Enabling Multiple Hosts on an Amazon IVS Stream

Amazon Interactive Video Service (IVS) enables developers to build applications that combine video from multiple participants into one live stream. A stage is a virtual space where participants can exchange audio and video in real time. You can then broadcast a stage to channels to reach a larger audience, and you can build applications where audience members can be brought "on stage" to contribute to the live conversation.

Use cases include:

• Guest spots – Broadcasters can invite viewers into the broadcast. This opens the door to collaborative content like karaoke and Q&A.

• Versus (VS) mode – Broadcasters are matched with each other to compete (e.g., in a singing competition).

• Group broadcasts – Multiple speakers can converse with each other in front of a large audience.

A stage is a new IVS resource which supports up to 12 publishers and 1,000 subscribers to the same media streams, all with real-time latency. To participate in a stage, a user must be granted a participant token. These tokens have unique identifiers, are used for authentication and authorization, and expire after a configurable period of time. In addition, the tokens can be encoded with attributes (custom metadata).

The existing Amazon IVS Broadcast SDKs for Android and iOS incorporate stage functionality.