By Dacast Editorial Team | Reviewed by Jon Whitehead, COO at Dacast | Updated June 2026<\/em><\/p>\n Live streaming over public networks, from mobile broadcasts on public Wi-Fi to enterprise town halls delivered over the internet, creates a real security exposure. Standard RTMP transmits your stream key and video feed without encryption, leaving both vulnerable to interception, packet sniffing, and unauthorized access. RTMPS closes this gap by adding SSL\/TLS encryption to the RTMP ingest layer, the same protection that secures HTTPS traffic, making it the standard choice for any broadcaster who takes stream security seriously in 2026.<\/span><\/p>\n Real-Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP) is a protocol that has remained important in the live streaming process throughout its evolution. There is one variation of this\u00a0video streaming protocol<\/a>\u00a0that is becoming more and more popular.<\/p>\n RTMPS is a secure variation of RTMP that adds an extra layer of protection through SSL\/TLS encryption. <\/span>RTMPS streaming<\/span> is now widely adopted by broadcasters seeking to protect their content while maintaining low-latency delivery.<\/span><\/p>\n This post will cover everything you need to know about RTMPS and its role in live streaming. We will start by discussing the history and uses of RTMP properly before discussing the ins and outs of RTMPS.<\/p>\n Live streaming has undergone a dramatic transformation in recent years, and the <\/span>Real-Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP)<\/span><\/a> has played a foundational role throughout this evolution.<\/span><\/p>\n RTMP\u2019s original role was to deliver video to the Adobe Flash Player, a technology that dominated online media for over a decade before being discontinued in 2020.<\/span><\/p>\n RTMP\u2019s primary function was to stream video and audio content from <\/span>hosting servers<\/span><\/a> to the Adobe Flash Player, a technology that dominated online media for over a decade. This use case became known as RTMP delivery or RTMP streaming.<\/span><\/p>\n For years, RTMP streaming was the go-to solution for broadcasters, offering stable performance and reliable playback via Flash. However, the protocol had one major shortcoming: incompatibility with <\/span>mobile devices<\/span><\/a>.<\/span>As smartphone adoption soared, this became a critical issue. According to 2025 data from Statista, mobile devices now account for <\/span>over 60% of global internet traffic<\/span><\/a>, up from 58.5% in 2023. This shift made Flash\u2019s limitations more glaring, as mobile users were increasingly unable to access video content delivered via RTMP and Flash.<\/span><\/p>\n Apple addressed this problem by creating the <\/span>HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) protocol<\/span><\/a>, which was optimized for mobile compatibility and worked seamlessly with the <\/span>HTML5 video player<\/span><\/a>. Over time, HLS replaced RTMP for final video delivery, especially as Flash was deprecated and officially discontinued by Adobe in 2020.<\/span><\/p>\n Despite the decline of Flash, RTMP didn\u2019t disappear. Instead, it found a new role as a transport method for sending video content from encoders to video platforms, a process known as RTMP ingest.<\/span><\/p>\n Today, RTMP ingest<\/a> remains a standard in live streaming workflows. It is favored by broadcasters because it supports low-latency streaming, integrates with most streaming software (like OBS Studio), and is cost-effective due to widely available RTMP-compatible encoders.<\/span><\/p>\n In fact, RTMP remains one of the most efficient protocols for ingesting video streams, especially in workflows that prioritize speed over perfect security or modern encryption.<\/span><\/p>\n Choosing and configuring an <\/span>RTMP encoder<\/span><\/a> is an essential step in the live streaming process. While it can seem overwhelming at first, the good news is that modern tools have made this process more accessible and user-friendly than ever.<\/span><\/p>\n An encoder converts raw video files into digital formats suitable for transmission. If you\u2019re using a <\/span>platform<\/span><\/a> like Dacast that supports RTMP ingest, choosing a capable and compatible RTMP encoder is crucial for smooth, professional-quality live streams.<\/span><\/p>\n Here are some of the best encoders widely used by streamers and broadcasters today:<\/span><\/p>\n Why We Recommend OBS Studio? Because it\u2019s open-source, frequently updated, and supports <\/span>OBS RTMPS streaming<\/span>. It continues to be a leading choice in 2026, especially for those seeking high-quality, cost-effective, and secure live streams. This is what makes it ideal for <\/span>secure live streaming<\/span> over SSL\/TLS encrypted channels.<\/span><\/p>\n The additional advantages of OBS Studio include:<\/strong><\/p>\n For more information on streaming with OBS Studio on Dacast, please check out our dedicated guides for <\/span>macOS<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>Windows<\/span><\/a> users.<\/span><\/p>\nTable of Contents<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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RTMP: The History of the Real-Time Messaging Protocol<\/strong><\/h2>\n
RTMP Origins<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Flash Dependency and Mobile Limitations<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/prod-images.dacast.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2025-06-02-at-16.55.51.png\")
<\/p>\nRTMP Ingest: How RTMP Survived<\/strong><\/h3>\n
RTMP Encoding<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"rtmp](\"https:\/\/prod-images.dacast.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/html5-rtmp-player.png\")
Why Encoder Choice Matters<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Top RTMP Encoders in 2026<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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How RTMP Streaming Works<\/strong><\/h2>\n