Ashok Lalwani

It’s been just a little past 90 days since we launched the beta version of Low-Latency Live Streaming, and it’s been great seeing how our customers are using it and how the ecosystem is progressing in adopting Apple’s LL-HLS. Plus, we’ve continued to build out additional features around Low-Latency Live Streaming and are excited to share the updates with you.

Since launch, we’ve had a variety of customers across a variety of use cases try out low latency. These include:

Live shopping: These types of interactive apps are popping up, creating new shoppable experiences.

Virtual events: These include concerts, meetups, conferences, and even a wedding app that lets guests throw virtual rice.

Creator platforms: These apps allow artists to connect with their fans off stage.

Demuxed: This event is for video engineers and we of course tested our own low-latency product for it this year.

What’s changed in the player ecosystem

One of the reasons we released in beta was because we were one of the first to support Apple’s LL-HLS open standard at scale. Being one of the first meant we had to wait for some others in the ecosystem to catch up. The good news is that there’s been a lot of great progress:

iOS 15: Bug fixes for playback improvements

HLS.js 1.0.11: Bux fix for live start up (release notes)

Video.js 7.16.0: Improved playback

These player improvements help support smoother, more reliable playback for low-latency video.

Other updates from Mux

Switch latency modes with a new API

This API lets you change the latency mode for live streams that have already been created. Previously, to change the latency mode, you’d have to create a new live stream. With this new API, you can now also change your passthrough value or update the reconnect window value for both live streams and on-demand assets.

<mux-video> element

We introduced a Mux-flavored HTML video tag. Use it the same way you would use the <video> element to make sure you have reliable HLS playback and Mux Data correctly instrumented. Now you can build low-latency video into your app with just 3 lines of code.

Coming soon

Keep your eyes on Mux Data—in the coming weeks we’ll be launching a new metric to calculate live stream latency, which will help you understand how long it takes to get live content from the encoders to the end users for viewing. If you’re interested in testing the beta, you can sign up here. If you’re not already using Mux Data, learn more about getting set up here.

We’re excited to bring you these updates, but we’re not done! We’re continuing to work on further lowering latency, improving the overall reliability of live streams, and improving player interoperability. We’re always open to feedback–send us your suggestions, questions, or thoughts about your experience with Low-Latency Live Streaming.




It’s been just a little past 90 days since we launched the beta version of 

, and it’s been great seeing how our customers are using it and how the ecosystem is progressing in adopting Apple’s LL-HLS. Plus, we’ve continued to build out additional features around Low-Latency Live Streaming and are excited to share the updates with you.

Since launch, we’ve had a variety of customers across a variety of use cases try out low latency. These include:

: These types of interactive apps are popping up, creating new shoppable experiences.

: These include concerts, meetups, conferences, and even a wedding app that lets guests throw virtual rice.

: These apps allow artists to connect with their fans off stage.

: This event is for video engineers and we of course tested our own low-latency product for it this year.

One of the reasons we released in beta was because we were one of the first to support Apple’s LL-HLS open standard at scale. Being one of the first meant we had to wait for some others in the ecosystem to catch up. The good news is that there’s been a lot of great progress:

iOS 15: Bug fixes for playback improvements

HLS.js 1.0.11: Bux fix for live start up (

These player improvements help support smoother, more reliable playback for low-latency video.

This API lets you change the latency mode for live streams that have already been created. Previously, to change the latency mode, you’d have to create a new live stream. With this new API, you can now also change your passthrough value or update the reconnect window value for both live streams and on-demand assets.

. Use it the same way you would use the <video> element to make sure you have reliable HLS playback and Mux Data correctly instrumented. Now you can build low-latency video into your app with just 3 lines of code.

Keep your eyes on Mux Data—in the coming weeks we’ll be launching a new metric to calculate live stream latency, which will help you understand how long it takes to get live content from the encoders to the end users for viewing. If you’re interested in testing the beta, you can sign up 

. If you’re not already using Mux Data, learn more about getting set up 

We’re excited to bring you these updates, but we’re not done! We’re continuing to work on further lowering latency, improving the overall reliability of live streams, and improving player interoperability. We’re always open to feedback–

 your suggestions, questions, or thoughts about your experience with Low-Latency Live Streaming.

