Video streaming servers are system software that allow users to stream videos regardless of the operating systems. Some videos streaming servers are OS independent based on Linux and can be installed on any machine. Few others are meant for specific platforms such as Windows, Linux or Mac.
What is a Video Streaming Server?
The server software that provides and manages the video media content remotely called Video Streaming Servers. Not all the video players can work with the video streaming servers instead of that it needs a perfect video player that can work with the remote servers to buffer and play it without downloading such as VLC. This method also protects the publisher to protect their content from piracy. Video media server utilizes particular calculations to pack the media document or information for exchange over the system or Internet association.
What is Video Streaming?
Video streaming is a sort of media streaming in which a user can stream the videos saved on the Video streaming servers. The user can use its local player or web player to stream the media files from remote video streaming servers through the internet or local network. Such servers allow watching videos without being downloaded on a local desktop machine or Smartphone.
For example, YouTube, Dailymotion, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu these are all video on demand sites where you can watch video free or after subscription. These big names use the Video streaming servers for creating Video on demand (display) (VOD) call. VOD allows users to select and watch videos or listen to audio content such as music, movies and TV shows whenever they want rather waiting for some specific broadcast time.
There are dozens of free and open-source video streaming servers available online to stream and share videos. Today, we have listed the best ones in this article. Also, these media streaming servers are enterprise-class and can handle the streaming at large scale.
Best Free & Open source Video Streaming Servers Software
Red5 Open source media server
Red5 is an open source media server available in both Open source and paid licensed versions. It gives support for all kinds of live streaming. This design of this media server is very flexible and can enhance the capability using the simple plugins. The plugin architecture also allows for customization of virtually any VOD and live streaming scenario.
There are few big names like Amazon and Facebook using the Red5 video streaming server solution. Red5 is now used for live streaming beyond Flash including HLS, WebSockets, and RTSP. As part of the Google Summer of Code, the Red5 team is currently building support for WebRTC to enable streaming in the browser without a plugin.
MistServer Open Source
MistServer Open Source edition of MediaServer Pro edition but there are no software limitations in the Open source version. The only difference between the pro and opensource Miniserver edition is the features. The free open source media server edition has fewer features than the pro version. The open source version is On the fly stream repackager, comes with browser-based management interface, low footprint high-performance, modular design, low latency, Multiplatform, Smart HTML5 meta player, API, Stream meta-data, and Basic analytic integration.
Some other features:
- Stream password protection
- Fast boot times
- One set of binaries per customer,
- Live inputs: RTMP single bitrate
- VoD input: FLV, MP3, Video Output: MP4, HLS, RTMP (single bitrate), MPEG-TS (unicast), HDS, FLV, MP3, OGG,
- Stream analyzers: RTMP, MP4, RTMP, OGG, FLV, DTSC
- Video codecs: H264, Flash, Theora
- Audio codecs AAC, MP3, Flash, Vorbis
- Standard support
Supported operating systems: Unix, Solaris, Linux x86, Linux x86_64, Linux ARM, Linux MIPS, OS X, Windows 64 bits.
Kurento Media server
Kurento is an Open source WebRTC media server. This support both audio and video and also offers a set of client APIs which allows the developer to create advanced video applications for WWW and smartphone platforms. Kurento Media Server features include group communications, transcoding, recording, mixing, broadcasting and routing of audiovisual flows.
The Kurento Audio/ Video streaming server provides media processing capabilities involving computer vision, video indexing, augmented reality and speech analysis. Kurento can easily integrate third-party media processing algorithms such as speech recognition, sentiment analysis, face recognition, etc.
Streamhash– Netflix Clone Free Lite version
Streamhash has the ability to create subscription-based Video-on-demand streaming sites like Netflix and Amazon Prime or video streaming like Youtube or Live Video Streaming like Facebook Live.
The Streamhash three products or scripts:
StreamView: It is a Netflix Clone Script and ability to create like Netflix and Amazon Prime.
StreamNow: This product gives the capability to create a Live Streaming video option just like Facebook Live and YouTube Live. You can create Live streaming ads to generate profits.
StreamTube: It is a YouTube clone script to create a website like YouTube or Vimeo. The user can signup, upload videos and allow to generate easy revenue using Video ads and Banner Ads.
It offers three versions Free Lite, ($699)Ultimate and ($199) Deluxe. The lite version is for the lifetime and comes with basic features mentioned below:
StreamView Free Version Features:
- 100% source code
- Web Script
- Unlimited Users
- Unlimited Video Uploads
- Dynamic Admin Panel
- Responsive Frontend
- Categories and Subcategories
- Track number of users
- Add / Edit pages
- Google Analytics
Clipbucket: Enterprise OpenSource Video Broadcasting Solution
ClipBucket is an OpenSource Multimedia Management Script which lets you manage Videos, Photos & Audios from one platform. You can create websites sharing websites like Youtube, Metacafe, Veoh, Hulu or any other.
It is one of the most popular to create YouTube-like clone website. It also offers internal management systems that allow users to communicate and send messages via a built-in messaging service. Clipbucket Video streaming server offers advanced modules like FFMPEG to make on fly Video Conversions. So, users can stream it straight away using HTML 5 Players.
OBS Studio (Open Broadcaster Software)
Creating videos and presenting them on YouTube or Facebook is relatively easy. The transmission of live streams on the Internet is more demanding. The free program “OBS Studio” (formerly “Open Broadcaster Software”) is suitable for this. For example, you can use the current desktop content or the signal of your webcam, record a game via game mode and local MP4, MOV, FLV, TS or MKV videos, MP3, AAC, OGG – or use WAV sounds and an external video source. Text screens and images can also be integrated. You also have the option of using the blue screen technique (colour key), masking and transitions.
