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Recap: Building Interactive Live Streaming Apps with Livepeer Studio and PubNub

Livepeer Studio

• 3 min read
Recap: Building Interactive Live Streaming Apps with Livepeer Studio and PubNub

Interactive live streaming is a unique content format with incredible user engagement and monetization opportunities. Combining a real-time live stream with a robust chat experience is the foundation of this type of user experience.

At Livepeer Studio, we recently teamed up with PubNub to show you how to create an interactive live-streaming application. Our workshop, featuring Eric Tang (Livepeer Co-Founder and CTO), Marcus Kohler (Developer Advocate at PubNub), and Chase Adams (Engineer at Livepeer), walked through the process of building a dynamic live streaming app using our services.

The codebase for this technical workshop can be found here: https://github.com/livepeer/ui-kit/tree/main/examples/with-pubnub, you can use it as a starting point to create your own interactive live streaming app

Introduction to Livepeer Studio and PubNub

In the search for effective audience engagement and monetization strategies, live event platforms that go beyond video broadcasting are becoming increasingly important. Interactivity, which boosts viewer engagement and feedback, is what really makes the magic happen.

PubNub and Livepeer Studio each contribute multiple pieces of the technology puzzle to implement and run a live streaming business that takes full advantage of engagement to offer viewer experiences that not only drive band loyalty but revenue as well.

Key Components of Interactive Live Streaming

1. Low Latency Video Streaming:

The key to interactive live streaming is low latency. Lower latency enables true interactivity, making the experience feel natural and immediate. Livepeer Studio uses WebRTC for sub-second latency, ensuring smooth and real-time interaction.

2. Scalability:

Livepeer Studio can handle streams for thousands to hundreds of thousands of concurrent viewers without losing quality or hampering performance. This scalability is crucial for large events like concerts or sports broadcasts.

3. Interactivity:

PubNub’s real-time features include chat, presence indicators, reactions, and more. These elements turn a simple broadcast into a dynamic, engaging experience.

Livepeer Studio: Advanced Video Streaming

Our video streaming platform is designed with developers in mind. It’s built on a unique infrastructure that bypasses traditional cloud providers, offering significant cost savings and high performance. 

Key features include:

  • Real-time and low latency streaming with a simple API.
  • Cost-effectiveness, up to 80% cheaper than public cloud services.
  • Global scalability with over 100 network partners ensuring robust and reliable streaming.

PubNub: Enhancing Real-Time Interactivity

PubNub provides the backend for real-time interactivity, supporting:

  • Chat functionalities like basic messaging, advanced messaging with reactions, and threading.
  • Presence indicators to show the number of viewers.
  • Moderation tools for reporting and managing inappropriate content.
  • Interactive features such as polls, Q&A, and notifications.

Demo: Building the Interactive Live Streaming App

We showcased a simple app combining Livepeer Studio’s streaming capabilities and PubNub’s chat functionalities. The app featured:

  • A live stream with real-time video broadcasting.
  • A chat sidebar for viewers to interact with the broadcaster and each other.

We were able to demonstrate how easy it is to set up this app using Livepee Studio’s React SDK and PubNub’s Chat SDK. Our goal was to show that even developers with no prior experience in video streaming can build a robust, interactive live-streaming app quickly.

The code for the demo app is available on GitHub, where you can clone and customize it to fit your needs. Thus, you can begin your journey of providing interactive live streaming experiences.

This workshop highlighted how Livepeer Studio and PubNub work together to create engaging and scalable interactive live streaming applications. With our tools and example code, you can easily build applications that offer rich, real-time interactions and high-quality video streaming.

For more details, check out our Livepeer Studio documentation and PubNub documentation. Dive in and start building your interactive live streaming app today!