HLS or HTTP Live Stream is one of the fastest growing and most popular streaming media protocols for video and audio. ABR HLS connects users to the most suitable stream, and HLSe uses AES-128 encryption to protect streams. But HLS, and these powerful features are often discussed in the context of discussions about expensive media servers, such as Adobe, Wowza or Evostream.  

What a lot of people inside and outside the streaming media industry don't realize is - you can stream HLS video from free Open Source servers like Apache and Nginx.  Furthermore, both these HTTP servers support both ABR and HLSe (encryption). The one catch is - getting these servers to stream HLS requires special configuration of the server and preparation of streaming files. 

Recently, I checked out prices for decent sized virtual hosting accounts (virtual hosting is the same as cloud hosting).  Cloud hosting is the cheapest type of hosting where users have root access, and the ability to install and configure everything that is needed to stream HLS from an Apache Web server. Below I list the required software:

Linux (Ubuntu or other distribution)
FFMPEG
Apache, Nginx or other HLS compatible server

I found several hosting services that offered 1GB virtual hosting accounts with 250GB of solid state storage, and 2 TB of bandwidth -- for under $70 per year. The thought of streaming many millions of videos per year for under $100 would have been quite shocking years ago, but due to the consolidation of the hosting industry, and the evolution of streaming technology and standards - the price of secure streaming has come down significantly in the last 20 years. Mediagration helps you exploit the fastest and most cost-effective technology today. 

MediaGration's Apache HLS Setup Script is a shell script that prepares Apache to stream HLSe, on the Ubuntu and Centos Linux distributions. For more information about this script and Mediagration's setup service, click here.






Check out this comparison chart.