The “OBS Studio” also records the associated sound or enables the use of external audio hardware, such as a microphone. Up to five audio sources (three microphones/aux sources and two audio files) can be recorded in parallel.
This open source Live streaming server for audio and video supports a number of streaming platforms such as Twitch, Dailymotion, YouTube, Smashcast, Facebook and Beam.pro. Furthermore, alternatively, we can send directly via your own server. For fast work, we can control all important actions with hotkeys, for example starting a stream or recording or switching off a microphone. The auto-configuration wizard is practical for beginners.
Tips:
- How to Live stream games on Youtube using OBS software
- How to live stream your gameplay on Facebook using OBS and NDI Tools
It is available for Windows, Linux and macOS.
Plex Media Server
Plex Media Server comes with two components: Plex Media Server and Plex clients. The Plex Media Server is a desktop application and gives the Windows, Linux and macOS compatibility. Also, some NAS devices offer in-built Plex Media server option to turn the NAS server into an Audio/image/video streaming server. You can also install the Plex cloud on without any hardware on Dropbox, Google Drive, and OneDrive. Even the Plex Media Server can run on NETGEAR Nighthawk X10 Wireless. Install Plex on Windows 10 with just one command.
This client-server offer client for almost every platform to play the media. The clients available for mobile devices, smart TVs, and streaming boxes, a web app, and the Plex Home Theater. See: Install Plex media server on Ubuntu 19.04 -Simplest method
openflixr 2
OpenFLIXR Media Server is a full-fledged all-in-one media server that can handle the videos, images, and audios. You can install it on any virtual machine like VirtualBox, VMware, ESXi, Parallels Desktop, KVM or Microsoft Hyper-V. It brings some well-known open-source project together such as CouchPotato, SickRage, Headphones, and SABnzbd. Completely web-based and includes monitoring and management tools. It also features Plex Media Server as well as torrent. Install it on VirtualBox
Opencast
Opencast is video streaming server but for corporate events. It lets you recorded any video or event schedule on specific days and times of the week and distribute it to different channels.
Features:
- Split-screen player for viewing video and slide content simultaneously
- Heat maps integration to get most watched video analytics
- REST APIs make it easy to extend to or integrate players
- Easy player interface customization and localization
- Customizable permissions settings
- User directory integration (LDAP, CAS etc.)
- Adaptive Streaming support with HTTP Live Streaming (HLS)
- And more…
If you know some other best and free opensource videos streaming server please let us know and we will try to add that to this list.
Other Resources:
Hi
first thanks for posting this article
The best option now is to create one for free, (YouPHPTube (https://www.youphptube.com/))
It also provides an integrated Live Stream Server and Player.
Not to mention the variety of plugins that further improve the service.
Best of all is that it is opensource and uses an HTML5 player compatible with mobile devices
Amazing blog! Do you have any tips for aspiring writers?
I’m hoping to start my own site soon but I’m a
little lost on everything. Would you propose starting with a free platform lie WordPress or go for a paid option? There are so many options out there that I’m completely confused…
Any suggestions? Many thanks
Ola
Nice share.
I think the most stable cccam are those from Fishbone cccam
I would like to see more posts like this
Thanks
do you know of any services that will allow sports i work at a local school system and now looking for one. we dont stream video very often but mostly audio from our local am station with permission?
Thanks
Here is a link to some Audio streaming software and servers, we covered earlier; all of them are open sources and free. Maybe one of them would help you to fulfill your requirement.
Link: https://www.how2shout.com/tools/best-open-source-free-music-server-software.html
nice article. I’ve read many articles and this is a good article.
I think you have given a nice list of free and open source streaming servers. Scopehosts is giving an offer on the streaming server.
Hi H2S Team,
Thanks for the details. You can review Ant Media Server. Ant Media Server is also Open Source Media Server. Ant Media Server Github Page: https://github.com/ant-media/Ant-Media-Server Ant Media Server Google Group: https://groups.google.com/forum/m/#!forum/ant-media-server Also review website: https://antmedia.io Best Wishes
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HI I am looking for a free Video streaming service that I can upload video clips of songs I have made to stream like radio station Ill be putting these streaming clips into a VR project i am creating Does anyone know of what i can use?
Awesome post.
You actually make it appear so easy along with your presentation however
I in finding this topic to be actually something which I think
I’d by no means understand. It seems too complicated and extremely vast for me.
I’m having a look forward for your next publish, I’ll try to get the grasp of it!
good to know i have many options…..Thanks for the post
Thanks for excellent article on Video streaming servers. My search was for Public Library system on the Island of Bermuda that would very much like such option as I have here in New Jersey with Hoopla video and Audio streaming services through relationship to my local Library.
At this time it seems like BlogEngine is the top blogging platform out there right now.
(from what I’ve read) Is that what you are using on your blog?
While I do really appreciate this article. None of these are really open source. They all seem to come with an Enterprise version that contains, well, basically all the features you would like and the $$$ entry points are pretty procy (see: 3k a month subscription fee). Again, this was really informative, but truly free open source, use it at will ’till your brains explode software platforms…these do not seem to be.
I dont think that kind of open source exists anymore as it’s not sustainable.
If you’re putting up enterprise-grade systems you need that level of support and that costs money.
There is no such thing as ‘free’ anyway as you have to pay for hardware or a server to put it on, so it’s false economy to think open source is free, it’s far from free, quite often more expensive (with free licence) than closed source in many cases, especially with video and audio streaming in 2023.