OTT Streaming Platform

Full-stack video streaming platform with Netflix-style architecture, HLS adaptive bitrate, and Go microservices

Go Fiber FFmpeg HLS PostgreSQL Redis MinIO Docker

8+

Videos Transcoded

4

Quality Levels

6

Microservices

78MB

HLS Content

Project Overview

Built a production-ready Over-The-Top (OTT) streaming platform from scratch, featuring Netflix-style architecture with adaptive bitrate streaming. The platform handles video upload, transcoding to multiple resolutions (1080p, 720p, 480p, 360p), and serves content via HLS (HTTP Live Streaming) for seamless playback across devices.

System Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                              OTT Platform Architecture                        │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                                               │
│  ┌──────────┐     ┌──────────────┐     ┌──────────────┐     ┌─────────────┐ │
│  │  Client  │────▶│  API Gateway │────▶│ Media Service│────▶│   MinIO     │ │
│  │ (Player) │     │   (Go/Fiber) │     │  (Go/FFmpeg) │     │  (Storage)  │ │
│  └──────────┘     └──────────────┘     └──────────────┘     └─────────────┘ │
│       │                  │                    │                     │        │
│       │                  ▼                    ▼                     │        │
│       │           ┌──────────────┐     ┌──────────────┐            │        │
│       │           │  PostgreSQL  │     │    Redis     │            │        │
│       │           │  (Metadata)  │     │   (Cache)    │            │        │
│       │           └──────────────┘     └──────────────┘            │        │
│       │                                                             │        │
│       └─────────────── HLS Streaming ◀──────────────────────────────┘        │
│                                                                               │
│  Transcoding Pipeline:                                                        │
│  ┌────────┐   ┌────────┐   ┌────────┐   ┌────────┐   ┌────────┐            │
│  │ Upload │──▶│ Decode │──▶│ Scale  │──▶│ Encode │──▶│  HLS   │            │
│  │  MP4   │   │ FFmpeg │   │ 4 Res  │   │ H.264  │   │ .m3u8  │            │
│  └────────┘   └────────┘   └────────┘   └────────┘   └────────┘            │
│                                                                               │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Key Features

Adaptive Bitrate Streaming

HLS with multiple quality levels (1080p, 720p, 480p, 360p) that automatically adjusts based on network conditions for buffer-free playback.

FFmpeg Transcoding Pipeline

Automated video processing with FFmpeg for format conversion, resolution scaling, and HLS segmentation with optimized encoding settings.

Microservices Architecture

Separate API Gateway and Media Service for scalability. Each service is containerized with Docker and orchestrated via Docker Compose.

JWT Authentication

Secure user authentication with JWT tokens, bcrypt password hashing, and role-based access control for content management.

Content Management

PostgreSQL database for content metadata, user profiles, watchlists, and viewing history with Redis caching for performance.

Object Storage

MinIO S3-compatible storage for raw uploads and HLS segments, enabling easy migration to AWS S3 or other cloud providers.

Technology Stack

Backend

  • Go 1.21 - High-performance API
  • Fiber v2 - Express-inspired framework
  • GORM - ORM for PostgreSQL
  • Viper - Configuration management

Media Processing

  • FFmpeg - Video transcoding
  • HLS - Adaptive streaming
  • H.264/AAC - Video/audio codecs
  • Thumbnail generation

Infrastructure

  • Docker - Containerization
  • PostgreSQL - Metadata storage
  • Redis - Caching layer
  • MinIO - Object storage

Code Highlight: HLS Transcoding

// Transcode video to multiple HLS quality levels
func (t *FFmpegTranscoder) TranscodeToHLS(input, outputDir string) error {
    resolutions := []Resolution{
        {Name: "1080p", Width: 1920, Height: 1080, Bitrate: "5000k"},
        {Name: "720p",  Width: 1280, Height: 720,  Bitrate: "2500k"},
        {Name: "480p",  Width: 854,  Height: 480,  Bitrate: "1000k"},
        {Name: "360p",  Width: 640,  Height: 360,  Bitrate: "500k"},
    }

    for _, res := range resolutions {
        args := []string{
            "-i", input,
            "-vf", fmt.Sprintf("scale=%d:%d", res.Width, res.Height),
            "-c:v", "libx264", "-b:v", res.Bitrate,
            "-c:a", "aac", "-b:a", "128k",
            "-hls_time", "4", "-hls_list_size", "0",
            filepath.Join(outputDir, res.Name, "playlist.m3u8"),
        }
        exec.Command("ffmpeg", args...).Run()
    }
    return t.generateMasterPlaylist(outputDir, resolutions)
}

Results & Impact

  • Sub-second startup time - HLS segments load instantly for immediate playback
  • 80+ media objects - Generated from 8 source videos across 4 quality levels
  • Adaptive quality - Seamless bitrate switching based on network conditions
  • Production-ready - Full authentication, authorization, and error handling
  • Scalable architecture - Microservices can be independently scaled
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