ApsaraVideo Live is an audio and video streaming platform built on advanced technologies for content ingestion, delivery, and large-scale distributed real-time transcoding. Powered by a global network of over 3,200 points of presence (POPs) and nine live centers, it provides easy access to smooth, high-definition, low-latency live streaming with support for massive concurrent viewers.
Service architecture
The following diagram illustrates the end-to-end architecture of the ApsaraVideo Live service.
Live stream ingest: A streamer captures live content using a camera or software. The content is then reliably pushed as a live stream to Alibaba Cloud live centers using the Push SDK.
Media processing: At a live center, the stream undergoes on-demand processing with features such as transcoding, time shifting, recording, and snapshotting.
Content delivery and playback: The processed stream is distributed to viewers via acceleration nodes. Integration with the ApsaraVideo Player SDK helps ensure smooth playback on mobile devices.
Live-to-VOD workflows: Recorded content can be automatically sent to ApsaraVideo VOD for on-demand viewing, short-form video editing, and further sharing, creating a seamless connection between live streaming and short-form video production.
Features
To support a wide range of live streaming scenarios, ApsaraVideo Live provides Real-Time Streaming (RTS), ApsaraVideo Real-time Communication (ARTC), and production studio features, alongside standard streaming services.
Feature | Core advantages | End-to-end latency | Use cases | Billing |
Low-cost solution that supports large-scale, high-concurrency, one-way viewing. |
| Media distribution for low-interaction scenarios: Ideal for broadcast media, live shows, and commercial streaming, where audience viewing is the priority and playback synchronization differences between viewers caused by network variations are acceptable. | ||
Extremely low latency and high synchronization among viewers. |
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Note For more information, see Differences between standard streaming and RTS. | ||
Supports real-time audio and video communication among multiple users for the highest level of interactivity. | 150–400 ms. | Media communication for high-interaction scenarios: Ideal for online chat and Real-time Conversational AI scenarios, enabling co-streaming to turn viewers into participants and enhance user engagement. | ||
Provides professional, cloud-based director capabilities for content creation and repurposing. | Depends on the selected output streaming solution. | Integrating features such as video AI recognition, bilingual translation, ad replacement, and interactive capabilities to create innovative production effects. Ideal for media content organization in gaming and e-sports, e-commerce live streaming, online education, and live events. |
ApsaraVideo Live also offers media processing capabilities such as transcoding, recording, time shifting, snapshotting, and content moderation, as well as additional features like interactive messaging and beauty effects. For a detailed overview, see Functions and features.
SDK compatibility
SDK/Platform | Android | iOS | Web | WeChat Mini Program | Windows | Flutter | HarmonyOS | Uni-app |
Billing
ApsaraVideo Live billing includes charges for live streaming acceleration, media processing, and other services. For detailed billing rules, see Billing overview.
For the prices of ApsaraVideo Live billable items, see ApsaraVideo Live Pricing.
To quickly activate the service, understand the ApsaraVideo Live billing model and follow the instructions in Activate ApsaraVideo Live and purchase resource plans.