New in Wowza Streaming Engine 4.9.4: SRT Listener Mode Simplifies SRT ingest

Wowza Streaming Engine
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We’ve just released Wowza Streaming Engine 4.9.4 and it comes with a major update: SRT Listener Mode.

This new feature makes it easier than ever to ingest SRT streams. It’s no longer required to create stream files and assign unique ports for each stream. Listener mode lets your encoders push to Engine much like RTMP, using just one port on the server. That means:

  • Start streams from your encoder without any action on the server side
  • Easier setup across all your sources
  • Simpler firewall/NAT management
  • Built-in support for StreamID and per-stream passphrases

If you’re managing multiple remote contributions, working in a multitenant environment, or want to start streams from your encoder this update is for you.

Want to try it? Check out the full blog post for setup details and a full feature breakdown:
Read the blog

Let’s talk!

Have you used SRT in your workflow before?
What would simplify your ingest process even more?

Drop your thoughts and use cases below. We’d love your feedback.

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This is a promising direction for development, but I see two key elements missing to fully unlock its potential:

  1. Support for MPEG-TS PID filter templates in SRT Listener Mode – It should be possible to define a stream with multiple language tracks (e.g., three languages) using predefined templates, without requiring additional manual configuration. The template could be selected via a parameter or through an additional module.
  2. Stream Target in SRT Listen Mode – This would enable signal distribution to other locations. The stream should operate in a transparent passthrough mode, forwarding all MPEG-TS PIDs without modification.
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Thank you for those suggestions Marcin. PID support in Listener mode makes sense and I can certainly see where that is important to have - I will get that on the backlog and let you know.

Regarding publishing in listen mode - this sounds to be like the equivalent of an Origin mode on the server with SRT as the protocol which I understand, but I would like to understand more about a use case - could you give me an example?

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One of the applications can be classified as MPTS, used for the distribution of multiple video and audio channels.
Another application involves distributing signals from cameras located in the field to multiple locations, without additional processing and with SMPTE timecode preserved.