Tutorial · Wowza Streaming Engine 4.12

Wowza Streaming Engine tutorial from install to a working HLS link

This Wowza Streaming Engine tutorial takes you from a fresh install to a live stream anyone can open: you add a live application, give your encoder its own login, publish over RTMP and copy the HLS link for your player.

It is written for version 4.12.1, released on 20 October 2026. Rather not run a server at all? A Primcast video channel is a Wowza application we already set up for you, and step 08 shows how to use one.

Start the tutorial Use a ready Wowza channel

Wowza · signal maplive app

Is it running?: http://SERVER:1935/ServerVersion
Manager: http://localhost:8088/enginemanager
Encoder server: rtmp://SERVER:1935/live
Stream name: myStream
Source login: USER / PASSWORD
HLS playback: http://SERVER:1935/live/myStream/playlist.m3u8

EncoderRTMP · H.264 + AAC
Wowzalive · _definst_
ViewersHLS · playlist.m3u8

Replace the words in red with your server's address, your application, your stream name and the login you create in step 03.

How to use Wowza Streaming Engine: what you need first

Wowza Streaming Engine is streaming server software from Wowza Media Systems. You install it on a server, your encoder sends it a live stream, and it hands that stream to phones, browsers and TVs as HLS, MPEG-DASH and other formats. Get these four things ready before you start.

A licence key: The installer asks for one. Wowza sends trial and subscription keys by email, and an upgrade can reuse the key already saved on the server.
A server: Windows, 64-bit Linux or ARM Linux, with a 64-bit system recommended. Wowza also publishes a Docker setup. Version 4.12.1 runs on Java 17 or Java 21.
Open ports: 1935 over TCP carries RTMP from your encoder and HLS to your viewers in a default install. Manager, the web console, listens on 8088.
An encoder: Any RTMP encoder works: OBS Studio, vMix, Wirecast, FFmpeg or a hardware box. You set it up in step 04.

Need the server itself? Rent a dedicated server for Wowza and we install and manage Wowza Streaming Engine on request within 24 hours of delivery. The Wowza licence is billed beside the machine, never folded into its price.

Install Wowza Streaming Engine and check it runs

Download the installer for your system from your Wowza account: an .exe for Windows, a .run file for Linux.
Run it, paste your licence key when it asks, and create the administrator username and password. Both are case-sensitive, and you will use them to sign in to Manager.
Leave Start Wowza Streaming Engine automatically ticked. Wowza then runs as a system service and comes back by itself after a reboot.
Open http://SERVER:1935/ServerVersion in a browser. A line naming the version means the server is up. No answer usually means port 1935 is closed on a firewall.
Sign in to Manager at http://localhost:8088/enginemanager.

Manager only answers on the server itself

Out of the box, Manager accepts connections from localhost only. That is a sensible default, because Manager can change everything on the server.

To work from your own computer, open an SSH tunnel and then browse to the localhost address above on your machine:

your computer

ssh -L 8088:localhost:8088 user@SERVER

Set up a live application and lock publishing to your encoder

An application is the box your streams go into, and its name becomes part of every address. These steps use an application called live. Most installs already list one under that name; if yours does not, click Applications, then Add Application, and choose the live type.

Create a login for your encoder

Click Server in the top menu, then Source Authentication.
Click Add Source and enter a Source User Name and Password. Letters, numbers, dots, underscores and hyphens are allowed.
Click Add. Wowza saves the pair in conf/publish.password.

Make the application ask for it

Open your application and click Source Security, then Edit.
Keep Require password authentication selected for RTMP encoders. It is the default, which is why an encoder with no login gets turned away.
If your encoder always sends from the same address, set Client Restrictions so only that IP can publish.
Click Save and restart the application when Manager asks.

Let viewers play the stream

On the application's Setup tab, click Edit and tick the Playback Types your players need. Start with HLS: iPhones, iPads and Safari play it directly, and web players such as hls.js play it everywhere else.
Under Playback Security, choose No client restrictions so players can connect from any address.
Save and restart the application.

Point your encoder at Wowza

Your encoder needs the server address with the application name, a stream name of your choice and the login from step 03. Manager shows the exact address and port under Application Connection Settings, on the Home page and on the live sources page.

Two fields, the way most encoders want it

encoder settings

Server
rtmp://SERVER:1935/live
Stream name / key
myStream
Username, password
USER, PASSWORD

OBS, vMix and Wirecast keep the server and the stream name in separate boxes. Put them together in one box and the connection fails without a useful error.

One line, for encoders with no login fields

rtmp://USER:PASSWORD@SERVER:1935/live

Some hardware encoders and older software only have a URL box. Wowza accepts the login inside the address, as shown. FFmpeg goes one step further and wants the stream name on the end of this line too.

Encoder settings that keep playback smooth

Encoder settings for a live stream to Wowza Streaming Engine
Setting	Use	Why
Video	H.264	Every phone, browser and smart TV can play it.
Audio	AAC, 128 kbps	The audio HLS players expect.
Keyframe interval	2 s	HLS segments are cut on keyframes. A long or uneven gap makes long, uneven segments, and your viewers stall.
Bitrate	About two thirds of your upload	Measure your upload on the encoder's own connection. A stream at the very edge of it drops a few times a day.
Connection	Network cable	Wi-Fi on the streaming computer is the most common cause of short dropouts.

Start the stream, then open your application in Manager and click Incoming Streams. Your stream name should be listed as Active. Click it to see how long it has been up and how much data is arriving.

Play the stream and fix the usual problems

In Incoming Streams, click your stream name, then Test Playback.
Check that the Server field shows the address your viewers will use, not an internal one.
Copy the HLS link and open it in VLC, Safari or any HLS player. Give it a few seconds: nothing plays until the first segments exist.

