📼 PHP FFmpeg Video Streaming

Overview

This library is a wrapper around PHP-FFMpeg and packages media content for online streaming such as DASH and HLS. You can also use DRM for HLS packaging. There are several options to open a file from a cloud and save files to clouds as well.

Full Documentation is available describing all features and components.
For using encryption and DRM, I recommend trying Shaka PHP, which is a great tool for this use case.

Contents

Requirements
Installation
Quickstart
Asynchronous Task Execution
Several Open Source Players
Contributing and Reporting Bugs
Credits
License

Requirements

This version of the package is only compatible with PHP 7.2 or higher.
To use this package, you need to install the FFmpeg. You will need both FFmpeg and FFProbe binaries to use it.

Installation

Install the package via composer:

composer require aminyazdanpanah/php-ffmpeg-video-streaming

Alternatively, add the dependency directly to your composer.json file:

"require": {
    "aminyazdanpanah/php-ffmpeg-video-streaming": "^1.2"
}

Quickstart

First of all, you need to include the package in your code:

require 'vendor/autoload.php'; // path to the autoload file

Configuration

This package will autodetect FFmpeg and FFprobe binaries. If you want to give binary paths explicitly, you can pass an array as configuration. A Psr\Logger\LoggerInterface can also be passed to log binary executions.

use Monolog\Handler\StreamHandler;
use Monolog\Logger;

$config = [
    'ffmpeg.binaries'  => '/usr/bin/ffmpeg',
    'ffprobe.binaries' => '/usr/bin/ffprobe',
    'timeout'          => 3600, // The timeout for the underlying process
    'ffmpeg.threads'   => 12,   // The number of threads that FFmpeg should use
];

$log = new Logger('FFmpeg_Streaming');
$log->pushHandler(new StreamHandler('/var/log/ffmpeg-streaming.log')); // path to log file
    
$ffmpeg = Streaming\FFMpeg::create($config, $log);

Opening a Resource

There are several ways to open a resource.

1. From a FFmpeg supported resource

You can pass a local path of video(or a supported resource) to the open method:

$video = $ffmpeg->open('/var/media/video.mp4');

See FFmpeg Protocols Documentation for more information about supported resources such as http, ftp, and etc.

For example:

$video = $ffmpeg->open(https://www.aminyazdanpanah.com/?"PATH TO A VIDEO FILE" or "PATH TO A LIVE HTTP STREAM");

2. From Clouds

You can open a file from a cloud by passing an array of cloud configuration to the openFromCloud method.

$video = $ffmpeg->openFromCloud($from_google_cloud);

Visit this page to see some examples of opening a file from Amazon S3, Google Cloud Storage, Microsoft Azure Storage, and a custom cloud.

3. Capture Webcam or Screen (Live Streaming)

You can pass a name of the supported, connected capture device(i.e. name of webcam, camera, screen and etc) to the capture method to stream a live media over network.

$capture = $ffmpeg->capture("CAMERA NAME OR SCREEN NAME");

To list the supported, connected capture devices, see FFmpeg Capture Webcam and FFmpeg Capture Desktop.

DASH

Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (DASH), also known as MPEG-DASH, is an adaptive bitrate streaming technique that enables high quality streaming of media content over the Internet delivered from conventional HTTP web servers. Learn more

Create DASH files:

$video->dash()
    ->hevc() // Format of the video. Alternatives: x264() and vp9()
    ->autoGenerateRepresentations() // Auto generate representations
    ->setAdaption('id=0,streams=v id=1,streams=a') // Set the adaption.
    ->save(); // It can be passed a path to the method or it can be null

Generate representations manually:

use Streaming\Representation;

$r_144p  = (new Representation)->setKiloBitrate(95)->setResize(256, 144);
$r_240p  = (new Representation)->setKiloBitrate(150)->setResize(426, 240);
$r_360p  = (new Representation)->setKiloBitrate(276)->setResize(640, 360);
$r_480p  = (new Representation)->setKiloBitrate(750)->setResize(854, 480);
$r_720p  = (new Representation)->setKiloBitrate(2048)->setResize(1280, 720);
$r_1080p = (new Representation)->setKiloBitrate(4096)->setResize(1920, 1080);
$r_2k    = (new Representation)->setKiloBitrate(6144)->setResize(2560, 1440);
$r_4k    = (new Representation)->setKiloBitrate(17408)->setResize(3840, 2160);

$video->dash()
    ->hevc()
    ->addRepresentations([$r_144p, $r_240p, $r_360p, $r_480p, $r_720p, $r_1080p, $r_2k, $r_4k])
    ->setAdaption('id=0,streams=v id=1,streams=a')
    ->save('/var/media/dash-stream.mpd');

See DASH section in the documentation, for more examples.

