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Adaptive Bitrate Streaming over HTTP

Adaptive Bitrate Streaming over HTTP has become the accepted standard for delivering video to the broadest range of mobile, tablet, and OTT devices. Using a standard HTTP server and a browser or standalone player or app is all it takes to deliver ABR streams. The stream is managed by a manifest file that maps out all of the available stream bitrates and dimensions. Based on a client’s available bandwidth, the stream will automatically adjust to ensure best stream. Adaptive is a superior option to a static file because a static file only delivers a single bitrate to every device regardless of device or available bandwidth. In contrast, an adaptive stream can be switched mid-stream to be as good or as bad as the client’s available bandwidth. When and adaptive stream makes the switch to accommodate changing network conditions, a static file will often buffer, stutter, or fail altogether. Because ABR is delivered over HTTP, not special requirements are needed for firewalls, proxies, or caches, make it both efficient and cost effective.

We’ve developed four complete ABR guides; HTTP-Live-Streaming (HLS) that was popularized by Apple for iOS, MPEG-DASH which is an open source option, Microsoft Smooth Streaming (MSS), and Adobe HTTP-Dynamic Streaming (HDS). If you are considering ABR for your viewers, these guides are a great place to start.

See our Comprehensive Guides to Each of the Following:

adaptive rate streaming

HTTP Live Streaming

adaptive streaming

Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP

Dynamic streaming

HTTP Dynamic Streaming

smooth streaming

Microsoft Smooth Streaming

Comparison of ABR packaging technologies

Here’s how the leading ABR technologies stack up.

wdt_IDnew_column3GPP/MPEG DASHApple HTTP Live StreamingMicrosoft Smooth StreamingAdobe HTTP Dynamic Flash Streaming
1TypeOpen, standards-basedSingle-vendor controlledSingle-vendor controlledSingle-vendor controlled
2Source Video CodecsH.264 + others (agnostic)H.264H.264, VC-1H.264, VP6
3Source Audio CodecsAAC + others (agnostic)AAC, MP3AAC, WMAAAC, MP3
4Package/Segment formatMP4 fragments + MPEG-2 TSMPEG-2 TSMP4 fragmentsMP4 fragments
5File Storage on ServerContiguous or individual files per segmentIndividual file per segment (pre iOS 5.0)ContiguousContiguous
6Audio/Video/Text PackagingMultiplexed or separate segments for audio, videoMultiplexed in 1 segment (pre iOS 5.0)Multiplexed in 1 segmentMultiplexed in 1 segment
7Segmentation and DeliveryMultiple vendors. Standard HTTP or Streaming servers (+ Helix)Multiple vendors. Standard HTTP or Streaming server (+ Helix)MS IIS (+ few other vendors incl Helix)Adobe Interactive Server (or Adobe tools + Apache module for on-demand)
8Playback3GPP-Rel 9 or MPEG clients (+ Helix)Apple iOS, QT X (+ Helix)Silverlight (+ Helix)Flash, Air
9ProtectionFlexible (e.g. OMA or UV)AES-128 encryptionPlayReadyFlash Access
10Typical Segment DurationFlexible10 sec2-4 sec2-4 sec

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Encoding.com • Encoding Intelligence™ • Copyright 2016 Encoding.com • All Rights Reserved
  • Cloud Solutions
    • On Demand
    • HybridCloud
    • Reserved Cloud
  • Media Services
    • Features
      • Formats
      • Quality Control
      • Speed
      • Playout Graphics and Editing
      • Interfaces
      • Closed Captioning
      • Cloud Security
    • Packaging
      • HTTP Live Streaming (HLS)
      • Microsoft Smooth Streaming (MSS)
      • HTTP Dynamic Streaming (HDS)
      • Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (DASH)
      • Dynamic Ad Insertion (DAI)
    • Digital Rights Management
      • Google Widevine
      • Microsoft Playready
      • Apple Fairplay
    • Integrations
      • Cloud Storage
      • Akamai
      • Aspera FASP
      • Beamr CABR
      • Dolby
      • Dolby Vision
      • Harmonic
      • Nielsen
  • About Us
    • Our Story
    • Our Team
    • Case Studies
    • Contact Us
    • Blog
  • Resources
    • Apple ProRes
    • AVOD
    • Beamr
    • DAI
    • Dolby Vision
    • DRM
    • Ludicrous Mode
    • QC
    • SVOD
  • Contact Us
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