Create static overlays

This page shows how to generate static overlay images on top of a live stream. A static overlay image persists during the entire live stream. You can configure the resolution and position of a static overlay image.

Set up your Google Cloud project and authentication

If you have not created a Google Cloud project and credentials, see Before you begin.

Upload an image to your Cloud Storage bucket

  1. In the Google Cloud console, go to the Cloud Storage Browser page.
    Go to the Cloud Storage Browser page
  2. Click the name of your bucket to open it.
  3. Click Upload files.
  4. Select an image file (JPEG or PNG) to upload from your local machine. You can use this sample overlay image.

Your image is now saved to the Cloud Storage bucket.

Create an asset

Assets are video or images that can be used with the Live Stream API. Create an image asset to use as a static overlay.

To create an asset, use the projects.locations.assets.create method.

Before using any of the request data, make the following replacements:

  • PROJECT_NUMBER: your Google Cloud project number; this is located in the Project number field on the IAM Settings page
  • LOCATION: the location in which to create the asset; use one of the supported regions
    Show locations
    • us-central1
    • us-east1
    • us-east4
    • us-west1
    • us-west2
    • northamerica-northeast1
    • southamerica-east1
    • asia-east1
    • asia-east2
    • asia-northeast1
    • asia-southeast1
    • australia-southeast1
    • europe-west1
    • europe-west2
    • europe-west3
    • europe-west4
  • ASSET_ID: A user-defined identifier for the new asset to create. This value must be 1-63 characters, begin and end with [a-z0-9], and can contain dashes (-) between characters. For example, my-asset.
  • ASSET_URI: the URI of the image in your Cloud Storage bucket to use, such as gs://my-bucket/my-image.png

Request JSON body:

{
  "image": {
    "uri": "ASSET_URI"
  }
}

To send your request, expand one of these options:

You should receive a JSON response similar to the following:

{
  "name": "projects/PROJECT_NUMBER/locations/LOCATION/operations/OPERATION_ID",
  "metadata": {
    "@type": "type.googleapis.com/google.cloud.video.livestream.v1.OperationMetadata",
    "createTime": CREATE_TIME,
    "target": "projects/PROJECT_NUMBER/locations/LOCATION/assets/ASSET_ID",
    "verb": "create",
    "requestedCancellation": false,
    "apiVersion": "v1"
  },
  "done": false
}

Copy the returned OPERATION_ID to use in the next section.

Check for the result

Use the projects.locations.operations.get method to check if the asset has been created. If the response contains "done: false", repeat the command until the response contains "done: true".

Before using any of the request data, make the following replacements:

  • PROJECT_NUMBER: your Google Cloud project number; this is located in the Project number field on the IAM Settings page
  • LOCATION: the location where your asset is located; use one of the supported regions
    Show locations
    • us-central1
    • us-east1
    • us-east4
    • us-west1
    • us-west2
    • northamerica-northeast1
    • southamerica-east1
    • asia-east1
    • asia-east2
    • asia-northeast1
    • asia-southeast1
    • australia-southeast1
    • europe-west1
    • europe-west2
    • europe-west3
    • europe-west4
  • OPERATION_ID: the identifier for the operation

To send your request, expand one of these options:

You should receive a JSON response similar to the following:

{
  "name": "projects/PROJECT_NUMBER/locations/LOCATION/operations/OPERATION_ID",
  "metadata": {
    "@type": "type.googleapis.com/google.cloud.video.livestream.v1.OperationMetadata",
    "createTime": CREATE_TIME,
    "endTime": END_TIME,
    "target": "projects/PROJECT_NUMBER/locations/LOCATION/assets/ASSET_ID",
    "verb": "create",
    "requestedCancellation": false,
    "apiVersion": "v1"
  },
  "done": true,
  "response": {
    "@type": "type.googleapis.com/google.cloud.video.livestream.v1.Asset",
    "name": "projects/PROJECT_NUMBER/locations/LOCATION/assets/ASSET_ID",
    "createTime": CREATE_TIME,
    "updateTime": UPDATE_TIME,
    "image": {
      "uri": "ASSET_URI"
    },
    "crc32c": "ae1EJg==",
    "state": "ACTIVE"
  }
}

Create the input endpoint

To create the input endpoint, use the projects.locations.inputs.create method.

