What to do if your live does not play

Troubleshooting Playback Problems on Live Stream

If you are experiencing playback problems with your live stream, please follow this guide to troubleshoot common issues:

1. Check the Nginx RTMP Server

We use the Nginx RTMP server for streaming. Ensure that the server is running correctly.

2. Locate the Nginx Installation

Ensure you are looking in the correct directory. By default, Nginx is installed here:

/usr/local/nginx/

3. Check the Nginx Error Log

When starting the live stream, immediately inspect the error log. This can help identify issues like ffmpeg errors, on_publish errors, etc.

tail -f /usr/local/nginx/logs/error.log

4. Verify HLS Files

Check if HLS files are being created correctly. These files should be in the directory:

cd /HLS/live/
ls

5. Adaptive Mode

If you're using adaptive mode:

• Make sure you've uncommented the necessary lines in your Nginx configuration and then properly restarted Nginx.

nano /usr/local/nginx/conf/nginx.conf

• Additionally, ensure you've enabled adaptive mode in the Live plugin.

6. Check Video Source

Inspect the video source within your video tag:

<video  ... id="mainVideo">
     <source src="https://mydomain.com/videos/640ea68c47c46-1.m3u8" type="application/x-mpegURL">
</video>

Ensure the URL https://mydomain.com/videos/640ea68c47c46-1.m3u8 is accessible. You can try opening it in a browser or using a tool like curl to fetch its contents.

curl -I https://mydomain.com/videos/640ea68c47c46-1.m3u8

Additional Suggestions:

• Clear Browser Cache: Sometimes, cached data can lead to playback issues. Clear your browser's cache and retry.
• Network Issues: Ensure that the server's network connection is stable and that there are no issues with the viewer's network.