ApsaraVideo Live:Get started with ApsaraVideo Live

Before you start

Read the following topics to learn the basics of ApsaraVideo Live:

• What is ApsaraVideo Live?

• Terms

• Billing

Procedure

1. Add ingest and streaming domains: ApsaraVideo Live implements live streaming based on domain names. This guide shows how to prepare domain names in the console.

2. Add CNAME records to enable acceleration: This step binds your domain name to an accelerated domain name assigned by Alibaba Cloud to ensure fast and stable live content delivery.

3. Associate ingest and streaming domains: ApsaraVideo Live uses edge ingest to ingest live streams to the optimal points of presence (POPs). Therefore, you must associate a streaming domain with an ingest domain.

4. Generate ingest and streaming URLs: An ingest URL is the endpoint to which a stream is pushed. A streaming URL is the endpoint to play the stream. This guide shows how to generate URLs using the tool in the console.

5. Ingest and play a stream: This guide shows how to use the demo application of Push SDK to ingest a stream and VLC media player to play it.

Step 1: Add ingest and streaming domains

To use ApsaraVideo Live, you must add an ingest domain and a streaming domain. The two cannot be the same, but can be different subdomains of a primary one. 

For example, you can use a.test.com as the ingest domain and b.test.com as the streaming domain.

Add domain names:

1. Prepare domain names.

   • If you do not have one, register one with Alibaba Cloud Domain Names. 

   • To provide services in the Chinese mainland, you must apply for an Internet Content Provider (ICP) number for your domain name.

     Note

     • To try the basic features, select a live center in a region outside the Chinese mainland and set the acceleration region to Outside Chinese Mainland. This eliminates the need for ICP filing.

     • If the ingest and streaming domains are subdomains, ICP filling is required only for the primary one.

2. Log on to the ApsaraVideo Live console.

3. In the left-side navigation pane, click Domain Names. The Domain Management page appears.

4. Click Add Domain.

   To add a subdomain, append a prefix to the domain name you have registered. The subdomain does not require separate registration. Ensure you can differentiate between the ingest and streaming subdomains.

5. In the Add Domain Name step, configure parameters as needed.

   Important

   When you add a domain name for the first time, ApsaraVideo Live verifies its ownership.

   

   Show parameters

   Parameter	Valid value	Description
   Domain Type	Streaming Domain Ingest Domain	The type of the domain name. It cannot be modified once set. Note You cannot add a domain name as both an ingest domain and a streaming domain.
   Domain Name	N/A	Enter the domain name that you want to accelerate. Note the following: In most cases, use a subdomain as an accelerated domain name. Example: demo.aliyundoc.com. ApsaraVideo Live does not support wildcard domain names, such as *.aliyundoc.com. Duplicate accelerated domain names are not allowed. If the error message The specified domain already exists is displayed, check whether the domain name is added to other cloud services such as ApsaraVideo VOD. You can add up to 20 domain names to ApsaraVideo Live for each account. If the average daily peak bandwidth of your domain names exceeds 50 Mbit/s, you can submit a ticket to increase the quota of domain names. Make sure that the quota increase does not incur business risks. Content served from the domain name must meet the compliance requirements of ApsaraVideo Live. Note The specified subdomain must belong to the same Alibaba Cloud account. If not, an error message appears.
   Acceleration Region	Chinese Mainland Global Outside Chinese Mainland	If the streamers or viewers are located in the Chinese mainland, select Chinese Mainland. If they are located around the world, select Global. If they are located in countries and regions outside the Chinese mainland, including Hong Kong (China), Macao (China), and Taiwan (China), select Outside Chinese Mainland. In the following cases, ICP filing is required: Acceleration Region is set to Chinese Mainland or Global. Acceleration Region is set to Outside Chinese Mainland, but the selected live center is in Chinese Mainland. For further guidance, see How do I select the acceleration region for a domain name?
   Live Center	See Supported regions.	A live center provides media processing services in the cloud, such as snapshot capture, recording, transcoding, and production studio. The live center of an ingest domain must be located in the same region as that of the associated streaming domain. This parameter cannot be modified once it is set. For further guidance, see How do I select a live center.

6. Note down the generated CNAME record for use in the next step.

   

Step 2: Add CNAME records to enable acceleration

To accelerate content delivery in ApsaraVideo Live, add the CNAME record at your DNS provider to map your domain name to the CNAME assigned by ApsaraVideo Live. The following example shows how to add a CNAME record when your DNS provider is Alibaba Cloud. 

1. Log on to the Alibaba Cloud DNS console. 

2. In the left-side navigation pane, click Authoritative DNS Resolution.

3. Find the domain name you want to manage and click DNS Settings in the Actions column. 

4. Click Add DNS Record and configure the following information:

   Parameter	Description
   Record Type	Select CNAME from the drop-down list.
   Hostname	Specify a prefix for the domain name. For common prefixes, see the following table.
   DNS Request Source	Use the default value.
   Record Value	Enter the CNAME that you obtained.
   TTL Period	Use the default value.

   Prefix	Example	Description
   demo	demo.aliyundoc.com	The subdomain name.
   @	aliyundoc.com	The root domain name.
   *	*.aliyundoc.com	The wildcard domain name.

5. Click OK. 

Step 3: Associate the streaming domain with the ingest domain

ApsaraVideo Live uses the edge ingest method. To ingest and play streams, you must associate the streaming domain with the ingest domain. 

1. In the left-side navigation pane, click Domain Names. On the page that appears, find the streaming domain that you added and click Domain Settings in the Actions column. You are directed to Streaming Management > Basic Settings.

2. Click the Stream Ingest Information tab.

3. Click Add Stream Ingest Information or the Edit icon next to Ingest Domain and select the ingest domain that you want to associate.

Step 4: Generate ingest and streaming URLs

URLs are used to ingest and play streams. You can use the live URL generator in the console to generate them.

1. Log on to the ApsaraVideo Live console.

2. In the left-side navigation pane, choose Toolbox > URL Generators.

3. On the Live URL Generator tab, configure the parameters.

   

   Parameter	Description
   Streaming Domain	Select the streaming domain added in Step 1.
   Authentication	The authentication type and validity period are displayed after you select the streaming domain.  By default, type A signing is used, which is based on the timestamp and signature. To modify validity period, see Configure URL signing.
   Ingest Domain	If you have associated domains, the associated ingest domain is displayed. Otherwise, you must associate them first. If you do not need ingest URLs, you can leave it empty.
   AppName	A unique identifier for distinguishing live streaming applications or business scenarios.
   StreamName	The unique name of the stream.
   Transcoding Template	Select a transcoding template. If you leave this parameter empty, the URL for the original quality stream is generated.  The system displays transcoding templates that match the specified AppName.

4. Click Generate URLs. 

   Copy the generated URLs or scan the QR codes to use them.

   To learn about how URLs are constructed, see Generate ingest and streaming URLs.

Step 5: Ingest and play a stream

References

• To learn more about the features of ApsaraVideo Live, see Feature overview.

• To learn how to add CNAME records at other DNS providers, see Add a CNAME record.

FAQ

• FAQ about domain name management

• FAQ about live center and stuttering

• FAQ about URL signing

• Streaming protocols supported by ApsaraVideo Live

• FAQ about billing