# Is it a good idea to replace OpenTok based system to self managed wowza? **URL:** \ **Category:** Wowza Streaming Engine\ **Created:** [August 19, 2019, 8:05pm UTC](https://community.wowza.com/t/is-it-a-good-idea-to-replace-opentok-based-system-to-self-managed-wowza/53816 "2019-08-19T20:05:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lokesh\_Lokesh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ce7236/32.png) [@Lokesh\_Lokesh](https://community.wowza.com/u/Lokesh_Lokesh)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2019, 8:05pm UTC](https://community.wowza.com/t/is-it-a-good-idea-to-replace-opentok-based-system-to-self-managed-wowza/53816/1 "2019-08-19T20:05:16Z")
Hello Everyone, I am a full-stack developer working on a live streaming video app, We have an application which uses OpenTok and deals with live streaming of publishers to the audience on the same platform. The host can also choose up to 3 social streaming options like, Facebook, Youtube, Periscope or Custom RTMP to stream to along with our own platform. We are consuming over 500,000 streaming minutes every month and are expecting this usage to go even higher in coming time. We would like to look for alternatives to OpenTok because of 2 main reasons. One of them is pricing and the other is flexibility to control stream qualities and some other features which are not provided by OpenTok. It would really be helpful if someone can guide us to figure out if Wowza is a better option in this case or if there is any other streaming server we can use. In case Wowza is an option we should go for, is there any resources from where we could get help learning more about the architecture of wowza. I have found this PDF manual for wowza, [https://www.wowza.com/resources/WowzaStreamingEngine\_UsersGuide.pdf](https://www.wowza.com/resources/WowzaStreamingEngine_UsersGuide.pdf) Appreciate if anyone can guide me if this guide is what I should follow as a beginner in Wowza and WebRTC or is there any other resources that can provide an even better learning experience. Thanks in advance. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/community.wowza.com/system/32/447_2.png) [@system](https://community.wowza.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2019, 8:25pm UTC](https://community.wowza.com/t/is-it-a-good-idea-to-replace-opentok-based-system-to-self-managed-wowza/53816/2 "2019-08-27T20:25:00Z")
To get started quickly I would recommend referencing the following article. [https://www.wowza.com/docs/wowza-streaming-engine-getting-started](https://www.wowza.com/docs/wowza-streaming-engine-getting-started) As you state that you are a developer and want to get familiar with the details of Wowza Streaming Engine then you might be interested in looking at our Java API. [https://www.wowza.com/docs/wowza-streaming-engine-java-api](https://www.wowza.com/docs/wowza-streaming-engine-java-api) Additional information for developers can be found at the page below. [https://www.wowza.com/resources/developers](https://www.wowza.com/resources/developers) The Java API reference documentation can be found in both PDF and HTML at the following page. [https://www.wowza.com/docs/wowza-streaming-engine-java-api-reference-documentation](https://www.wowza.com/docs/wowza-streaming-engine-java-api-reference-documentation) We also have a REST API that you can use. [https://www.wowza.com/docs/wowza-streaming-engine-rest-api](https://www.wowza.com/docs/wowza-streaming-engine-rest-api) Wowza Streaming Engine can deliver content to multiple platforms simultaneously. This is done via Stream Targets. More information on this can be found in the article below. [https://www.wowza.com/docs/push-live-streams-to-cdns-services](https://www.wowza.com/docs/push-live-streams-to-cdns-services) You also mentioned an interest in WebRTC. Below is an article that will help you set that up. Note that Wowza Streaming Engine supports browser to browser communication and does not support live streaming from an encoder into WebRTC. [https://www.wowza.com/docs/how-to-use-webrtc-with-wowza-streaming-engine](https://www.wowza.com/docs/how-to-use-webrtc-with-wowza-streaming-engine) That is mentioned in the article: - **Note:** While Wowza Streaming Engine Transcoder _can_ transcode from WebRTC into other formats, it _can’t_ transcode non-WebRTC streams into WebRTC. I hope that this gets you off to a good start, Lokesh.