RTMP is ideal if you require low latency, though in recent years it has become outdated and as it is based on Flash, it may lack support within some browsers and devices.
Despite these disadvantages it is ideal to use RTMP as a transport stream, it can be transcoded into other formats such as HLS which can be distributed more easily.
HLS, originally developed by Apple is a very scalable and flexible protocol compared to RTMP. It is supported by a wide range of devices and browsers and it is fully compatible with our CDN, which can distribute it worldwide at a good latency.
HLS is supported on desktop browsers, smart TVs, and both Android and iOS mobile devices. HTML5 video players also natively support HLS, in comparison with HDS and RTMP. The HLS is the safest protocol today for scaling live streaming to larger audience.
Coming to the features, the HLS standard also supports adaptive bitrate streaming. The one major drawback is with the latency. The latency can be relatively high. But, there are methods for reducing HLS latency.
RTMP used to be the de facto standard for live streaming. Many CDNs offer delivery that scales to the masses. RTMP Server, however, does not take into consideration that broadcaster and viewers might have internet connections that aren’t always up to the task of transferring the stream at full speed. Smartphones and web browsers are also unable to play back RTMP natively; Browsers used to depend on a flash plugin for playback, which has been phased out over the last couple of years.
RTMP Pros:
1. The actual installation process of a Flash Media Server is simple, effective and appears to be trustworthy since the protocol was established 10 years back.
2. RTMP has an exceptional feature where it provides low latency while transmitting live broadcasts.
3. The protocol has the potentiality to transmit audio and video on any formats and rendition.
4. It also supported universally due to its effectiveness in implementing for live streaming.
RTMP Cons:
1. It does not have native support in iOS.
2. RTMP does not work in HTML5, it differs from the HTTP Protocol.
3. The security of delivering video is minimal.
HTTP Pros:
1. HLS is a pocket-friendly protocol which is Compatible on all the platforms and supports HTML5 video player.
2. Helps to stream to reach more viewers and also the safest protocol to scale up the content to a massive base audience.
3. The biggest advantage of HLS to RTMP is that it has the potentiality to deliver adaptive bitrate streaming where the quality of the content to be expected at a high pixel-rate.