Overview

HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) is a technology to play streaming video via the HTTP protocol developed by Apple. An HLS video stream is encoded to H.264 and AAC and is played on any compatible device, browser or player.

Web Call Server converts to HLS video received from other supported sources of broadcasting such as web cameras and professional video capturing device, SIP calls and so on.

Supported platforms and browsers

	Chrome	Firefox	Safari 11	Edge
Windows	+	+		+
Mac OS	+	+	+
Android	+	+
iOS	+	+	+

Supported codecs

Video: H.264
Audio: AAC

Operation flowchart

The browser connects to the server via the Websocket protocol and sends the publish command.
The browser captures the microphone and the camera and sends the WebRTC stream to the server.
The second browser establishes a connection via HTTP.
The second browser receives the HLS stream and plays this stream on the page.

Quick manual on testing

Publishing of a video stream on the server and playing it via HLS in a browser

1. For the test we use:

WCS server;
the Two Way Streaming web application to publish the stream
the HLS Player Minimal web application to publish the stream

2. Open the Two Way Streaming web application. Click Connect, then Publish. Copy the identifier of the stream:

3. open the HLS Player Minimal web application. In the Stream field paste the identifier of the stream and click Play. The stream starts playing:

Call flow

Below is the call flow when using the HLS Player Minimal example to play a stream via HLS

hls-player.html

hls-player.js

1. Querying the server and playing.

code

   var player = videojs('remoteVideo');

Configuring the HLS URL.

code

        player.src({
            src: $("#urlServer").val() + "/" + streamName + "/" + streamName + ".m3u8",
            type: "application/vnd.apple.mpegurl"
        });

Starting the playback.

code

        player.play();

2. Receiving the HLS stream from the server

Streams which can be played as HLS

Every stream published to WCS server with certain name, can be played as HLS

http://wcs:8082/streamName/streamName.m3u8

A stream name can be set when publishing stream from browser or from RTMP кодировщика, or when capturing RTSP, RTMP or VOD stream using REST API

Since build 5.2.771, stream URI can be set for RTSP

http://wcs:8082/rtsp%3A%2F%2Frtspserver%2Flive.sdp/rtsp%3A%2F%2Frtspserver%2Flive.sdp.m3u8

RTMP source

http://wcs:8082/rtmp%3A%2F%2Frtmpserver%3A1935%2Flive%2Fstream/rtmp%3A%2F%2Frtmpserver%3A1935%2Flive%2Fstream.m3u8

or for VOD live translation from file

http://wcs:8082/vod-live%3A%2F%2Ffile.mp4/vod-live%3A%2F%2Ffile.mp4.m3u8

In this case a stream will be captured by source URI, and after publishing to server the stream will be played as HLS. Note that URI should be encoded, all the characters except latin letters and digits must be replaced with character code.

When HLS subscriber connects to CDN Edge, if a stream with certain name or URI is already published to some Origin server, the stream from CDN will be played as HLS for this subscriber. If there is no stream with such name or URI in CDN, Edge will try to capture stream locally to play as HLS.

HLS playback authentication using REST hook

A client authentication for HLS playback can be setup if necessary. To do this, the following parameter should be set in flashphoner.properties file

hls_auth_enabled=true

At client side, the parameter must be added to HLS URL to pass to WCS server a token obtained for example from backend server. The name of the parameter is defined with the following setting

client_acl_property_name=aclAuth

In this case, stream URL should be formed as follows

        var src = $("#urlServer").val() + "/" + streamName + "/" + streamName + ".m3u8";
        var token = $("#token").val();
        if (token.length > 0) {
            src += "?aclAuth=" +token;
        }

REST hook /playHLS must be implemented on backend server in defaultApp application. WCS server will send query to backend with token received from client

URL:http://localhost:8081/apps/EchoApp/playHLS
OBJECT:
{
  "nodeId" : "NTk1tLorQ00llGbPJuFexrKceubGCR0k@192.168.1.5",
  "appKey" : "defaultApp",
  "sessionId" : "/192.168.1.100:59473/192.168.1.5:8445",
  "mediaSessionId" : "60709c5b-6950-40c3-8a3d-37ea0827ae32-727473703a2f2f73747238312e63726561636173742e636f6d2f6772616e646c696c6c6574762f6c6f77-HLS",
  "name" : "test",
  "mediaProvider" : "HLS",
  "custom" : {
    "token" : "12345789"
  }
}

Backend server should return 200 OK if token is checked successfully, and 403 Forbidden if token is wrong. In its turn, client will receive either HLS stream or 401 Unauthorized.

