IVS WHIP Publishing | Real-Time Streaming - Amazon IVS
OBS Guide

IVS WHIP Publishing | Real-Time Streaming

This document explains how to use WHIP-compatible encoders like OBS to publish to IVS real-time streaming. WHIP (WebRTC-HTTP Ingestion Protocol) is an IETF draft developed to standardize WebRTC ingestion.

WHIP enables compatibility with software like OBS, offering an alternative (to the IVS broadcast SDK) for desktop publishing. More sophisticated streamers familiar with OBS may prefer it for its advanced production features, such as scene transitions, audio mixing, and overlay graphics. This provides developers with a versatile option: use the IVS web broadcast SDK for direct browser publishing or allow streamers to use OBS on their desktop for more powerful tools.

Also, WHIP is beneficial in situations where using the IVS broadcast SDK isn't feasible or preferred. For example, in setups involving hardware encoders, the IVS broadcast SDK might not be an option. However, if the encoder supports WHIP, you can still publish directly from the encoder to IVS.

OBS Guide

OBS supports WHIP as of version 30. To start, download OBS v30 or newer: https://obsproject.com/.

To publish to an IVS stage using OBS via WHIP, follow these steps:

  1. Generate a participant token with publish capability. In WHIP terms, a participant token is a bearer token. By default, participant tokens expire in 12 hours, but you can extend the duration up to 14 days.

  2. Click Settings. In the Stream section of the Settings panel, select WHIP from the Service dropdown.

  3. For the Server, enter https://global.whip.live-video.net.

  4. For the Bearer Token, enter the participant token that you generated in step 2.

  5. Configure your video settings as you normally would, with a few restrictions:

    1. IVS real-time streaming supports input up to 720p at 8.5 Mbps. If you exceed either of these limits, your stream will be disconnected.

    2. We recommend setting your Keyframe Interval in the Output panel to 1s or 2s. A low keyframe interval allows video playback to start more quickly for viewers. We also recommend setting CPU Usage Preset to veryfast and Tune to zerolatency, to enable the lowest latency.

    3. Because OBS does not support simulcast, we recommend keeping your bitrate below 2.5 Mbps. This enables viewers on lower-bandwidth connections to watch.

  6. Press Start Streaming.

Note: We are aware of quality issues (like intermittent video freezing) that can occur with WHIP in OBS. These typically arise when the broadcaster's network is unstable. We recommend testing WHIP in OBS before using it for production live streams. Lowering your broadcast bitrate also may help reduce the occurrence of these issues.