Before using any of the request data, make the following replacements:

  • PROJECT_NUMBER: your Google Cloud project number; this is located in the Project number field on the IAM Settings page
  • LOCATION: the location in which to create the input endpoint; use one of the supported regions
    Show locations
    • us-central1
    • us-east1
    • us-east4
    • us-west1
    • us-west2
    • northamerica-northeast1
    • southamerica-east1
    • asia-east1
    • asia-east2
    • asia-northeast1
    • asia-southeast1
    • australia-southeast1
    • europe-west1
    • europe-west2
    • europe-west3
    • europe-west4
  • INPUT_ID: a user-defined identifier for the new input endpoint to create (to which you send your input stream). This value must be 1-63 characters, begin and end with [a-z0-9], and can contain dashes (-) between characters. For example, my-input.

Request JSON body:

{
  "type": "RTMP_PUSH"
}

To send your request, expand one of these options:

You should receive a JSON response similar to the following:

{
  "name": "projects/PROJECT_NUMBER/locations/LOCATION/operations/OPERATION_ID",
  "metadata": {
    "@type": "type.googleapis.com/google.cloud.video.livestream.v1.OperationMetadata",
    "createTime": CREATE_TIME,
    "target": "projects/PROJECT_NUMBER/locations/LOCATION/inputs/INPUT_ID",
    "verb": "create",
    "requestedCancellation": false,
    "apiVersion": "v1"
  },
  "done": false
}

You can check for the result of the input creation operation using the new operation ID.

Get input endpoint details

To get the details of the input endpoint, use the projects.locations.inputs.get method.

Before using any of the request data, make the following replacements:

  • PROJECT_NUMBER: your Google Cloud project number; this is located in the Project number field on the IAM Settings page
  • LOCATION: the location where your input endpoint is located; use one of the supported regions
    Show locations
    • us-central1
    • us-east1
    • us-east4
    • us-west1
    • us-west2
    • northamerica-northeast1
    • southamerica-east1
    • asia-east1
    • asia-east2
    • asia-northeast1
    • asia-southeast1
    • australia-southeast1
    • europe-west1
    • europe-west2
    • europe-west3
    • europe-west4
  • INPUT_ID: the user-defined identifier for the input endpoint

To send your request, expand one of these options:

You should receive a JSON response similar to the following:

{
  "name": "projects/PROJECT_NUMBER/locations/LOCATION/inputs/INPUT_ID",
  "createTime": CREATE_TIME,
  "updateTime": UPDATE_TIME,
  "type": "RTMP_PUSH",
  "uri":  "INPUT_STREAM_URI", # For example, "rtmp://1.2.3.4/live/b8ebdd94-c8d9-4d88-a16e-b963c43a953b",
  "tier": "HD"
}

Find the uri field and copy the returned INPUT_STREAM_URI to use later in the Send the input stream section.

Create the channel

To create the channel, use the projects.locations.channels.create method.

Note the staticOverlays array in the channel configuration:

"staticOverlays": [
  {
    "asset": "projects/PROJECT_NUMBER/locations/LOCATION/assets/ASSET_ID",
    "position": {
      "x": 0.5,
      "y": 0.5
    },
    "resolution": {
      "w": 0.1
    },
    "opacity": 0.8
  }
],

Before using any of the request data, make the following replacements:

  • PROJECT_NUMBER: your Google Cloud project number; this is located in the Project number field on the IAM Settings page
  • LOCATION: the location in which to create the channel; use one of the supported regions
    Show locations
    • us-central1
    • us-east1
    • us-east4
    • us-west1
    • us-west2
    • northamerica-northeast1
    • southamerica-east1
    • asia-east1
    • asia-east2
    • asia-northeast1
    • asia-southeast1
    • australia-southeast1
    • europe-west1
    • europe-west2
    • europe-west3
    • europe-west4
  • CHANNEL_ID: a user-defined identifier for the channel to create; this value must be 1-63 characters, begin and end with [a-z0-9], and can contain dashes (-) between characters
  • INPUT_ID: the user-defined identifier for the input endpoint
  • BUCKET_NAME: the name of the Cloud Storage bucket you created to hold the live stream manifest and segment files
  • ASSET_ID: the user-defined identifier for the asset

Request JSON body:

