Building a Multi-Platform Live Streaming App

Today, live-streaming platforms pose a serious threat to traditional television services. Amid the skyrocketing popularity of video broadcasting apps, media businesses and content creators are looking for new ways to reach the widest possible audience and capture viewers' attention. Cross-platform streaming, or streaming to multiple platforms simultaneously, can be an excellent choice in this context. In our article, we will discuss this concept and the specifics of building multistream platforms.

Cross-platform streaming can be defined as the process of broadcasting live video content to multiple platforms at the same time. 

Traditional live streaming presupposes delivering content in real time to just one platform like YouTube Live, Twitch, or Facebook Live. In contrast, multistream technology provides content creators with a wider range of possibilities. The distribution of streams to several platforms at the same time is usually achieved with the help of specialized software or services. These multistream solutions help to handle the technical complexities involved in sending the same video feed to multiple destinations in parallel.

Analyzing the benefits of such solutions can be extremely valuable for those considering the development of their own multistream platforms. What new opportunities can multistreaming bring to users?

• Wider Audience Reach
  Cross platform video streaming allows content creators to tap into multiple platforms’ audiences simultaneously. This increased visibility can attract new viewers and followers.
• Flexibility and Diversity
  Different platforms are traditionally intended for different types of users and thus gather various segments of viewers. Multistreaming lets creators reach diverse audiences and pursue multiple goals simultaneously.
• Time Efficiency
  Creating separate live streams for each platform can be time-consuming. Multistreaming allows the same content to be delivered everywhere at once, saving significant time and effort.
• Deep analysis of audience preferences
  When businesses and content creators work with multiple platforms, they gain access to more comprehensive data. This enables a deeper understanding of how their content is perceived by different audience segments. Insights into viewers’ interests, preferences, and behaviors allow for more informed decisions on where to focus efforts in the future.
• Reliability and Backup
  If one platform experiences technical issues, the stream remains live on other platforms, minimizing disruption to video broadcasts.

Developing a solution for streaming to multiple platforms requires balancing performance, scalability, and user experience. Building an app of this kind involves several crucial considerations. Here are some recommendations from our development team:

• Identify Your Target Audience
  Determine who will use your solution to deliver content across platforms. Knowing this will help you identify the range of platforms to focus on initially.
• Set Clear Goals
  Defining the objectives of your project will make it easier to determine the core functionality required.
• Choose a Monetization Strategy
  Your monetization approach may impact feature requirements. Many multistream platforms today use a subscription model to grant users access to their features.
• Find a Reliable Development Team
  It’s important to work with experienced developers skilled in building live-streaming apps. Review the team’s portfolio and customer reviews to ensure their expertise.
• Ensure Stable Performance
  While functionality is important, video quality and broadcasting stability are critical for live streaming. It may be wiser to prioritize excellent transmission quality over extra features to ensure stability under various conditions.
• Prioritize Security
  During transmission, streaming data can be vulnerable to interception, leading to risks like unauthorized access or piracy. Use secure streaming protocols, implement data encryption, and consider DDoS protection and other security measures to protect your content.

If you’re planning to launch custom multistream software, it’s a good idea to think through its functionality beforehand. Custom products can vary significantly, but there are some essential features typically included in most platforms.

To build a successful platform, it’s vital to consider the convenience of different audiences, including both streamers and viewers.