The parameter

hls_auth_token_cache=10

defines token caching interval in seconds (10 seconds by default). /playHLS queries with certain token will not be sent to backend until the token is in cache i.e. either there is stream subscriber with this token or caching interval is not expired. If caching interval parameter is set to 0

hls_auth_token_cache=0

/playHLS queries are sent to backend on every HTTP GET request from client.

HLS authentication setting can be changed without server restart. In this case hls_auth_enabled affects existing subscribers and hls_auth_token_cache affects new subscribers only.

Custom backend application usage for HLS playback authentication

Since build 5.2.1008 it is possible to set backend application key in HLS URL, for example

httpы://wcs:8445/streamName/streamName.m3u8?appKey=customAppKey&aclAuth=1254789

In this case REST hook /playHLS will be sent to backend application with defined key (customAppKey in the example above).

Unauthorized access to HLS segments prevention

To decrease server load, authentication token and stream availability in CDN are checked on HLS playlist request. The following parameter is added since build 5.2.436 to protect separate HLS segments

hls_segment_name_suffix_randomizer_enabled=true

In this case, randomly generated suffix is added to every segment file name, for example

test16d2da4658f4374953a120f3c95bc715ea.ts

So, brute force iteration over segments is escaped.

Note that suffix is not added to preloader segments.

Adding cross-domain access control HTTP headers for HLS playback

By default, the followin access control headers are added to 200 OK response to HTTP GET request:

Access-Control-Allow-Origin: *
Access-Control-Allow-Methods: GET
Access-Control-Max-Age: 3000

If necessary, for example, if HLS content and HLS player page are in different domains, custom access control headers can be added using the following parameter in flashphoner.properties file:

hls_access_control_headers=Access-Control-Allow-Origin: *;Access-Control-Allow-Methods: GET, HEAD;Access-Control-Max-Age: 3000;Access-Control-Expose-Headers: Accept-Ranges, Content-Range, Content-Encoding, Content-Length

In this case, the headers listed in the parameter will be added to 200 OK response:

Mask support in ACAO header

Sometimes, for example, when load balancer AWS LB is used, it is necessary to set request origin address including port in ACAO header sent in response to GET request, for example

Access-Control-Allow-Origin: http://test.flashphoner.com:8081

However, origin address is not always known while configuring the server. Therefore, since build 5.2.755 mask support in ACAO header can be enabled

hls_acao_header_domain_mask=true

This feature is enabled by default. In this case, if '*' character is set in the following parameter

hls_access_control_headers=Access-Control-Allow-Origin: *

server returns ACAO header with full request origin address in response to GET request

Access-Control-Allow-Origin: http://lb.yourdomain.com:8081

This can be disabled if necessary

hls_acao_header_domain_mask=false

Using nginx as reverse proxy for HLS playback

In some cases nginx web server can be used as reverse proxy for HLS playback from WCS server. Usually, it may require if HTTP headers adding does not help to workaround cross domain request restrictions in some browsers.

For example, if browser requires HLS player page and HLS stream to be in the same domain your.domain and on the same port 443 (HTTPS), nginx should be set up as follows:

    # HTTP requests are redirected from port  80 to 443
    server {
        listen 80;
        server_name docs.flashphoner.com;
	    return 301 https://$server_name$request_uri;
    }

    # Server listens HTTPS port 443
    server {	
		listen 443 ssl;
		ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/your.domain/fullchain.pem;
		ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/your.domain/privkey.pem;
		server_name your.domain;
		server_tokens off;
		client_max_body_size 500m;
		proxy_read_timeout 10m;
		
        root         /usr/share/nginx/html;


        location / {
        }

        error_page 404 /404.html;
            location = /40x.html {
        }

        error_page 500 502 503 504 /50x.html;
            location = /50x.html {
        }

