Hello WebRTC? it's me, HEVC!

[Keukhan]

Hello WebRTC? it's me, HEVC!

Safari already supports the HEVC codec in WebRTC, and finally, starting from Chrome M136, WebRTC will support HEVC. So, we should also keep up with the times and support HEVC in WebRTC, right?
So, we have completed the development to enable HEVC in WebRTC. Now, we're waiting for your feedback. Looking forward to your thoughts!

How to Test HEVC

There is no need to add any special settings in OvenMediaEngine to test HEVC in WebRTC. As long as WebRTC is enabled for both the provider and the publisher, it will work.

The simplest way to use HEVC in OvenMediaEngine is to stream using the WHIP protocol in OBS. Here’s how:

1. Set the WHIP URL in OBS.
   https://docs.ovenmediaengine.com/live-source/webrtc#whip-url
2. Change the video encoder codec to HEVC.
   
3. Start the streaming.

(OvenLiveKit updates will follow soon.)

Then, we need to play it on the player, right? We will try playing it using the OvenPlayer.

1. Go to http://demo.ovenplayer.com/ and enter the WebRTC URL.
   

You see, right? It's working well.

I tested it using the Chrome browser, and since Chrome doesn’t officially support HEVC yet, you need to add a special option when launching Chrome.

"C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe" --enable-features=PlatformHEVCEncoderSupport,WebRtcAllowH265Receive,WebRtcAllowH265Send --force-fieldtrials=WebRTC-Video-H26xPacketBuffer/Enabled

Next, we plan to support HEVC in other protocols as well.
we look forward to your requests and feedback.
Thanks.

[naanlizard]

If a user is streaming with obs whip, it only sends hevc right? So for viewers with no hevc support, they can't play the stream without re-encoding in the server?

[getroot]

Yes, you should encode to AVC in OME so that viewers who don't support HEVC can play it.
Sooner or later (probably this year) Chrome will have Mixed-Codec Simulcast, which will allow WebRTC to stream both HEVC and AVC simultaneously.

[zcolor]

Just tested it. Worked great. If you can find a way to add nclc tags to a stream, this could open up the ability to stream HDR