Haivision Play Pro SRT setup: mobile playback and contribution with Callaba Gateway
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Haivision Play Pro and Callaba
Use one mobile app for an SRT confidence monitor or an occasional phone contribution
Haivision Play Pro can play an SRT feed on iOS or Android and can also use the mobile device camera to create an SRT stream. With Callaba, those become two deliberately different workflows: send a selected Callaba output to a remote viewer, or receive a Play Pro camera contribution in a named Callaba SRT Server.
Pick one direction before configuring the SRT roles
For mobile monitoring, Callaba is the media source and Play Pro is the destination that displays it. For phone contribution, Play Pro captures and sends the media while Callaba receives it. Caller and Listener only describe which endpoint starts the SRT handshake; they do not define media direction. Write both the media direction and the connection roles in the runbook.
A simple contribution baseline is Play Pro as Caller and Callaba as Listener. A simple monitoring design may use Play Pro as Caller to request an allowed receiver stream from Callaba, or a Callaba Caller may reach a Play Pro Listener on a deliberately exposed network. Choose the topology that matches the actual firewall and access policy.
The bidirectional visual represents two separate use cases, not simultaneous two-way video or a latency benchmark. Animation is disabled for reduced-motion visitors.
Workflow A: monitor a Callaba feed in Play Pro
This is useful when a producer, executive, talent, or field operator needs a low-friction confidence view on a phone or tablet. In Callaba, select the intended source and create an SRT receiver/output contract for that viewer or group. Give it a clear name, a restricted identity, and an encryption policy appropriate to the content.
- Prove the intended source inside Callaba first. Open it in Multiview and confirm picture identity, audio, and current status.
- Create the SRT access path. Record the media direction, Caller/Listener roles, address, UDP port, latency, optional Stream ID, and encryption values.
- In Play Pro, use QuickPlay or a Local Lineup channel. Select SRT, choose the matching mode, enter address and port where required, then supply latency, Stream ID, and passphrase according to the approved contract.
- Start playback and inspect the Play Pro stream statistics. Confirm the displayed program and audio, not only a connected state.
- Lock down distribution. If a lineup or configuration link is shared, treat it as access material and exclude reusable secrets wherever the sharing method does not protect them.
Haivision’s Playmaker can generate Caller-mode Play Pro settings and QR codes. It is a convenience tool, not an authorization system. Review every generated value before distribution and revoke the matching Callaba access when the event ends.
Workflow B: send the phone camera into Callaba
Play Pro can create a live SRT stream from the mobile device camera. That makes it suitable for a producer check-in, backup shot, remote interview source, or fast field contribution when the production accepts the limitations of a phone-based capture path.
- Prepare Callaba. Create and start an SRT Listener on a reachable UDP port. Define an approved publisher identity and optional encryption before giving settings to the phone operator.
- Create a Local Lineup in Play Pro. Add a channel with the function set to Stream. Choose video bitrate, audio bitrate, resolution, frame rate, and H.264 or HEVC according to the complete production chain.
- Configure SRT. Select Caller, enter the Callaba destination address and port, set latency, and add the matching Stream ID and encryption values when used.
- Start the camera stream. Check framing, orientation, selected camera, microphone, and network before treating the source as ready.
- Accept decoded media. In Callaba, confirm the named publisher and incoming bitrate, then add a Multiview tile or record a short sample. Listen for the expected audio and inspect sync.
The latest iOS documentation also exposes Listener and Rendezvous modes. Use them only when both network boundaries are understood; outbound Caller from the mobile device is normally easier to support across mobile and guest networks.
Do not confuse a confidence monitor with program delivery
| Use case | What Play Pro proves | What it does not prove |
|---|---|---|
| Remote confidence view | The authorized mobile endpoint can receive and decode the selected SRT feed. | Every public player, recorder, or distribution destination is healthy. |
| Program return | The field user can see the chosen return source with workable timing. | Talkback, teleprompter, or two-way collaboration exists unless configured separately. |
| Phone contribution | The device camera and microphone can reach Callaba as an SRT input. | The source has the optics, audio, power, mounting, or redundancy of a broadcast field unit. |
| Shared lineup | Approved users can find a maintained set of streams without retyping every setting. | Publishing a lineup alone enforces the Callaba access policy. |
Design access for people, not generic devices
Give each operational audience the smallest useful set of feeds. A talent return, engineering confidence feed, executive program view, and phone contribution do not need the same credentials or Stream IDs. Separate identities make revocation and troubleshooting possible without disrupting every mobile user.
Play Pro supports encrypted SRT, and Haivision documents AES-128 and AES-256 on its product page. Encryption protects the media session only when both endpoints share compatible settings. It does not replace account control, secret rotation, firewall policy, or an inventory of subscribed devices.
Prove the real network before event day
Test Play Pro on the mobile carrier, venue Wi-Fi, or remote network that will actually be used. Establish a baseline for connection time, SRT RTT, negotiated latency, bitrate stability, battery consumption, and thermal behavior over the expected session length. A five-minute office test cannot validate a multi-hour mobile production.
For monitoring, temporarily remove the viewer’s network and confirm how Play Pro recovers. For contribution, move the app between foreground and background only according to the documented operating policy, then observe the Callaba session. Record whether the publisher reconnects with the same identity and how downstream recording reacts.
Troubleshoot the chosen direction
Play Pro cannot open a Callaba feed
Confirm the correct media direction, roles, reachable address, UDP port, listener state, firewall, Stream ID, encryption, and passphrase. Test one user before distributing a lineup.
Play Pro connects but shows no picture
Prove the source in Callaba Multiview and verify codec support on the mobile device. A healthy SRT handshake can still carry absent or incompatible media.
The phone contribution never appears
Check that the Play Pro channel function is Stream, not Play. Confirm Caller destination values, camera permissions, network access, and the running Callaba listener.
Callaba receives the wrong mobile source
Use distinct publisher identities and channel names. Preserve the transport, then correct the selected Play Pro channel or Callaba source assignment.
Playback is delayed more than expected
Measure the complete chain and compare SRT latency with network RTT. Capture, encoding, buffering, decoding, and display all contribute beyond the transport value.
A shared lineup stops working
Check whether its hosted definition changed, credentials were rotated, or the underlying Callaba receiver was removed. Avoid restoring access by broadly reopening the listener.
Official references and Callaba procedures
Use the official Haivision Play Pro product page for supported mobile playback, contribution, codecs, encryption, and lineup capabilities. Follow the current Play Pro QuickPlay procedure for monitoring and Creating a Live SRT Stream for phone contribution. Haivision’s Playmaker settings tool documents its Caller-mode sharing boundary.
Build the receiving side with the Callaba SRT Server user guide, then use the SRT Server API reference for repeatable provisioning. Return to the Haivision SRT Gateway hub when the mobile client is only one endpoint in a larger Haivision estate. Verify behavior on the installed Play Pro version and mobile OS.
Give each mobile viewer or contributor an explicit SRT contract
Choose the media direction, assign a recognizable identity, verify decoded media, and revoke access cleanly after the production.