        # Example web applications will be available by URL https://your.domain/client2
        location /client2/ {
            alias /usr/local/FlashphonerWebCallServer/client2/;
        }

        # HLS playlists and segments are proxying to your.domain on port 443. for example https://your.domain/test.m3u8
		location ~* ^.+.(m3u8|ts)$ {
		    proxy_pass https://localhost:8445;
		    proxy_http_version  1.1;
		    proxy_set_header    Host $server_name:$server_port;
		    proxy_set_header    X-Forwarded-Host $http_host;
		    proxy_set_header    X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
		    proxy_set_header    X-Forwarded-For $remote_addr;
		    proxy_set_header    Upgrade $http_upgrade;
		    proxy_set_header    Connection "upgrade";
		}

    }

It also may be useful to cache HLS stream. In this case nginx should be additionally set up as follow:

1. In http section of /etc/nginx.conf settings file proxy cache parameters are set

    proxy_cache_path /var/cache/nginx/proxy levels=1:2 keys_zone=proxy_cache:1024m max_size=2048m inactive=10d;
    proxy_cache_min_uses 1;
    proxy_ignore_headers X-Accel-Expires;
    proxy_ignore_headers Expires;
    proxy_ignore_headers Cache-Control;

2. In server section of site settings file caching of HLS segments is set, playlist should not be cached:

		location ~* ^.+.(ts)$ {
		    proxy_pass https://localhost:8445;
		    proxy_http_version  1.1;
		    proxy_set_header    Host $server_name:$server_port;
		    proxy_set_header    X-Forwarded-Host $http_host;
		    proxy_set_header    X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
		    proxy_set_header    X-Forwarded-For $remote_addr;
		    proxy_set_header    Upgrade $http_upgrade;
		    proxy_set_header    Connection "upgrade";
            proxy_cache proxy_cache;
            proxy_cache_key $host$uri$is_args$args;
            proxy_cache_valid 200 2m;
       	}

		location ~* ^.+.(m3u8)$ {
		    proxy_pass https://localhost:8445;
		    proxy_http_version  1.1;
		    proxy_set_header    Host $server_name:$server_port;
		    proxy_set_header    X-Forwarded-Host $http_host;
		    proxy_set_header    X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
		    proxy_set_header    X-Forwarded-For $remote_addr;
		    proxy_set_header    Upgrade $http_upgrade;
		    proxy_set_header    Connection "upgrade";
            proxy_cache off;
            expires -1;
       	}

Returning of static HTML pages on HLS port

Another way to workaround cross domain requests restrictions in browser is to return a static content, player page for example, on the same port that returns HLS content. To enable this feature, the following parameter should be set in flashphoner.properties file

hls_static_enabled=true

The player page should be in directory defined by the following parameter

hls_static_dir=client2/examples/demo/streaming/hls_static

In this case (by default) the path to the player page files is set relative to WCS installation directory. A full path may also be set, for example

hls_static_dir=/var/www/html/hls_static

If static content returning is enabled, browser will display the HLS player page by URL https://host:8445/hls-player.html. If this feature is disabled, server will return 404 Not found error by such URL.

Preloader for HLS stream playback

When first HLS subscribes connects to a stream on WCS server, especilally to CDN stream, it may take a time to split a stream to HLS segmets and to form a playlist. As a result, Safari browser on iOS devices may not be able to play HLS stream on the first attempt. To successfully play HLS stream in this case, the HLS preloader was added since build 5.2.371. The default preloader looks like this:

Since build 5.2.408 preloaders are divided by stream aspect ratio: 16:9, 4:3, 2:1

