CODEWITHSUNDEEP
video-streamingmpeg-dash
forthrin
forthrin

Reputation: 2777

Methods to achieve dynamic video streaming

I've been reading articles of how streaming services such as Netflix switch dynamically between different bitrates to accommodate general bandwidth variance, instant startup and fast forward.

  1. Can all modern video players seamlessly display consecutive video fragments without a single noticeable glitch, as if they were a single file? When and how was this introduced?
  2. What is the ideal length of a video fragment? I've seen 10 seconds being used, but if playback is seamless, can't this be reduced to a mere second (where each fragment is a GOP)?
  3. Are there other tricks that can be used to approximate the UX of having the complete video file on your local hard drive?

Upvotes: 0

Views: 152

Answers (1)

damjeux
damjeux

Reputation: 320

  1. Yes, I think all modern video players are able to display consecutive fragments without a user noticing. Just try a youtube video, right click -> stats for nerds, and you should see "DASH: yes". Adaptive HTTP streaming was introduced around 2010 (Apple HLS 2009, Microsoft smooth streaming 2010 and MPEG-DASH 2011).

  2. I think there is no definitive answer for the length of the video fragment. You can have a look for example at this blog post: https://bitmovin.com/mpeg-dash-hls-segment-length/ Typical segments lengths between 1 and 15 seconds are mentioned.

  3. Along with not having streaming stallings/buffer underflows (which are very annoying for the user), it is also important to have a fast start of the video, and not too many quality switches.

Upvotes: 1

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