We're excited to announce that MoQ (Media over QUIC) support is now available in Ant Media Server via a new plugin. MoQ is one of the most interesting developments in live streaming right now, and we wanted to ship early access so you can start experimenting with it alongside us.
In this post, we'll walk through what the AMS MoQ plugin offers, how it works under the hood, and everything you need to get started.
⚠️ Heads up: MoQ is still an evolving protocol. The IETF standard is actively being developed, and the current plugin is based on moq-lite — a pragmatic, deployable subset of the full spec. We're continuously monitoring progress and will ship updates as it matures.
What Is Media over QUIC (MoQ)?
Media over QUIC is an emerging live media protocol built on QUIC and WebTransport. It's being standardized by the IETF working group, with backing from Google, Cisco, Akamai, Cloudflare, and others — which gives a strong signal of where the industry is heading.
At its core, MoQ is built on QUIC: a modern transport protocol that handles multiple streams of data independently over a single connection. This means:
- No head-of-line blocking — one dropped packet doesn't stall other streams
- Built-in multiplexing — audio, video, and metadata travel independently
- Native browser support via WebTransport — no plugins, no peer connections
For a deeper technical comparison, check out our article WebRTC vs. MoQ — Two Protocols, One Platform. In this post, we focus on the practical: what the plugin does and how to use it.
What the AMS MoQ Plugin Does
The AMS MoQ plugin adds bidirectional MoQ support to any Ant Media Server deployment:
- Live streams published to AMS are automatically broadcast as MoQ tracks
- Browser clients connect via WebTransport and receive video with sub-second latency
- No plugins, no WebRTC peer connections, and no SFU infrastructure required on the playback side
Each quality level is exposed as a separate named track. For example, a stream with ID myStream would surface its source quality at:
moq://your-ams-server:4443/myStream/source
Prerequisites
Before opening the MoQ player pages, make sure the following are in place:
HTTPS is required on real servers. MoQ uses WebTransport, and browsers only allow it over HTTPS. If your server has a real domain or IP address, it needs a valid SSL certificate. localhost is the one exception browsers allow without SSL.
Port 4443 must be open. The embedded MoQ relay listens on UDP/TCP port 4443. If your server is behind a firewall, open that port to inbound traffic or the browser won't be able to reach the relay.
Getting Started
Once a stream is live on AMS, viewers can connect via the built-in MoQ player or any moq-compatible client.
Publishing a Stream
Publish a stream to Ant Media Server the same way you always would — via WebRTC, RTMP, SRT, or WHIP. The MoQ plugin picks it up automatically and broadcasts it as a MoQ relay.
Watching via the MoQ Player
Open the standalone MoQ player page (served by AMS) and enter your stream's MoQ URL:
moq://your-ams-server:4443/streamId/source
The player connects via WebTransport, decodes video using WebCodecs, and renders it with sub-second latency — all natively in the browser, no extensions required.
📝 Note: The standalone MoQ player pages are temporary. MoQ playback and publishing will be built directly into the main Ant Media Server web player in a future release.
MoQ vs. WebRTC: Not a Replacement
It's worth being clear: MoQ is not a replacement for WebRTC — at least not today.
| WebRTC | MoQ (moq-lite) | |
|---|---|---|
| Latency | ~0.5s | Sub-second |
| Browser support | Universal | Partial (WebTransport required) |
| Fan-out model | SFU-based | Relay/CDN-native |
| Spec maturity | Production-ready | Evolving (IETF WG) |
| Best for | Interactive, bidirectional | Large-scale, one-to-many |
WebRTC is the right answer for telehealth, live auctions, drone monitoring, and anything that requires interactive, bidirectional communication. MoQ is compelling for massive concurrent audiences and CDN-native delivery — once cross-browser support closes.
At Ant Media, our strategy is simple: the future of streaming is multi-protocol capability in one platform, so your infrastructure can adapt without rewriting your application.
What's Next
The AMS MoQ plugin is an early but functional step toward next-generation live streaming infrastructure. By building on moq-lite today, you get a hands-on way to explore what MoQ brings to the table:
- Sub-second latency
- CDN-scale fan-out
- A modern browser stack built on WebTransport and WebCodecs
We'll keep shipping updates as moq-lite evolves and as the IETF spec progresses.
Try It Out
Read more about MoQ implementation on Ant Media Server.
If you're experimenting with the MoQ plugin or building something on top of it, we'd love to hear about it. Join us on the Ant Media Community Forum or reach out directly.
And if you want to dive deeper into the protocol comparison, read: WebRTC vs. MoQ — Two Protocols, One Platform Completely Built for Both.
Happy streaming! 🎥
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