Default preloader segments are placed to /usr/local/FlashphonerWebCallserver/hls/.preloader folder when server is started

tree /usr/local/FlashphonerWebCallServer/hls/.preloader
/usr/local/FlashphonerWebCallServer/hls/.preloader
├── 16x9
│   ├── index0.ts
│   ├── index10.ts
│   ├── index11.ts
│   ├── index12.ts
│   ├── index13.ts
│   ├── index14.ts
│   ├── index15.ts
│   ├── index16.ts
│   ├── index17.ts
│   ├── index18.ts
│   ├── index19.ts
│   ├── index1.ts
│   ├── index2.ts
│   ├── index3.ts
│   ├── index4.ts
│   ├── index5.ts
│   ├── index6.ts
│   ├── index7.ts
│   ├── index8.ts
│   └── index9.ts
├── 2x1
│   ├── index0.ts
│   ├── index10.ts
│   ├── index11.ts
│   ├── index12.ts
│   ├── index13.ts
│   ├── index14.ts
│   ├── index15.ts
│   ├── index16.ts
│   ├── index17.ts
│   ├── index18.ts
│   ├── index19.ts
│   ├── index1.ts
│   ├── index2.ts
│   ├── index3.ts
│   ├── index4.ts
│   ├── index5.ts
│   ├── index6.ts
│   ├── index7.ts
│   ├── index8.ts
│   └── index9.ts
└── 4x3
    ├── index0.ts
    ├── index10.ts
    ├── index11.ts
    ├── index12.ts
    ├── index13.ts
    ├── index14.ts
    ├── index15.ts
    ├── index16.ts
    ├── index17.ts
    ├── index18.ts
    ├── index19.ts
    ├── index1.ts
    ├── index2.ts
    ├── index3.ts
    ├── index4.ts
    ├── index5.ts
    ├── index6.ts
    ├── index7.ts
    ├── index8.ts
    └── index9.ts

The minimal preloader segment duration is 2 seconds by default, and can be set in milliseconds with the following parameter

hls_preloader_time_min=2000

Disabling HLS preloader

HLS preloader can be disabled if necessary, this feature is available since build 5.2.396. To disable HLS preloader, the following parameter is used

hls_preloader_enabled=false

Custom preloader configuration

To replace the default preloader to thecustom one, do the following:

1. Choose video clip (logo for example) in three aspect ratios: 16:9, 4:3, 2:1

2. Encode video to H264, add audio track to the clip, set GOP and remove B-frames using ffmpeg

ffmpeg -i clip16x9.mp4 -f lavfi -i anullsrc=channel_layout=mono:sample_rate=44100 -c:v h264 -g 30 -bf 0 -shortest 16x9/preloader16x9.mp4
ffmpeg -i clip4x3.mp4 -f lavfi -i anullsrc=channel_layout=mono:sample_rate=44100 -c:v h264 -g 30 -bf 0 -shortest 4x3/preloader4x3.mp4
ffmpeg -i clip2x1.mp4 -f lavfi -i anullsrc=channel_layout=mono:sample_rate=44100 -c:v h264 -g 30 -bf 0 -shortest 2x1/preloader2x1.mp4

3. Download and install HLS tools from Apple site

4. Prepare custom preloader HLS segments with desired duration, for example 2 seconds

cd 16x9
mediafilesegmenter -t 2 -B index -start-segments-with-iframe preloader16x9.mp4
tar -cvzf preloader.tar.gz index*.ts

This step should be repeated for all aspect ratios.

5. Make a folder for custom preloader

mkdir /opt/custom_preloader
mkdir /opt/custom_preloader/16x9
mkdir /opt/custom_preloader/4x3
mkdir /opt/custom_preloader/2x1

6. Unpack preloader segments from archive prepared on step 4

cd /opt/custom_preloader/16x9
tar -xvzf ~/preloader16x9.tar.gz

This step should also be repeated for all aspect ratios.

