Live streaming is the process that gives people the opportunity to watch video content at the exact time it its filmed, in real time, without it first being recorded, edited or stored.
For live streaming to happen, some protocols have to be followed. These streaming protocols are for one-to-many connections that go out to multiple users at once. In order for live streaming to be successful, the video should be transmitted as close as possible to the time it is filmed, without any video latency. Video latency is the delay between filming and transmitting a video content.

But why would someone use live streaming?

When people cannot attend an event in person, they can attend it online, without having to be physically present. Nowadays, live streaming is used for TV broadcasts, social media and video games. Many businesses and organizations and even the government and the church use it to engage with their audience. Marketers also use live streaming to advertize their products and maybe sale them. People can enjoy a soccer game or a concert live sitting on their couch or lying on their bed. And, of course, the most popular reason to use live streaming nowadays, due to Covid-19, is for education purposes.

HTML5 video player

When a video has been filmed, all you need is a video player to stream it online and make it available for viewers to watch. Until now, the most popular video player was Adobe’s Flash. 
However, Adobe’s Flash player couldn’t upload videos to mobile devices, plus it wasn’t secure enough. 
These two problems have been solved with HTML5 Player, which is compatible with almost all internet-enabled devices, it is secure, plus customizable. 
Hackers will fail to control your website and its content, since there are no plug-ins needed for HTML5 to work, it is directly embedded onto a website, instead. As for the customization, HTML5 allows you to adapt it in the way you prefer:

First of all, there is an autoplay feature, which you can turn on and off, depending on whether you want your video to be autoplayed or not when loaded. 
You can, also, decide if you want the loaded video to play in a loop or not. 
Lastly, you can customize the size of the player to your preferences.

Video encoder

The camera captures images and you get RAW video files. RAW videos are the data you get before any image editing. However, these video files are very large and cannot be loaded or streamed over the internet. This problem is solved by video encoding, which cuts your RAW video files into smaller ones, so that they can be streamed. Basically, RAW video files are a total of thousands of still frames that play one after the other quickly, giving you the impression that what you see is a moving image. Many of these frames are identical. Encoders use codecs –a device or program that encodes or decodes a data stream or signal- to remove unnecessary still frames. 
You may choose between software and hardware encoders. While both are reliable, hardware encoders offer better results, but are much more expensive.

Video transcoders

Video transcoding is responsible for the best resolution of a video by making multi-bitrate and adaptive bitrate possible. Bitrate refers to the amount of video data being transferred in a particular amount of time. It affects the size and the quality of the video. Multi-bitrate is used by many viewers because it allows them to have access to one version of their video that works best for their internet connection. On the other side, adaptive video players automatically find the ideal version for the viewers’ internet connection.

Content Delivery Network (CDN)

One of the goals of live streaming is to reduce the time a video needs to be transmitted, so that the video is viewed at real time. Content Delivery Network is responsible for this process. A number of servers are placed in a strategically way around an area and deliver the content to viewers. Content jumps from the video host to the server that is the closest, then to the next closest, until it reaches the viewer. The delivery speed depends on the number of jumps that has to be made until the content reaches its final destination.