection never drags the strong ones down. On Android, the SDK requests the cellular, Wi-Fi and Ethernet networks at the same time (CHANGE_NETWORK_STATE is in the SDK's manifest).

Bonding applies to srtla:// destinations and to the EveryCord Relay.

The EveryCord Relay

A cloud relay owned by the streamer's account. The phone sends one bonded stream to the relay; the relay restreams it to up to five RTMP or RTMPS platforms and keeps them fed with a standby picture ("Be right back") while the phone reconnects, so the platforms never see the stream end. No PC is needed.

• A relay has inputs (by default "Phone" and "PC"), each with its own rk_ key, and up to five destinations.
• It encodes once at the relay's size (1920 x 1080, 1280 x 720 or 854 x 480, landscape or portrait), 30 or 60 fps, 1,000 to 12,000 kbps.
• When the playing input stops, the last frame stays for 3 seconds, then the standby picture with silence until an input sends again; after the relay's standby minutes (10 by default) it stops.

Relays are set up through the /v1/relays routes with the user's access token (feature bonding). In a stream, add the relay as a destination:

.everycordRelay(relayKey: "rk_...")

Destination.Relay(relayKey = "rk_...")

Playback in your app

EveryCordPlayerView plays a live session through EveryCord's delivery, or its replay once the stream has ended. It counts the viewer's presence while they watch, and shows "Powered by EveryCord" when your tier's branding requires it.

EveryCordPlayerView(sessionID: sessionID)

playerView.play(sessionId)

Viewers on the web open the stream at its shareURL (everycord.net/live/<id>).

Test mode

With a test key, sessions work end to end but are never listed on Live Now, and their usage is metered apart and never billed. Use test mode for development and App Review builds you do not want listed.