7. Set custom preloader folder and duration in server settings

hls_preloader_time_min=2000
hls_preloader_dir=/opt/custom_preloader

HLS subscription management using REST API

REST query should be HTTP/HTTPS POST request as follows:

HTTP: http://test.flashphoner.com:8081/rest-api/hls/startup
HTTPS: https://test.flashphoner.com:8444/rest-api/hls/startup

Where:

test.flashphoner.com - WCS server address
8081 - WCS server standard REST / HTTP port
8444 - standard HTTPS port
rest-api - mandatory URL part
/hls/startup - REST method used

REST queries and response sates

REST query

Body example

Response example

Response state

Desctiption

/hls/startup

{
  "name":"test"
}

200 - OK

404 - Stream not found

500 - Internal error

Start HLS agent for the stream

/hls/find_all

{
  "test": {
    "handler": "com.flashphoner.server.client.handler.wcs4.WCS4Handler@74dbf27b",
    "state": "ACTIVE",
    "writer": "HLS-test",
    "streamStatus": "PLAYING",
    "writerStarted": "true"
  }
}

200 – OK

404 – Not found

Find all streams having HLS agents

/hls/terminate

{
  "name":"test"
}

200 – OK

404 – Not found

Stop or restart HLS agent for the stream

Parameters

Parameter name	Description	Example
name	Stream published name	test

Issues

1. If HLS agent for the stream is started by REST query /hls/startup, and there are no active HLS subscribers, agent will stop after the following timeout in seconds

hls_manager_provider_timeout=300

By default, the timeout is 5 minutes. Also it concerns HLS agents which are started automatically for streams published using the following parameter

hls_auto_start=true

2. If HLS agent for the stream is stopped by REST query /hls/terminate, and there are active HLS subscribers, this agent will be restarted. In this case, active HLS subscribers must reconnect to the stream.

HLS ABR support

Legacy HLS ABR implementation in builds 5.2.484 - 5.2.582

Since build 5.2.484 HLS ABR playlists support was added. This feature can be enabled with the following parameter

hls_master_playlist_enabled=true

Master playlist file name can be set using the following parameter

hls_manifest_file=index.m3u8

Browser should get master playlist by URL

https://wcs_address:8445/streamName/index.m3u8

Where

wcs_address - WCS server address
streamName - stream name
index.m3u8 - master playlist file name

When master playlist is requested for the stream, server checks if streams are published according to transcoding profiles listed in cdn_profiles.yml file, for example:

profiles:
  -720p:
    video:
      height: 720
      bitrate: 1000
      codec: h264
  -480p:
    video:
      height: 480
      bitrate: 1000
      codec: h264
  -240p:
    video:
      height: 240
      bitrate: 400
      codec: h264

All the streams published by profiles on server, will be added to master playlist, for example:

#EXTM3U
#EXT-X-STREAM-INF:BANDWIDTH=1000000,RESOLUTION=1280x720,CODECS="avc1.42e01f,mp4a.40.2"
../streamName-720p/streamName-720p.m3u8
#EXT-X-STREAM-INF:BANDWIDTH=1000000,RESOLUTION=852x480,CODECS="avc1.42e01f,mp4a.40.2"
../streamName-480p/streamName-480p.m3u8
#EXT-X-STREAM-INF:BANDWIDTH=400000,RESOLUTION=426x240,CODECS="avc1.42e01f,mp4a.40.2"
../streamName-240p/streamName-240p.m3u8
#EXT-X-STREAM-INF:BANDWIDTH=2500000,RESOLUTION=1280x720,CODECS="avc1.42e01f,mp4a.40.2"
../streamName/streamName.m3u8

Then browser switches between HLS streams listed in master playlist depending on channel bandwidth.

When browser requests master playlist for the certain stream, transcoded stream must already be published on server and must be cut to HLS segments

To provide HLS streams by profiles, the following should be done:

1. On a standalone server:

1.1. Periodically check if streams are transcoded to parameters set by profiles, and launch transcoding if necessary using REST API

	curl -s -X POST -d "{\"uri\":\"transcoder://tcode_test-240p\",\"remoteStreamName\":\"test\",\"localStreamName\":\"test-240p\",\"encoder\":{\"width\":320,\"height\":240}}" http://localhost:8081/rest-api/transcoder/startup
	curl -s -X POST -d "{\"uri\":\"transcoder://tcode_test-480p\",\"remoteStreamName\":\"test\",\"localStreamName\":\"test-480p\",\"encoder\":{\"width\":640,\"height\":480}}" http://localhost:8081/rest-api/transcoder/startup
	curl -s -X POST -d "{\"uri\":\"transcoder://tcode_test-720p\",\"remoteStreamName\":\"test\",\"localStreamName\":\"test-720p\",\"encoder\":{\"width\":1280,\"height\":720}}" http://localhost:8081/rest-api/transcoder/startup