HLS

HTTP Live Streaming (also known as HLS) is an HTTP-based adaptive bitrate streaming communications protocol implemented by Apple Inc. as part of its QuickTime, Safari, OS X, and iOS software. Client implementations are also available in Microsoft Edge, Firefox and some versions of Google Chrome. Support is widespread in streaming media servers. Learn more

Create HLS files:

$video->hls()
    ->x264()
    ->autoGenerateRepresentations([720, 360]) // You can limit the number of representatons
    ->save();

Generate representations manually:

use Streaming\Representation;

$r_360p  = (new Representation)->setKiloBitrate(276)->setResize(640, 360);
$r_480p  = (new Representation)->setKiloBitrate(750)->setResize(854, 480);
$r_720p  = (new Representation)->setKiloBitrate(2048)->setResize(1280, 720);

$video->hls()
    ->x264()
    ->addRepresentations([$r_360p, $r_480p, $r_720p])
    ->save();

See HLS section in the documentation, for more examples such as Fragmented MP4, live from camera/screen and so on.

Encryption(DRM)

The encryption process requires some kind of secret (key) together with an encryption algorithm. HLS uses AES in cipher block chaining (CBC) mode. This means each block is encrypted using the ciphertext of the preceding block. Learn more

You must specify a path to save a random key to your local machine and also a URL(or a path) to access the key on your website(the key you will save must be accessible from your website). You must pass both these parameters to the encryption method:

Single Key

The following code generates a key for all segment files.

//A path you want to save a random key to your server
$save_to = '/home/public_html/"PATH TO THE KEY DIRECTORY"/key';

//A URL (or a path) to access the key on your website
$url = 'https://www.aminyazdanpanah.com/?"PATH TO THE KEY DIRECTORY"/key';
// or $url = '/PATH TO THE KEY DIRECTORY/key';

$video->hls()
    ->encryption($save_to, $url)
    ->x264()
    ->autoGenerateRepresentations([1080, 480, 240])
    ->save('/var/media/hls-stream.m3u8');

Key Rotation

An integer as a "key rotation period" can also be passed to the encryption method (i.e. encryption($save_to, $url, 10)) to use a different key for each set of segments, rotating to a new key after this many segments. For example, if 10 segment files have been generated then it will generate a new key. If you set this value to 1, each segment file will be encrypted with a new encryption key. This can improve security and allows for more flexibility.

See the example for more information.

NOTE: It is very important to protect your key(s) on your website using a token or a session/cookie(It is highly recommended).

DRM

However FFmpeg supports AES encryption for HLS packaging, which you can encrypt your content, it is not a full DRM solution. If you want to use a full DRM solution, I recommend trying FairPlay Streaming solution which then securely exchange keys, and protect playback on devices.

Transcoding

A format can also extend FFMpeg\Format\ProgressableInterface to get realtime information about the transcoding.

$format = new Streaming\Format\hevc();
$format->on('progress', function ($video, $format, $percentage){
    // You can update a field in your database or can log it to a file
    // You can also create a socket connection and show a progress bar to users
    echo sprintf("\rTranscoding...(%s%%) [%s%s]", $percentage, str_repeat('#', $percentage), str_repeat('-', (100 - $percentage)));
});

$video->dash()
    ->setFormat($format)
    ->autoGenerateRepresentations()
    ->setAdaption('id=0,streams=v id=1,streams=a')
    ->save();

Output From a Terminal:

Saving Files

There are several ways to save files.

1. To a Local Path

You can pass a local path to the save method. If there was no directory in the path, then the package auto makes the directory.

$dash = $video->dash()
            ->hevc()
            ->autoGenerateRepresentations()
            ->setAdaption('id=0,streams=v id=1,streams=a');
            
$dash->save('/var/media/dash-stream.mpd');

It can also be null. The default path to save files is the input path.

