Streaming to YouTube Live? Put an API on it!

The YouTube Live Streaming API makes it easier to build tools and apps for channels that are enabled to stream live content on YouTube. With the YouTube Live platform, you have the ability to real-time transcode to a range of video qualities that support a broad set of devices and networks, dynamic bandwidth adjustment so viewers automatically see the highest quality stream their network supports, and DVR-like controls to allow viewers to pause, fast forward, and rewind during a live stream.

How to start developing with live streams

• The basics
• A broadcast represents a live event that you'll stream on YouTube. The API lets you schedule a broadcast, bind it to your live video stream, and update its status to testing, live, or complete.
• A stream represents the actual broadcast content.
• A cuepoint represents an ad break that can be inserted into a live broadcast. Cuepoints are only available to YouTube content partners.

• Documentation
• The Getting Started guide explains these concepts in more detail and explains how they interact with other YouTube Data API and YouTube Content ID API resources.
• The Life of a Broadcast guide walks you through the typical steps for creating and managing a live broadcast on YouTube.
• The YouTube Live Streaming Guide identifies the encoder settings, bitrates, and resolutions that the YouTube Live Streaming platform supports.
  
  
• Sample code and tools
• Client libraries for many different programming languages can help you implement the YouTube Live Streaming API as well as many other Google APIs.
• Don't write code from scratch! Our Java, PHP, and Python code samples will help you get started.
• The APIs Explorer lets you try out sample calls before writing any code.
  
  

In addition, in this video, we talk about the philosophy we followed in building the API and also see some great demos from our partners.

Awesome examples

Here are a few great examples from developers already using the API:

Capella’s Cambria Live

• Capella’s Cambria Live encodes live broadcasts in real time and streams them to YouTube Live. Cambria Live takes uncompressed broadcast video directly from a camera via SDI or HDMI and compresses it into the H.264 format with AAC audio, ensuring optimal video and audio quality.
  
  

Elgato

• Elgato Game Capture HD enables you to stream PlayStation or Xbox gameplay to share it with your friends and fans as it happens. Elgato’s video products enable high-quality video recording and conversion for consumers and professionals alike.

XSplit

Radioline

• XSplit is a streaming and video-mixing application that is fun and easy to use. It is widely-used for streaming games.

• Radioline designs and operates a cloud-based mobile internet radio. You can find or discover new radio stations according to their names, genres, areas or according to your favorite playlists.

This API is still experimental, so stay tuned here and subscribe to the YouTube for Developers channel to keep up on the latest.

Cheers,

-- Derek Tan, Satyajeet Salgar, and the YouTube Live Streaming API Team