Nodejs Media Server: The Complete Guide for 2024

Introduction to Nodejs Media Server

What is a Nodejs Media Server?

• Live streaming

  : Broadcast gaming, events, or lectures in real time
• Video-on-demand (VOD): Serve pre-recorded media content to users
• Conferencing: Powering voice and video calls for web applications, often leveraging a

  Video Calling API

  for seamless integration.

Key Features of Nodejs Media Servers

• Protocol support: Comprehensive support for RTMP, RTMPS, HTTP/FLV, HLS, and WebRTC ensures compatibility with most broadcasting and playback tools. For mobile development, check out

  webrtc android

  to enable real-time communication on Android devices.
• Low latency & high performance: Node.js’s event-driven architecture is ideal for minimizing latency and supporting thousands of concurrent connections.
• Static file serving & recording: Easily serve VOD or recorded live streams as static files.
• Authentication & security: Integrate token-based authentication, password protection, and HTTPS to secure media streams.
• Extensibility & plugin support: Add custom modules or plugins for analytics, transcoding, chat, and more, leveraging Node.js’s vast ecosystem.

Setting Up a Nodejs Media Server

Installation Prerequisites

• Node.js (v16+ recommended for 2024)
• NPM (Node Package Manager)
• FFmpeg (for transcoding and recording)
• OBS Studio (for live streaming tests; optional)

Installing Node-Media-Server

1npm install node-media-server
2

1mkdir my-media-server
2cd my-media-server
3npm init -y
4npm install node-media-server
5

Basic Configuration

1{
2  "rtmp": {
3    "port": 1935,
4    "chunk_size": 60000,
5    "gop_cache": true,
6    "ping": 30,
7    "ping_timeout": 60
8  },
9  "http": {
10    "port": 8000,
11    "mediaroot": "./media",
12    "allow_origin": "*"
13  },
14  "trans": {
15    "ffmpeg": "/usr/bin/ffmpeg",
16    "tasks": [
17      {
18        "app": "live",
19        "hls": true,
20        "hlsFlags": "[hls_time=2:hls_list_size=3:hls_flags=delete_segments]",
21        "dash": true,
22        "dashFlags": "[f=dash:window_size=3:extra_window_size=5]"
23      }
24    ]
25  }
26}
27

Running and Testing Your Nodejs Media Server

1const NodeMediaServer = require('node-media-server');
2const config = require('./config.json');
3
4const nms = new NodeMediaServer(config);
5nms.run();
6

1node server.js
2

1ffmpeg -re -i input.mp4 -c copy -f flv rtmp://localhost/live/stream
2

Streaming Protocols Supported by Nodejs Media Server

• RTMP/RTMPS: The Real-Time Messaging Protocol (and its secure variant) is widely used for ingesting live streams from encoders (OBS, FFmpeg). RTMP offers low latency and robust delivery but requires a compatible player or server for playback.
• HTTP/HTTP-FLV: HTTP-FLV enables live streaming over HTTP, allowing HTML5 players to fetch video streams with minimal latency. HTTP/2 support in 2024 further improves performance and scalability.
• WebRTC: WebRTC provides peer-to-peer, ultra-low latency streaming directly to browsers and mobile devices—ideal for conferencing and real-time interactions. If you're building with React, see how to implement a

  react video call

  for seamless browser-based communication.

Advanced Use Cases for Nodejs Media Server

Live Streaming with Nodejs Media Server

1ffmpeg -f v4l2 -i /dev/video0 -f flv rtmp://localhost/live/stream
2

Video on Demand (VOD) with Nodejs Media Server

1{
2  "rtmp": { ... },
3  "http": { ... },
4  "record": {
5    "enable": true,
6    "path": "./media/recordings"
7  }
8}
9

Authentication and Security in Nodejs Media Server

1nms.on('prePublish', (id, StreamPath, args) => {
2  if (args.token !== 'your-secret-token') {
3    let session = nms.getSession(id);
4    session.reject();
5  }
6});
7

Scaling and Performance Optimization in Nodejs Media Server

• GOP (Group of Pictures) cache: Speeds up playback start and reduces buffering for new viewers.
• Clustering: Run multiple Nodejs media server instances across CPU cores or machines.
• Load balancing: Distribute client connections and stream ingestion across the cluster using a reverse proxy like NGINX.

• Enable GOP caching for live channels.
• Use clustering with PM2 or Node.js’s native cluster module.
• Deploy a CDN or edge cache for global scale.

Popular Nodejs Media Server Projects & Comparisons

Conclusion