Video streaming for TV channels and visual radio: 2026 guide

What changes when the signal is video

• Scale. A radio listener at 128 kbps uses 58 MB an hour; a viewer at 1080p (3.5 Mbps) uses about 1.6 GB an hour, 27 times more. That is why video plans are sold by concurrent viewers with lower limits for the same price, and why included transfer matters so much.
• Protocol. Live video on the internet today is HLS: short segments published over HTTP that every browser, phone, smart TV and delivery network understands. Icecast and Shoutcast are for audio.
• Ingest. The channel sends its signal by RTMP or SRT from a video encoder (OBS, vMix, a hardware unit), not from an audio encoder.
• New parts. DVR (rewind live), multi-bitrate (several resolutions at once), automatic slate (what viewers see when the signal drops), program guide and simulcast to social platforms.

Resolution and bitrate

The bitrate a plan publishes is what you see: "1080p" at 1.5 Mbps looks worse than 720p at 2.5 Mbps. Ask for both numbers.

Concurrent viewers and bandwidth

Same math as radio, with bigger numbers: viewers at peak × bitrate. 1,000 viewers at 3.5 Mbps are 3.5 Gbps leaving the network at that moment; 250 viewers at 2 Mbps, 500 Mbps. No single server on a normal connection holds that: for video, the delivery network is not a differentiator but the condition for it to work. The questions for the provider are those in the radio guide, plus one: whether it charges or caps transfer, because video reaches TB quickly.

Ingest: RTMP and SRT

RTMP is the classic protocol for sending the signal from the studio: every encoder supports it and it remains the standard. SRT is newer and designed for unstable connections (outside broadcasts, 4G, long links): it recovers lost packets and keeps the signal stable with controlled latency. Ideally the provider accepts both; INOVANEX accepts RTMP and SRT. The encoder can be software (OBS Studio, free; vMix; Wirecast) or hardware (a dedicated encoder fed from the switcher output).

DVR, multi-bitrate, automatic slate and social

• DVR: rewind live and watch what aired in the last 24 hours, 7, 14 or 30 days. At INOVANEX it is an add-on (24 hours: US$ 12.50 · 7 days: US$ 15.50 · 14 days: US$ 26.50 · 30 days: US$ 52.50 a month).
• Multi-bitrate (ABR): the same signal in several resolutions at once, with the player picking according to the viewer's connection. It saves viewers on weak connections from a spinning wheel. An add-on on INOVANEX's largest plan (HD (720p+480p): US$ 32.50 · Full (720p+480p+360p): US$ 45.00 a month).
• Automatic slate: when the encoder drops, viewers see a slate or backup content instead of a black screen. It should be included.
• Video AutoDJ: a library of recorded programs that airs when there is no live signal, like radio AutoDJ. An add-on by storage.
• Simulcast to social platforms: send the same signal to YouTube, Facebook or Twitch from the server, without loading the studio connection. At INOVANEX, an add-on for 2 destinations (US$ 4.00), 3 destinations (US$ 7.00) or 5 destinations (US$ 12.00) a month.
• Program guide: what viewers see as "now" and "next" in the player and the app.

App and TV sets

Your own app works for the channel just as for the station, and at INOVANEX it is the same app for both. What TV adds is the big screen: an Android TV / Google TV app (one-time add-on) and, through Chromecast and AirPlay from the phone, any TV set.

Reference plans

INOVANEX's video plans are chosen by concurrent viewers and publish resolution and bitrate, with no transfer charges, automatic slate, an HTML5 player with the channel's brand and SSL, RTMP and SRT ingest and a program guide. Prices as of October 26, 2026, in US dollars, no VAT added (export of services).