HLS playback link

http://SERVER:1935/live/myStream/playlist.m3u8

A website served over https cannot play an http link. Before you embed the player on your site, give Wowza a TLS certificate and tick Secure URL in Test Playback to get the https form of the link.

Common Wowza Streaming Engine problems and what to do
What you see	What to do
The encoder is refused straight away	The login is missing or wrong. Check the source user name and password, which are case-sensitive, and that the application name in the server address matches the one in Manager.
The encoder cannot reach the server at all	Port 1935 is closed between the two. Open TCP 1935 on the server's firewall, then try `/ServerVersion` from the encoder's network.
The stream is Active but the link gives an error	HLS is not ticked under Playback Types, or Playback Security still limits who can connect. Fix it and restart the application.
It plays, but viewers buffer	Set the encoder to a keyframe every 2 seconds and lower the bitrate a step.
Manager will not open from your computer	Manager answers on localhost only. Use the SSH tunnel from step 02.

Wowza audio streaming: sending sound only

Wowza takes an audio-only stream the same way it takes video. Send AAC from your encoder to the same live application, with no video track, and Wowza serves it as HLS.

One setting is worth changing. By default Wowza packs audio-only HLS into plain AAC or MP3 chunks, and many players outside Apple's own cannot play those. In the application's Properties, under Cupertino Streaming Packetizer, set cupertinoPacketizeAllStreamsAsTS to true and restart the application. The chunks then arrive as MPEG-TS, which most players understand.

Sending MP3, Opus or another codec? Turn on the Transcoder for the application and use its Audio Only template, which turns the sound into AAC for HLS.

Running a radio station?

For a station you do not need Wowza at all. A Primcast radio station gives you an https listen link, a web player and a station page from day one, and the Premium and Platinum plans add Auto DJ, so music plays when nobody is live.

Premium and Platinum are free for 14 days. Add a card or PayPal when you sign up and nothing is charged before day 15. The Free plan stays there if you only need a stream link.

Start a radio station

Wowza VOD setup, in short

Video on demand lives in its own application. Add one of the type VOD Single server, copy MP4 files into its content folder and play each file by name with an mp4: prefix.

VOD playback link

http://SERVER:1935/vod/mp4:myvideo.mp4/playlist.m3u8

The Wowza VOD tutorial walks through the file settings, the content folder, the test player and the https link, step by step.

Skip the server: stream to a Wowza channel we run

Steps 01 to 05 are the work of running Wowza yourself. On a Primcast video channel the installation, the application, the login and the playback settings are already done, so you go straight to your encoder.

Your values are waiting in the panel

Sign in, open your video account and find the Live streaming card. Under Encoder settings you get the server with your own application name, the stream name, and a username and password for publishing. Each has a copy button.

Copy the application name rather than typing live out of habit: yours is unique to your channel, and a guessed one gets the connection refused.

The same card gives you the playback link and an embed code for your website.

What the channel adds

Nearest server: Where your card shows one, send to our closest location (New York, Miami, San Francisco, Amsterdam or Bucharest) and the stream crosses the rest over our network.
Restream: One upload from you, sent on to YouTube, Facebook, Twitch or any RTMP server, up to five destinations.
SRT ingest: On the Pro and Platinum plans of the video CDN, for long or shaky connections.

See the video CDN plans Video streaming channels

Wowza Streaming Engine questions

How do I use Wowza Streaming Engine?

Install it with a licence key, create a source login under Server and Source Authentication, and use a live application with HLS ticked under Playback Types. Point your encoder at rtmp://your-server:1935/live with a stream name and that login, then copy the HLS link from Test Playback.

What is the latest version of Wowza Streaming Engine?

Version 4.12.1, released on 20 October 2026. It runs on Java 17 or Java 21 and brings smoother switching between sources, better H.265 support and security fixes, including one for Manager.

What ports does Wowza Streaming Engine use?

In a default install, TCP port 1935 carries RTMP from encoders and HLS to players, and Manager listens on port 8088. Open 1935 on your firewall. Leave 8088 closed and reach Manager through an SSH tunnel instead.

Is Wowza Streaming Engine free?

No. It needs a licence key from Wowza, which offers trial and subscription keys. If you want Wowza delivery without buying a licence or running a server, a Primcast video channel already runs on it.

Why does Wowza refuse my encoder?

Wowza asks RTMP encoders for a source user name and password by default. Add a source under Server and Source Authentication and enter the same pair in your encoder, or put it in the address as rtmp://user:password@your-server:1935/live.

Can Wowza stream audio only?

Yes. Send an AAC stream with no video, and set cupertinoPacketizeAllStreamsAsTS to true on the application so audio-only HLS plays in players outside Apple's. Other codecs go through the Transcoder's Audio Only template first.

Is Wowza a good choice for radio hosting?

It works, but a radio station rarely needs it. A Primcast radio station gives you an https listen link, a web player and a station page, with Auto DJ on the Premium and Platinum plans, and you can try either of those free first.

How do I set up VOD in Wowza?

Add an application of the type VOD Single server, copy MP4 files into its content folder and play them as your-server:1935/vod/mp4:file.mp4/playlist.m3u8. Our Wowza VOD tutorial covers each step.

Is Wowser streaming the same as Wowza?

Yes. Wowser is a common misspelling of Wowza. The product people usually mean is Wowza Streaming Engine, the server software this tutorial sets up.

Want Wowza without the server work?

Open a video channel, paste its values into your encoder and watch your own HLS link play. If a field will not take, our chat answers in seconds and can check your channel while you wait, and a person joins whenever you ask.

Get a Wowza channel