• Multiple Platform Management
  First, your solution should support all major streaming platforms, such as YouTube, Twitch, and Facebook Live. Additionally, users should have convenient tools to manage these platforms. A simple dashboard where users can handle their connected streaming accounts is essential. While it may not be practical to support every platform, you can prioritize the most in-demand options at first. With multistream technology, you can also offer a custom RTMP (Real-Time Messaging Protocol) URL feature. This enables streamers to broadcast to any platform, even if direct support is unavailable.
• Scheduling
  Scheduling allows users to set up multistreams in advance for various platforms, add descriptions, and promote streams (if supported by the platforms). You can also enable recurring streams with predefined schedules, simplifying the process of managing regular content.
• Analytics and Monitoring
  Enhance your platform with tools for tracking stream performance. Users should be able to view real-time metrics, such as network speed, viewer count, and latency on each platform. Detailed statistics, including total viewers and engagement metrics like likes, comments, and shares, will also be valuable. Storing analytics from past streams can allow users to review audience behavior and track performance trends over time.
• Customization and Branding
  Allow creators to add branding elements, such as logos or watermarks, to their streams for a consistent brand presence across platforms. You can also provide customizable settings for each platform, enabling streamers to adjust titles, descriptions, and thumbnail images to suit different audiences.
• Recording and Archiving
  Automatic recording and archiving tools are highly valuable for streamers. These tools can save live streams upon completion, allowing creators to download content for post-production or repurpose it for video-on-demand or other services.

As a rule, a tech stack should be discussed with a development team hired for a project. To make a final decision, it is necessary to know the exact set of features and your specific tech requirements.

However, let us share a list of the most commonly used technologies and tools for creating different types of real-time streaming solutions.

• Programming languages and frameworks (Swift, Kotlin, Node.js, Python, Java, React, Flutter);
• Streaming protocols (RTMP, HLS, WebRTC, SRT);
• Video delivery and encoding (H.264, VP8, HEVC);
• Cloud platforms (AWS, Google Cloud, Azure);
• Database (MySQL, Oracle, PostgreSQL, MongoDB);
• Content delivery networks (Cloudfare, Google Cloud CDN, Fastly).

Multistream platforms are complex technological solutions. Creating such software requires not only strong technical skills but also a deep understanding of potential challenges. The better prepared you and your development team are for potential pitfalls, the faster you’ll be able to address them.

1. Real-Time Video Delivery
   Maintaining quality and stability in low-latency video streaming across various platforms is crucial, especially when serving users in different geographical locations. This can be challenging, as distance affects latency and data transfer speed.

   To address this, using geographic load balancing is recommended. This technique routes users to the nearest server, reducing latency and minimizing the distance data has to travel.

2. Performance and Scalability
   Streaming platforms often experience sudden spikes in viewers, particularly during popular live events. Ensuring that your platform can handle a large number of concurrent viewers across different platforms without performance degradation is essential.

   Several methods can help address these issues. First, using scalable cloud solutions like AWS or Azure provides on-demand scaling capabilities for multistream platforms. Additionally, server load balancing can help manage sudden traffic spikes.

   Another recommendation is to adopt a microservice architecture, which divides the entire solution into small, independent services. This modular structure allows developers to scale specific components as needed.

   To enhance performance during high-traffic loads, implementing a CDN with edge servers can deliver streams closer to viewers, improving speed and reliability.

3. Support for Platform-Specific Features and Monetization
   Each platform has its own monetization rules and exclusive features, such as subscription models, ads, or donations. Failure to adhere to these platform-specific rules can limit revenue opportunities for streamers or even result in legal issues. It’s vital to understand each platform’s requirements to enable effective multistreaming.

   One key consideration is the integration of APIs provided by each platform. These APIs support native monetization features like subscriptions, ads, or donations.

   Furthermore, for businesses offering multistreaming capabilities, regular monitoring of each platform’s policies is essential. Staying compliant with existing requirements helps avoid penalties or bans.

Multiplatform live streaming apps can greatly facilitate a lot of processes for content creators and video production businesses. Instead of dealing with each streaming platform separately, users of a multistream service can efficiently distribute their content to multiple audiences at the same time.

These solutions offer a wide range of new possibilities, which explains the growing demand for them. If you are also considering the idea of launching such a platform, we, at Cogniteq, are always open to cooperation. With our expertise in building live streaming apps, we will successfully cope with projects of any complexity.

To learn more about our experience and services, do not hesitate to contact us.