A plain-language explanation of the WHEP protocol, how it works, and why it matters for live streaming.
WHEP (WebRTC-HTTP Egress Protocol) is a standardised way for a client — typically a web browser — to request and receive a live video stream from a server using WebRTC. It defines how the client says "I want to watch this stream" and how the server responds with the video.
WebRTC is the technology that powers video calls in your browser. It's built into Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. It delivers video with sub-second latency — far faster than HLS or DASH.
The problem: WebRTC was designed for peer-to-peer video calls, not for server-to-client streaming. There was no standard way for a browser to say "stream me this live video from that server." Every implementation used a different signalling mechanism — WebSockets, custom APIs, proprietary SDKs.
WHEP fixes this by defining a simple HTTP-based protocol for requesting WebRTC streams. It's an IETF draft standard, meaning the industry is converging on a single, interoperable approach.
WHEP has a sibling protocol called WHIP (WebRTC-HTTP Ingest Protocol). They work in opposite directions:
The WHEP handshake is remarkably simple — it's just two HTTP requests:
The browser creates an SDP (Session Description Protocol) offer describing what codecs and capabilities it supports. It sends this as a POST request to the WHEP endpoint URL.
POST /whep/channel-1 HTTP/1.1 Content-Type: application/sdp v=0 o=- 123456 2 IN IP4 0.0.0.0 s=- t=0 0 m=video 9 UDP/TLS/RTP/SAVPF 96 97 a=rtpmap:96 H264/90000 a=rtpmap:97 VP9/90000 ...
The server picks the best codec match, prepares the stream, and responds with an SDP answer. The browser then connects directly to receive the video via RTP/SRTP.
HTTP/1.1 201 Created Content-Type: application/sdp Location: /whep/channel-1/session/abc123 v=0 o=- 789012 2 IN IP4 192.168.1.50 s=- t=0 0 m=video 9 UDP/TLS/RTP/SAVPF 96 a=rtpmap:96 H264/90000 ...
That's it. Two HTTP messages and the video starts flowing. No WebSocket connection to maintain, no custom signalling server, no proprietary SDK.
The OMT WHEP Gateway is a real-world implementation of WHEP. It receives OMT (Open Media Transport) video sources from your network, transcodes them with hardware acceleration, and serves them as WHEP streams that any browser can play.
Each channel on the gateway gets a WHEP endpoint URL. Open that URL in a browser and you're watching the live stream. Share the URL with anyone — they watch in their browser with no software to install.
Try it yourself: The WHEP Gateway includes a 30-day free trial with full functionality. Download the ISO and have it running in 5 minutes.
WHEP works in every modern browser that supports WebRTC:
No plugins, extensions, or special configuration needed.