HTTP Live Streaming Overview

A high-level overview on how content is streamed for each of the following HLS solutions can be found below.

Live Streaming

The process through which a live event can be streamed to iOS devices is indicated below.

  1. Encode the desired audio/video content to an iOS supported format. A media encoder can perform this process for a live event as it occurs.
  2. A streaming server must transform encoded content into media chunks and package them into a stream.
  3. A media player interprets the index file and then requests the stream files in the order that they are listed. This allows it to play the streaming video without pauses or gaps between stream segments.

To stream a live event using Dynamic Cloud Packaging (CDN)

  1. Create an instance for the live stream.
  2. Configure the encoder to publish stream(s) to the publishing point URLs defined for the desired instance.
  3. Configure a media player to request the live stream using an HLS-specific playback URL.

To stream a live event using a third-party streaming server

  1. A third-party streaming serverFor example: Wowza Media Server should be configured as a customer origin on the HTTP Large platform.
  2. Configure the encoder to publish streams to your third-party streaming server.
  3. Configure the media player to request the live stream using an edge CNAME URL that points to the streaming server.

On-Demand Streaming (CDN & Encoded Media)

Our streaming solutions allow our servers to dynamically segment encoded video as it is requested by a client. This process is known as transmuxing.

To stream on-demand content using Dynamic Cloud Packaging (CDN)

  1. Encoder: Encode the desired audio/video content using the H.264/AAC format.
  2. Upload the encoded content to CDN storage or a customer origin.
  3. Link to the desired content from a web page. This link should use an HLS-specific URL that points to the HTTP Large platform. Our servers will automatically generate an index file which the client will interpret to request video segments.

On-Demand Streaming (CDN & Segmented Content)

An alternative method to achieve dynamic streaming for on-demand content is to process your encoded video through a file segmenter and then upload the resulting package to a CDN or customer origin server. This process is described below.

  1. Encoder: Encode the desired audio/video content to an iOS supported format.
  2. File Segmenter: Segment the encoded media. This process will also generate an index file that lists the order in which stream files should be played.
  3. Upload the segmented media to CDN storage or a customer origin server.
  4. Link to the M3U8 index file using a CDN or edge CNAME URL that points to the HTTP Large platform. This allows our CDN to deliver the appropriate index file, along with stream files, to clients that request on-demand audio/video.
  5. A media player interprets the index file and then requests the stream files in the order that they are listed. This allows it to play the streaming video without pauses or gaps between stream segments.