The Ultimate Guide to the SRT Video Streaming Protocol
THE INDUSTRY STANDARD FOR LOW LATENCY IP VIDEO CONNECTIVITY
INTRODUCTION
In the short time since its introduction, the Secure Reliable Transport (SRT) protocol has completely disrupted the industry and has forever changed the way the world streams video. We’ve put together this comprehensive guide to everything you need to know about this widely used and community supported open-source video streaming protocol. In this guide we’ll explore the benefits of SRT, how it works, who uses it, and how it powers Haivision solutions.
WHAT IS SRT?
SRT is a low latency video streaming transport protocol and technology stack designed to optimize video streaming reliability, security, and performance. SRT connects two endpoints for the purposes of delivering low latency video
and other media streams across lossy IP networks such as the public internet. In a nutshell, SRT brings the best quality live video over the most unpredictable networks. It accounts for packet loss, jitter, and fluctuating bandwidth all while maintaining the integrity and quality of video.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF SRT
Born from the need to reduce the prohibitive cost of live broadcast contribution over satellite links and dedicated fiber, SRT was originally developed and pioneered by Haivision. It was publicly demonstrated for the first time at IBC 2013, and, as the technology progressed, Haivision included SRT as part of its product family so that customers could enjoy the benefits of high-quality, low latency, secure video over unmanaged IP networks, including the internet.
To encourage widespread adoption so that more companies and customers could benefit from this game-changing technology, Haivision released SRT on GitHub in 2017 as an open-source technology stack and protocol. Since then, support for the protocol has continued to grow and in 2018 Haivision was awarded an Emmy® Award by the NATAS Technology & Engineering Achievement Committee for pioneering a reliable transmission method for live contribution and distribution TV links.