$hls = $video->hls()
            ->x264()
            ->autoGenerateRepresentations();
            
$hls->save();

NOTE: If you open a file from a cloud and do not pass a path to save the file to your local machine, you will have to pass a local path to the save method.

2. To Clouds

You can save your files to a cloud by passing an array of cloud configuration to the save method.

$dash->save(null, [$to_aws_cloud, $to_google_cloud, $to_microsoft_azure, $to_custom_cloud]);

A path can also be passed to save a copy of files to your local machine.

$hls->save('/var/media/hls-stream.m3u8', [$to_google_cloud, $to_custom_cloud]);

Visit this page to see some examples of saving files to Amazon S3, Google Cloud Storage, Microsoft Azure Storage, and a custom cloud.

NOTE: This option(Save To Clouds) is only valid for VOD (it does not support live streaming).

Schema: The relation is one-to-many

3. To a Server Instantly

You can pass a url(or a supported resource like ftp) to live method to upload all the segments files to the HTTP server(or other protocols) using the HTTP PUT method, and update the manifest files every refresh times.

If you want to save stream files to your local machine, use the save method.

// DASH
$dash->live('http://YOUR-WEBSITE.COM/live-stream/out.mpd');

// HLS
$hls
    ->setMasterPlaylist('/var/www/stream/live-master-manifest.m3u8')
    ->live('http://YOUR-WEBSITE.COM/live-stream/out.m3u8');

NOTE: In the HLS format, you must upload the master playlist to the server manually. (Upload the /var/www/stream/live-master-manifest.m3u8 file to the http://YOUR-WEBSITE.COM)

See FFmpeg Protocols Documentation for more information.

Metadata

You can get information from multimedia streams and the video file using the following code.

$hls = $hls->save();
$metadata = $hls->metadata()->export();

print_r($metadata);

See the example for more information.

Conversion

You can convert your stream to a file or to another stream protocols. You should pass a manifest of the stream to the open method:

1. HLS To DASH

$stream = $ffmpeg->open('https://www.aminyazdanpanah.com/?PATH/TO/HLS-MANIFEST.M3U8');

$stream->dash()
    ->x264()
    ->addRepresentations([$r_360p, $r_480p]) 
    ->save('/var/media/dash-stream.mpd');

2. DASH To HLS

$stream = $ffmpeg->open('https://www.aminyazdanpanah.com/?PATH/TO/DASH-MANIFEST.MPD');

$stream->hls()
           ->x264()
           ->autoGenerateRepresentations([720, 360])
           ->save('/var/media/hls-stream.m3u8');

3. Stream(DASH or HLS) To File

$format = new Streaming\Format\x264();
$format->on('progress', function ($video, $format, $percentage){
    echo sprintf("\rTranscoding...(%s%%) [%s%s]", $percentage, str_repeat('#', $percentage), str_repeat('-', (100 - $percentage)));
});

$stream->stream2file()
           ->setFormat($format)
           ->save('/var/media/new-video.mp4');

Other Advanced Features

You can easily use other advanced features in the PHP-FFMpeg library. In fact, when you open a file with the open method(or openFromCloud), it holds the Media object that belongs to the PHP-FFMpeg.

$ffmpeg = Streaming\FFMpeg::create()
$video = $$ffmpeg->openFromCloud($from_cloud, '/var/wwww/media/my/new/video.mp4');

Extracting image

You can extract a frame at any timecode using the FFMpeg\Media\Video::frame method.

$frame = $video->frame(FFMpeg\Coordinate\TimeCode::fromSeconds(42));
$frame->save('/var/media/poster.jpg');

NOTE: You can use the image as a video's poster.

Gif

A gif is an animated image extracted from a sequence of the video.

You can save gif files using the FFMpeg\Media\Gif::save method.

$video
    ->gif(FFMpeg\Coordinate\TimeCode::fromSeconds(2), new FFMpeg\Coordinate\Dimension(640, 480), 3)
    ->save('/var/media/animated_image.gif');

This method has a third optional boolean parameter, which is the duration of the animation. If you don't set it, you will get a fixed gif image.

NOTE: You can use the gif as a video's thumbnail.

