Live Streaming

Plinken includes a full live streaming system with three broadcast protocols, OBS-style Studio Mode, and centralized broadcast management. The compositor output is encoded in real-time and delivered to streaming platforms or custom endpoints.

Protocols

WHEP (WebRTC)

WebRTC-HTTP Egress Protocol for ultra-low-latency broadcasting (typically < 500ms).

Step	Description
1	Create SDP offer with H.264 video + Opus audio
2	POST offer to WHEP endpoint URL
3	Receive SDP answer from server
4	Establish WebRTC peer connection
5	Stream encoded frames via RTP

Video codec: H.264 (VideoToolbox hardware encoder on macOS) Audio codec: Opus Clock rates: Video 90 kHz, Audio 48 kHz

Best for: Interactive streams, Cloudflare Calls, low-latency monitoring.

RTMP / RTMPS

Real-Time Messaging Protocol for standard streaming platform delivery.

Step	Description
1	TCP handshake (TLS for RTMPS)
2	RTMP connect + create stream
3	Publish with stream key
4	Send H.264 video + AAC audio in FLV format

Video codec: H.264 Audio codec: AAC-LC (falls back to raw PCM)

Built-in presets:

Platform	Ingest URL
Twitch	`rtmps://live.twitch.tv:443/app`
YouTube	`rtmps://a.rtmps.youtube.com:443/live2`

Best for: Twitch, YouTube, Facebook, and other RTMP-compatible platforms.

SRT

Secure Reliable Transport for professional broadcast with error recovery.

Video codec: H.264 Audio codec: AAC-LC or Opus

Best for: Professional broadcast workflows, inter-facility links.

Broadcast Manager

The Broadcast Manager coordinates all protocols. Broadcasting requires two conditions:

At least one protocol is enabled in Settings > Streaming
The broadcast button is active in the Transport Panel

When both conditions are met, the manager starts the enabled broadcasters and routes compositor frames + audio to them.

Broadcast State

Property	Description
`whep_enabled`	WHEP toggle from settings
`whep_url`	WHEP endpoint URL
`rtmp_enabled`	RTMP toggle from settings
`rtmp_url`	RTMP ingest URL
`rtmp_stream_key`	Stream key
`srt_enabled`	SRT toggle from settings
`srt_url`	SRT endpoint URL

RTMP Ingest

Plinken can also receive RTMP streams as compositor layer sources. External encoders (DJI gimbal, OBS, hardware encoders) can push to Plinken’s built-in RTMP server.

Use the rtmp_ingest layer source type to display incoming RTMP feeds in the compositor.

Studio Mode

Toggle Studio Mode with Shift+L. This provides an OBS-style dual view:

View	Description
Preview	Prepare your next scene — edit layers, adjust positions
Program	The live output currently being broadcast

Studio Mode lets you make changes to the preview without affecting the live output. When ready, press Go Live to push preview to program.

Scene Management

Operation	Description
Add Scene	Create a new scene with its own layer stack
Rename Scene	Change scene display name
Delete Scene	Remove a scene (minimum 1 required)
Switch Scene	Load a scene’s layers into preview
Reorder	Move scenes up/down in the list

Commands

Command ID	Name	Description
`streaming:go-live`	Go Live	Push preview scene to program output
`streaming:toggle-studio-mode`	Toggle Studio Mode	Enable/disable dual preview/program view
`video:toggle-broadcast`	Toggle Broadcast	Start/stop the broadcast stream

Lua API

-- Go live (push preview to program)
pl.cmd("streaming:go-live")

-- Toggle studio mode
pl.cmd("streaming:toggle-studio-mode")

-- Start broadcasting
pl.cmd("video:toggle-broadcast")

-- Check if we're live
local is_live = plinken.get("streaming", "live")

Configuration

Configure streaming in Settings > Streaming:

Setting	Description
WHEP Enabled	Enable WebRTC broadcasting
WHEP URL	WHEP endpoint URL
RTMP Enabled	Enable RTMP broadcasting
RTMP URL	RTMP/RTMPS ingest URL
Stream Key	Platform stream key
SRT Enabled	Enable SRT broadcasting
SRT URL	SRT endpoint URL

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
`Cmd+L`	Go Live
`Shift+L`	Toggle Studio Mode

Architecture

Compositor Output (CVPixelBuffer)
       ↓
  ┌────┼────┐
  ↓    ↓    ↓
WHEP  RTMP  SRT
(WebRTC) (FLV) (MPEG-TS)
  ↓    ↓    ↓
H.264+Opus  H.264+AAC  H.264+AAC

All broadcasters share a dedicated Tokio runtime (plinken-streaming) with 2 worker threads to avoid blocking the UI or audio threads.

Video Overview — Video playback and modules
Compositor — Layer system and scene management