1.2. Periodically launch HLS cut for the streams, for example

curl -s -X POST -d "{\"name\":\"test\"}" http://localhost:8081/rest-api/hls/startup
sleep 1
curl -s -X POST -d "{\"name\":\"test-240p\"}" http://localhost:8081/rest-api/hls/startup
sleep 1
curl -s -X POST -d "{\"name\":\"test-480p\"}" http://localhost:8081/rest-api/hls/startup
sleep 1
curl -s -X POST -d "{\"name\":\"test-720p\"}" http://localhost:8081/rest-api/hls/startup

2. On an Edge server in CDN periodically request HLS streams by transcoding profiles, for example

curl -s http://localhost:8082/test/test.m3u8
sleep 1
curl -s http://localhost:8082/test-240p/test-240p.m3u8
sleep 1
curl -s http://localhost:8082/test-480p/test-480p.m3u8
sleep 1
curl -s http://localhost:8082/test-720p/test-720p.m3u8
sleep 1

Actual HLS ABR implementation in build 5.2.585 and newer

Since build 5.2.585 HLS ABR implementation is significally changed. As usual, HLS ABR can be used in CDN only, but Edge server captures all the transcoded streams for ABR manifest stream variants within the same mediasession to syhchronize the stream variants. This requires to configure Tanscoder nodes and Edge nodes simultaneously, and adds some limits. Let's explore it below.

Transcoder node settings

To synchronize all the variants of the same stream, encoding should be aligned on Transcoder node

transcoder_align_encoders=true

Also, FPS filter should be enabled

video_filter_enable_fps=true
video_filter_fps=25

All stream variants key frames (GOPs) should be synchronized. For example, we will send key frame every 2 seconds for 25 fps stream

video_filter_fps_gop_synchronization=50

HLS Edge node settings

HLS preloader and streams resizing should be disabled on HLS Edge node

hls_preloader_enabled=false
hls_player_width=0
hls_player_height=0

The transcoding profiles should be set as follows in cdn_profiles.yml file

profiles:
 -240p:
  audio:
    codec : mpeg4-generic
    rate : 48000
  video:
    height : 240
    bitrate : 300
    gop : 50
    codec : h264
 -480p:
  video:
    height : 480
    bitrate : 600
    gop : 50
    codec : h264
 -720p:
  video:
    height : 720
    bitrate : 1000
    gop : 50
    codec : h264

Note that audio parameters can be set for the first profile only because those parameters should be identical for all the profiles, and will be applyed according to the first profile.

Then HLS ABR should be enabled

hls_abr_enabled=true

Usage

Client should request ABR manifest giving a stream name with a special suffix

https://server:8445/test_0-HLS-ABR-STREAM/test_0-HLS-ABR-STREAM.m3u8

The suffix can be set with the following parameter

hls_abr_stream_name_suffix=-HLS-ABR-STREAM

The playlist contains links to stream variants playlists, a client can switch between then

#EXTM3U
#EXT-X-STREAM-INF:BANDWIDTH=614400,RESOLUTION=852x480,CODECS="avc1.42e01f,mp4a.40.2"
-480p/-480p.m3u8
#EXT-X-STREAM-INF:BANDWIDTH=1024000,RESOLUTION=1278x720,CODECS="avc1.42e01f,mp4a.40.2"
-720p/-720p.m3u8
#EXT-X-STREAM-INF:BANDWIDTH=307200,RESOLUTION=426x240,CODECS="avc1.42e01f,mp4a.40.2"
-240p/-240p.m3u8

If stream name contains no suffix, HLS will be played without ABR support.

Transcoding to higher resolutions prevention

If stream transcoding to higher resolutions is disabled on HLS ABR Edge server

cdn_strict_transcoding_boundaries=true

then stream variants conforming to higher resolution profiles will not be cut for the stream, and will not be vailable to a player.