To see more examples, visit the PHP-FFMpeg Documentation page.

Asynchronous Task Execution

Packaging process will may take a while and it is recommended to run it in the background(or in a cloud e.g. Google Cloud). There are some libraries that you can use.

Symphony(The Console Component): You can use this library to create command-line commands. Your console commands can be used for any recurring task, such as cronjobs, imports, or other batch jobs. Learn more
Laravel(Queues): If you are using Laravel for development, Laravel Queues is a wonderful tool for this use case. It allows you to create a job and dispatch it. Learn more
Google Cloud Tasks: Google Cloud Tasks is a fully managed service that allows you to manage the execution, dispatch, and delivery of a large number of distributed tasks. You can asynchronously perform work outside of a user request. Learn more

NOTE: It is not necessary to use these libraries. It is just a suggestion. You can also create a script to create packaged video files and run a job in the cron job.

Several Open Source Players

You can use these libraries to play your streams.

WEB
- DASH and HLS:
  - Video.js 7 (Recommended) - videojs-http-streaming (VHS)
  - Plyr
  - DPlayer
  - MediaElement.js
  - Clappr
  - Shaka Player
  - Flowplayer
- DASH:
  - dash.js
- HLS:
  - hls.js
Android
- DASH and HLS:
  - ExoPlayer
IOS
- DASH:
  - MPEGDASH-iOS-Player
- HLS:
  - Player
Windows, Linux, and macOS
- DASH and HLS:
  - FFmpeg(ffplay)
  - VLC media player

NOTE-1: You must pass a link of the master playlist(manifest)(i.e. https://www.aminyazdanpanah.com/?"PATH TO STREAM DIRECTORY"/dash-stream.mpd or /PATH_TO_STREAM_DIRECTORY/hls-stream.m3u8 ) to these players.

NOTE-2: If you save your stream to a cloud(i.e. Amazon S3), the link of your playlist and also other content MUST BE PUBLIC.

NOTE-3: As you may know, IOS does not have native support for DASH. Although there are some libraries such as Viblast and MPEGDASH-iOS-Player to support this technique, I have never tested them. So maybe som of them will not work correctly.

Contributing and Reporting Bugs

I'd love your help in improving, correcting, adding to the specification. Please file an issue or submit a pull request.

Please see Contributing File for more information.
If you have any questions or you want to report a bug, please just file an issue
If you discover a security vulnerability within this package, please see SECURITY File for more information.

NOTE: If you have any questions about this package or FFmpeg, DO NOT send an email to me (or DO NOT submit the contact form on my website). Emails regarding these issues will be ignored.

Credits

Amin Yazdanpanah
All Contributors

License

The MIT License (MIT). See License File for more information.

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README.md

README.md

📼 PHP FFmpeg Video Streaming

Overview

Requirements

Installation

Quickstart

Configuration

Opening a Resource

1. From a FFmpeg supported resource

2. From Clouds

3. Capture Webcam or Screen (Live Streaming)

DASH

HLS

Encryption(DRM)

Single Key

Key Rotation

DRM

Transcoding

Output From a Terminal:

Saving Files

1. To a Local Path

2. To Clouds

3. To a Server Instantly

Metadata

Conversion

1. HLS To DASH

2. DASH To HLS

3. Stream(DASH or HLS) To File

Other Advanced Features

Extracting image

Gif

Asynchronous Task Execution

Several Open Source Players

Contributing and Reporting Bugs

Credits

License

Files

README.md

Latest commit

History

README.md

File metadata and controls

📼 PHP FFmpeg Video Streaming

Overview

Requirements

Installation

Quickstart

Configuration

Opening a Resource

1. From a FFmpeg supported resource

2. From Clouds

3. Capture Webcam or Screen (Live Streaming)

DASH

HLS

Encryption(DRM)

Single Key

Key Rotation

DRM

Transcoding

Output From a Terminal:

Saving Files

1. To a Local Path

2. To Clouds

3. To a Server Instantly

Metadata

Conversion

1. HLS To DASH

2. DASH To HLS

3. Stream(DASH or HLS) To File

Other Advanced Features

Extracting image

Gif

Asynchronous Task Execution

Several Open Source Players

Contributing and Reporting Bugs

Credits

License