A post-launch update including improved ecosystem support and some additional (new!) features. 

Bonnie Pecevich

Low-Latency Live Streaming: 90-day post-launch

Updated 8/5/21: This feature is now Generally Available and enabled by default! 🎉 Check out our guide for details.

Have you ever wondered how you can synchronize video playback with other components on your webpage? Or better yet, created a watch party with viewers playing the same live stream? Wonder no more -- Mux Video can now capture “epoch time” of each frame received and include that timing information to the HLS Manifest as EXT-X-PROGRAM-DATE-TIME. This feature has just moved from closed beta and we’re accepting interested developers into our open beta before we offer this out-of-the-box with our Live Video APIs.

Interested developers should fill out the form below to start the beta process. Not sure if this is something you are interested in? Check out the FAQ!

We are looking forward to the awesome ways you are going to be able to use this API!



FAQ

What are common use cases?

Currently developers are approximating when aspects of a live stream are occurring by using webhooks. The Program Date Time feature helps alleviate these approximation issues by getting a closer and more accurate time.

Synchronize live streams with experiences around the video playback like chats, activity feeds, fitness stats collection, etc.

Co-Viewing of the live event with each viewer watching the same moment at the same time. No spoilers!

When are we planning on launching?

We are in open beta to try and gather more data on how people are using this feature and how they are using it with as many different players as possible. Once we have had a chance to gather that data, we will then offer this out of the box with Mux Video APIs.

What players do you currently work with?

hls.js

JW Player

Video.js

Theo Player

iOS Native

Android Exoplayer

Bitmovin

React Native

What does it look like after I sign up?

Once you have signed up we will send you the information to be able to test the feature.

Will this cost extra?

The Program Date Time feature will not cost anything extra during the beta, nor will we start to charge for access to it when it is released to everyone.



Interested and want to learn more about the importance of a feature like Program Date Time? Watch this Demuxed 2018 presentation by Seth Maddison on How to Synchronize your Watches: Cross-platform stream synchronization of HLS and DASH. (psst. Mux is the organizing sponsor of Demuxed’s annual conference).




 This feature is now Generally Available and enabled by default! 

Have you ever wondered how you can synchronize video playback with other components on your webpage? Or better yet, created a watch party with viewers playing the same live stream? Wonder no more -- Mux Video can now capture “epoch time” of each frame received and include that timing information to the HLS Manifest as EXT-X-PROGRAM-DATE-TIME. This feature has just moved from closed beta and we’re accepting interested developers into our open beta 

 we offer this out-of-the-box with our Live Video APIs.

Interested developers should fill out the form below to start the beta process. Not sure if this is something you are interested in? Check out the FAQ!

We are looking forward to the awesome ways you are going to be able to use this API!

Currently developers are approximating when aspects of a live stream are occurring by using webhooks. The Program Date Time feature helps alleviate these approximation issues by getting a closer and more accurate time.

Synchronize live streams with experiences around the video playback like chats, activity feeds, fitness stats collection, etc.

Co-Viewing of the live event with each viewer watching the same moment at the same time. No spoilers!

We are in open beta to try and gather more data on how people are using this feature and how they are using it with as many different players as possible. Once we have had a chance to gather that data, we will then offer this out of the box with Mux Video APIs.

Once you have signed up we will send you the information to be able to test the feature.

The Program Date Time feature will not cost anything extra during the beta, nor will we start to charge for access to it when it is released to everyone.

Interested and want to learn more about the importance of a feature like Program Date Time? Watch this Demuxed 2018 presentation by Seth Maddison on 

Synchronize your Watches: Cross-platform stream synchronization of HLS and DASH.

Ashok Lalwani

Low-Latency Live Streaming: 90-day post-launch

Program Date Time: Open Beta Launch!

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