{
  "inputAttachments": [
    {
      "key": "my-input",
      "input": "projects/PROJECT_NUMBER/locations/LOCATION/inputs/INPUT_ID"
    }
  ],
  "output": {
    "uri": "gs://BUCKET_NAME"
  },
  "staticOverlays": [
    {
      "asset": "projects/PROJECT_NUMBER/locations/LOCATION/assets/ASSET_ID",
      "position": {
        "x": 0.5,
        "y": 0.5
      },
      "resolution": {
        "w": 0.1
      },
      "opacity": 0.8
    },
  ],
  "elementaryStreams": [
    {
      "key": "es_video",
      "videoStream": {
        "h264": {
          "profile": "high",
          "widthPixels": 1280,
          "heightPixels": 720,
          "bitrateBps": 3000000,
          "frameRate": 30
        }
      }
    },
    {
      "key": "es_audio",
      "audioStream": {
        "codec": "aac",
        "channelCount": 2,
        "bitrateBps": 160000
      }
    }
  ],
  "muxStreams": [
    {
      "key": "mux_video_ts",
      "container": "ts",
      "elementaryStreams": ["es_video", "es_audio"],
      "segmentSettings": { "segmentDuration": "2s" }
    }
  ],
  "manifests": [
    {
      "key": "manifest_hls",
      "fileName": "main.m3u8",
      "type": "HLS",
      "muxStreams": [
        "mux_video_ts"
      ],
      "maxSegmentCount": 5
    }
  ]
}

To send your request, expand one of these options:

You should receive a JSON response similar to the following:

{
  "name": "projects/PROJECT_NUMBER/locations/LOCATION/operations/OPERATION_ID",
  "metadata": {
    "@type": "type.googleapis.com/google.cloud.video.livestream.v1.OperationMetadata",
    "createTime": CREATE_TIME,
    "target": "projects/PROJECT_NUMBER/locations/LOCATION/channels/CHANNEL_ID",
    "verb": "create",
    "requestedCancellation": false,
    "apiVersion": "v1"
  },
  "done": false
}

You can check for the result of the channel creation operation using the new operation ID.

Start the channel

To start a channel, use the projects.locations.channels.start method.

Before using any of the request data, make the following replacements:

  • PROJECT_NUMBER: your Google Cloud project number; this is located in the Project number field on the IAM Settings page
  • LOCATION: the location where your channel is located; use one of the supported regions
    Show locations
    • us-central1
    • us-east1
    • us-east4
    • us-west1
    • us-west2
    • northamerica-northeast1
    • southamerica-east1
    • asia-east1
    • asia-east2
    • asia-northeast1
    • asia-southeast1
    • australia-southeast1
    • europe-west1
    • europe-west2
    • europe-west3
    • europe-west4
  • CHANNEL_ID: a user-defined identifier for the channel

To send your request, expand one of these options:

You should receive a JSON response similar to the following:

{
  "name": "projects/PROJECT_NUMBER/locations/LOCATION/operations/OPERATION_ID",
  "metadata": {
    "@type": "type.googleapis.com/google.cloud.video.livestream.v1.OperationMetadata",
    "createTime": CREATE_TIME,
    "target": "projects/PROJECT_NUMBER/locations/LOCATION/channels/CHANNEL_ID",
    "verb": "start",
    "requestedCancellation": false,
    "apiVersion": "v1"
  },
  "done": false
}

You can check for the result of the channel start operation using the new operation ID.

Send the input stream

Open a new terminal window. Run the following command, using INPUT_STREAM_URI from the Get input endpoint details section:

ffmpeg -re -f lavfi -i "testsrc=size=1280x720 [out0]; sine=frequency=500 [out1]" \
  -acodec aac -vcodec h264 -f flv INPUT_STREAM_URI

Play the generated live stream

To play the generated media file in Shaka Player, complete the following steps:

  1. Make the Cloud Storage bucket you created publicly readable.
  2. To enable cross-origin resource sharing (CORS) on a Cloud Storage bucket, do the following:
    1. Create a JSON file that contains the following:
      [
        {
          "origin": ["https://shaka-player-demo.appspot.com/"],
          "responseHeader": ["Content-Type", "Range"],
          "method": ["GET", "HEAD"],
          "maxAgeSeconds": 3600
        }
      ]
    2. Run the following command after replacing JSON_FILE_NAME with the name of the JSON file you created in the previous step:
      gcloud storage buckets update gs://BUCKET_NAME --cors-file=JSON_FILE_NAME.json
  3. In the Cloud Storage bucket, find the generated main.m3u8 file. Click Copy URL in the file's Public access column.
  4. Navigate to Shaka Player, an online live stream player.
  5. Click Custom Content in the top navigation bar.
  6. Click the + button.
  7. Paste the public URL of the file into the Manifest URL box.

  8. Type a name in the Name box.

  9. Click Save.

  10. Click Play.

You should see the overlay appear over the live stream.

Test pattern video