IPTV OTT Encoding & Streaming
HTML Web Video
The HTML5 <video> element is a standard HTML5
feature that enables embedding and playing video content directly in web pages without
requiring external plugins such as Flash. The <video> tag can embed video
on-demand or live streams, supporting formats such as MP4, WebM, and OGG.
Most web browsers support HTML5 video, including Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Safari, and Edge.
Stream from YouTube, Twitch, and Thousands of Video Web Sites
IPVTL supports streaming from YouTube and other video platforms using yt-dlp. yt-dlp has been included in the IPVTL installation package since version 6.5. To stream from a YouTube URL in IPVTL, select yt-dlp as source format and enter the page URL to start streaming.
Pleaes note some YouTube URLs do not allow downloading with the default format. To work
around this, try specifying a different format for streaming in IPVTL using the yt-dlp
"-f" option. Simply append the option to the video URL in the IPVTL source address,
like
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abcdefg -f18
For more details see
yt-dlp
format instructions.
Note: yt-dlp works like a web browser. Some YouTube pages require user authentication. Before streaming from such videos with IPVTL, open a web browser on the same computer and verify that the video can be played in the web page. If user login is required by the video site, you will need to provide a browser cookies file to yt-dlp. See how to obtain a cookies file using a browser extension. Export the cookies.txt file from your browser and configure it in IPVTL Global Settings.
Stream Live Video to Web Browsers
IPVTL can generate live HTML5 MP4 video since version 6.2.4.4. To do this, select MP4
over HTTP as the target format and enter a local HTTP or HTTPS URL with port number in
the Target URL field, such as http://192.168.1.1:9527/ipvt_ch1.
You may notice the output address is similar to MPEG-TS over HTTP output. The difference is that MP4 over HTTP can be played directly in web browsers.
Once the channel starts running, the output video can be played in the IPVTL web administration interface. Simply click 📺 Preview button and the video will appear in the IPVTL logo area. See the demo video below:
Using this approach, you can also stream live videos on your own website by integrating the HTML5 video tag in your web page, as shown below:
<video width="320" height="240" controls> <source src="http://192.168.1.1:9527/ipvt_ch1" type="video/mp4"> </video>
Tip: To output encrypted HTTPS traffic instead of unencrypted HTTP, enable SSL and provide the SSL certificate and key files in Global Settings.