Hathcock Homelab Wiki

2026-02-03-Podcast-Studio

3 min read

Podcast Studio Creation (2026-02-03)

← Back to Changelog

Overview

Created self-hosted video podcast recording platform for D&D sessions and podcasts. Supports 4K recording, multi-track audio, remote guests, and live streaming.

Repository Created

Commit: f0d72c0 - Initial repository setup

Tech Stack Selected

WebRTC & Streaming

  • LiveKit - Real-time communication server
  • Coturn - TURN server for NAT traversal

Application

  • Frontend: React 18 + TypeScript + Vite
  • Backend: Node.js/Express

Storage & Processing

  • MinIO - S3-compatible object storage
  • FFmpeg - Post-processing pipeline

Architecture Design

Hybrid Recording Approach

LiveKit Handles:

  • Real-time WebRTC communication
  • RTMP live streaming output
  • Session management

Local Browser Recording:

  • True 4K quality (no WebRTC compression)
  • Multi-track audio isolation
  • Upload to MinIO after session

FFmpeg Post-Processing:

  • Sync tracks from multiple participants
  • Audio normalization
  • Multi-track export for editing

Storage Planning

Capacity Requirements

QualityPer Hour6-Person Session (1hr)
1080p~3.6 GB~21.6 GB
4K~11.25 GB~67.5 GB

Recommendation: Plan ~70 GB per 1-hour 6-person 4K session

Retention Policy

  • Raw uploads: 7 days (auto-delete after processing)
  • Processed files: 90 days in MinIO
  • Archive: Move to NAS-Synology for long-term storage

Network Configuration

Firewall Rules Required

# LiveKit
sudo ufw allow 7880/tcp comment "LiveKit API"
sudo ufw allow 7881/tcp comment "WebRTC TCP"
sudo ufw allow 7882/udp comment "WebRTC UDP"
 
# TURN Server
sudo ufw allow 3478 comment "TURN"
sudo ufw allow 10000:20000/udp comment "TURN relay"
 
# Application (local network only)
sudo ufw allow from 192.168.1.XXX/24 to any port 8080 comment "Podcast Frontend"
sudo ufw allow from 192.168.1.XXX/24 to any port 3333 comment "Podcast API"
sudo ufw allow from 192.168.1.XXX/24 to any port 9000:9001 comment "MinIO"

Development Phases

  • Phase 1: MVP - Basic 2-person video call with recording
  • Phase 2: Multi-track recording (up to 6 participants)
  • Phase 3: Post-processing pipeline (sync, normalize, multi-track export)
  • Phase 4: Live streaming (YouTube/Twitch)
  • Phase 5: Scene switching & polish (layouts, overlays, waiting room)

Access URLs (When Deployed)

ServiceURLPurpose
Frontendhttp://192.168.1.XXX:8080Web application
APIhttp://192.168.1.XXX:3333Backend API
LiveKitws://192.168.1.XXX:7880WebRTC server
MinIO Consolehttp://192.168.1.XXX:9001Storage management

Deployment Tasks (Pending)

See Podcast Studio Deployment for deployment checklist:

  • Copy .env.example to .env and configure secrets
  • Generate LiveKit API credentials
  • Apply UFW firewall rules
  • Deploy stack with docker compose up -d
  • Test basic 2-person video call
  • Configure external access via NPM

Use Case: D&D Sessions

Recording Setup

  1. DM starts session from main interface
  2. Up to 6 players join via browser (no install)
  3. Each browser records local 4K video + audio
  4. LiveKit handles real-time communication
  5. Session can be live-streamed to Twitch/YouTube

Post-Session

  1. All recordings auto-upload to MinIO
  2. FFmpeg syncs and normalizes tracks
  3. Multi-track file exported for editing
  4. Raw files deleted after 7 days
  5. Processed files archived to NAS-Synology

Technical Considerations

Why Not Just OBS?

  • Multi-participant recording: Each person records locally (no quality loss)
  • Remote guests: Browser-based, no software install
  • Multi-track export: Each participant’s audio isolated
  • Live streaming capability: Built-in RTMP output

Storage Strategy

  • MinIO on local SSD for recording uploads
  • NAS for long-term archive (7.2TB available)
  • Automatic cleanup prevents disk fill

Updates (2026-02-04)

Participant Increase: Updated to support 6 participants (from 4)

  • Storage planning adjusted: 6-person 4K = ~70GB
  • LiveKit max set to 10 (buffer for flexibility)

Commit: 3e5ee87

Graph View

Backlinks