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Use SRT when both ends of your workflow support it and you need a live-video contribution link that can recover from packet loss and jitter across an unpredictable network. Use RTMP when the destination, encoder, or established workflow requires RTMP. Compatibility comes first: a protocol is useful only if the sender and receiver both accept it.
What SRT and RTMP do
SRT (Secure Reliable Transport) is an open-source transport technology designed for live-video contribution over variable IP networks. Haivision describes it as compensating for jitter and bandwidth fluctuations and recovering from typical Internet packet loss. It runs over UDP and adds mechanisms such as acknowledgments and retransmission (ARQ), latency management, and encryption. The project documentation also describes FEC, connection bonding, and Stream ID; whether a particular product supports or enables each feature depends on its implementation and settings. Haivision’s SRT overview · SRT project documentation
RTMP remains a practical choice when a platform or an existing encoder-to-destination workflow expects it. The available comparison material does not establish a neutral, controlled performance test that proves one protocol is faster or better in all circumstances. Haivision’s comparison page is a vendor white-paper landing page, not an independent benchmark. Haivision’s SRT-versus-RTMP resource
Choose based on the endpoints first
Before weighing network behavior, check the exact ingest service and the sending encoder or software. Confirm which protocols both sides support and whether the required features are configurable. If the destination accepts only RTMP, choose RTMP. If both ends support SRT and the contribution path is variable or lossy, SRT is a strong candidate; validate its settings on the actual link.
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| Decision factor | SRT | RTMP |
|---|---|---|
| Endpoint compatibility | Requires SRT support at both ends; supported workflows may use Stream ID to route multiple ingest streams to one address and port. | Use it when the destination or established workflow requires RTMP. |
| Unpredictable networks | Designed to address jitter and packet loss through recovery mechanisms; results depend on the link and configuration. | The sources reviewed do not establish an equally detailed, sourced feature comparison for network loss and jitter. |
| Buffer and delay | Configurable latency buffer gives time to reorder or retransmit packets, adding transport delay. | No comparable verified numeric setting is established by the sources reviewed. |
| Encryption | Encryption is documented, but it must be supported and configured in the selected implementation. | Security variants and implementation details are not established by the sources reviewed; verify the specific endpoints. |
Set SRT latency for the link, not for the lowest number
The SRT 1.5.4 documentation describes a configurable latency buffer from 20 to 8000 ms. This is the SRT buffer setting, not the complete contribution-to-viewer delay. The buffer must allow packets time to arrive, be reordered, or be retransmitted; setting it too low can leave packets arriving too late for recovery. Tune it using the actual connection’s round-trip time (RTT), packet loss, and burst behavior. Haivision SRT 1.5.4 latency guidance
For a “fairly good network” with 0.1 to 0.2% loss and no significant burst loss, Haivision gives four times RTT as a rule of thumb: SRT Latency = RTT Multiplier * RTT. Its documentation says the higher configured source or destination value is used. Treat this as version-specific vendor guidance for the stated conditions, not a universal guarantee or a general measurement of Internet loss. Check the documentation for the version you deploy; Haivision’s latency page was updated on 2026-02-12.
Rank #2
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Check security and standards claims carefully
SRT’s documentation describes AES encryption for stream payloads. A protocol feature alone does not secure a particular workflow: confirm that the encoder and receiver support encryption, agree on the settings, and have it enabled. Do not assume an implementation is encrypted merely because it uses SRT.
The IETF Datatracker record for “The SRT Protocol” is an individual Internet-Draft authored by Haivision and SK Telecom personnel, dated 7 September 2021 and expired 11 March 2022. The record says it is archived, is not endorsed by the IETF, and has no formal standing in the IETF standards process. It should not be described as an IETF standard. IETF Datatracker record
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A practical selection checklist
- Identify the destination’s ingest options. Use the exact platform or service settings, not an assumption based on another product or account.
- Verify the sender. Check the encoder or software model and version for the protocol and features you intend to use.
- Match the protocol at both ends. If either endpoint lacks SRT, use a supported option such as RTMP or change the workflow.
- Test the real contribution path. For SRT, tune the recovery buffer against RTT, loss, and bursts; measure the end-to-end delay separately.
- Verify encryption in the implementation. Confirm both endpoints’ support and actual configuration rather than relying on a protocol label.
SRT was released as open source in April 2017 in partnership with Wowza Media Systems, according to Haivision’s history, and is distributed under MPL-2.0 in the project repository. These facts describe its origins and licensing, not a performance advantage over RTMP. Haivision SRT overview · SRT project repository
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Or let it run in the cloud
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Quick Recap
Best Value
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