Wowza

Wowza Streaming Engine is a cross-platform media server developed by Wowza Media Systems. It provides the core software for ingesting, encoding, and delivering live and on-demand video to a variety of devices. The server runs on Windows and Linux and can function as an origin for content delivery networks (CDNs), enabling scalable distribution.

The company also offers Wowza Streaming Cloud, a cloud-based service that handles live ingestion, transcoding, and delivery to end users, with similar protocol support but managed in the cloud. Wowza products are used by broadcasters, educational institutions, enterprises, and event organizers to build custom streaming workflows.

Technical capabilities include support for multiple streaming protocols, such as RTMP and RTSP for ingest, and HLS and MPEG-DASH for delivery, along with adaptive bitrate streaming. The platform provides on-the-fly transcoding through the Transcoder module, DVR functionality, recording, and options for content protection and DRM integration with external systems.

Deployment options span on-premises, cloud, or hybrid configurations. Wowza offers APIs and SDKs for automating workflows and integrating streaming functionality into applications, as well as management dashboards and monitoring tools. The company maintains a partner ecosystem and developer resources to support custom integrations and plugins.

History and market position: Wowza was established in the mid-2000s and has become a widely used component in enterprise and broadcast streaming architectures, competing with other media servers and cloud streaming platforms.