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Webcast and Recording Service User Documentation

CERN Live logo CERN Live logo

Welcome to the CERN's webcast service user documentation.

The CERN Webcast Service makes CERN lectures, meetings, and seminars accessible to universities, schools, and the general public.

You can watch live events on live.cern.chοΏΌ from your computer, tablet, or mobile phone. The service is integrated with many CERN auditoriums and meeting rooms, allowing anyone, anywhere, to follow CERN’s latest research and discoveries in real time.

It also provides the streaming infrastructure for recorded videos available on CDS Videos (CERN's multimedia archive)οΏΌ and integrates with Indico to offer a seamless experience for both live and recorded events.

What can we provide?

  • If you are an event organizer: We stream live events, record and archive them in CDS Videos. You can find more information on the Organising a live webcast of an event in an equipped room page.
  • If you require 24/7 streaming: Our infrastructure is capable of handling streams using RTMP and RTSP protocols.
  • If you want to attend live events: We showcase live events on the CERN Live website (https://live.cern.ch).

Contact us

Please, open a ticket to submit a request using the following forms:

Working hours

All the cases during Out-of-hours (including real time troubleshooting) will be taken in a best effort basis (no guaranteed service).

Overview of the service

Webcast service overview

🟦 Interrnal to our service 🟩 External to our service

Explaination of this overview diagram

1. CERN Room

  • Physical room where the event takes place.
  • Equipped with cameras and microphones.
  • Sends the AV signal to the encoders.

2. 🟦 Encoders

  • Located inside the CERN Room.
  • Convert audio/video into a digital streaming format.
  • Send the live feed via RTMP to the Streaming Servers.
  • Simultaneously record a local copy of the event.

3. 🟦 Recording

  • Stores the raw recordings produced by the encoders.
  • Used later for post-processing and archival.

4. 🟦 Streaming Servers

  • Receive live streams from encoders (RTMP).
  • Convert and distribute streams as HLS.
  • Send HLS streams to CERN Live Website (live) and CDS Videos (VoD).

5. 🟦 CDN (Content Delivery Network)

  • Distributes live streams efficiently to multiple regions.
  • Balances load and improves delivery speed.

6. 🟦 CERN Live Website

  • Hosts live broadcasts for real-time viewing.
  • Retrieves HLS streams from Streaming Servers or CDN.
  • Serves content to users over HTTPS.

7. 🟩 CDS Videos

  • Stores and publishes processed recordings.
  • Provides on-demand access to past events.
  • Uses HLS and delivers via HTTPS.

8. End Users

  • CERN staff or public viewers.
  • Watch live streams on CERN Live Website.
  • Watch recordings on CDS Videos.
  • Access all content securely over HTTPS.

Presentations about the service