Known limits

1. HLS Edge can be used for HLS streaming only, client sessions of another kinds will not work.

2. Stream recording, snapshots, mixing, stream capturing from another server and other captured stream management functions will not work.

HLS segments storage

Using disk

By default, HLS segments are written to server hard drive to the /usr/local/FlashphonerWebCallServer/hls folder. Starting from build 5.2.687, the folder for saving segments can be changed using the following parameter

hls_dir=/usr/local/FlashphonerWebCallServer/hls

(Preloader folder is configured separately with parameter hls_preloader_dir.)

The number of stored segments corresponds to the specified playlist size, 10 by default

hls_list_size=10

The less segments number, the less playback latency. However subscribers with poor channel could request HLS segments which are already gone from playlist and disk if playlist is short. To fix it, since build 5.2.581 the certain number of segments can be stored on disk after they gone from playlist. This feature can be enabled by the following parameter

hls_hold_segments_before_delete=true

By default, 5 last segments will be stored

hls_hold_segments_size=5

For example, if playlist contains 3 segments

#EXTM3U
#EXT-X-VERSION:8
#EXT-X-TARGETDURATION:11
#EXT-X-MEDIA-SEQUENCE:15
#EXT-X-DISCONTINUITY-SEQUENCE:1
#EXTINF:3.415,
test_017.ts
#EXTINF:10.417,
test_018.ts
#EXTINF:9.084,
test_019.ts

3 current segments and 5 previous segments will be stored on disk

test_012.ts
test_013.ts
test_014.ts
test_015.ts
test_016.ts
test_017.ts
test_018.ts
test_019.ts

Using memory

Under high load, for example on HLS streaming dedicated server, segments reading from hard drive to send them to subscribers can increase the latency. In this case, HLS segments storing in memory should be enabled

hls_store_segment_in_memory=true

Segments will be read from memory to send them to subscribers, and will also be written to hard drive for debugging purposes. Note this will require more Java heap memory.

Debug logs for HLS session

For an error report, debug logging can be enabled for HLS sessions using CLI

update node-setting --value true hls_enable_session_debug

Note that config flashphoner.properties will be overwritten after the command.

Known issues

1. Non-recoverable freeze of HLS stream played in iOS Safari through a CDN

Symptoms: one minute after publishing start image stops, sound continues to play

Solution:

b) enable transcoding on server using the following option in flashphoner.properties file

disable_streaming_proxy=true

b) if transcoding is undesirable, set the following option in flashphoner.properties file

hls_discontinuity_enabled=true

In this case, clicks are possible in audio, but video will not stop.

2. HLS segments writing stops when playing stream published in Firefox browser.

Symptoms: a few minutes after playback start HLS segments stop writing, in that case the stream directory in hls directory is not deleted, and messages in server log continue to appear

INFO HLSStreamManager - HLSStreamProviderKeepaliveThread-80 Remove hls channel

Publisher must publish stream again to recover.

Solution: use another browser to publish the stream which supposed to be played via HLS.

3. No video for the first subscriber when playing HLS in Safari on iOS 12.4

Symptoms: no video for the first subscriber when playing a stream as HLS in Safari on iOS 12.4, however video is played normally if there are other HLS-subscribers to the stream

Solution: set the minimum HLS playlist segments count not less than 2

hls_min_list_size=2

4. No video for any subscriber when playing RTMP stream as HLS in Safari on iOS 12.4 if the following parameter is set to

hls_auto_start=true

Symptoms: no video for any subscriber when playing RTMP stream as HLS in Safari on iOS 12.4

Soluition: use mono sound when a file with stereo sound track is published, for example, set the followint command line options for ffmpeg

-acodec aac -ac 1

5. If stream transcoded by CDN is played as HLS, and if stream aspect ratio is changed during transcoding, HLS preloader is shown by original stream aspect ratio

Symptoms: when stream transcoded is requested by setting profile name, test-640x480p for example, 16x9 preloader is shown if original stream is 1280x720

Solution: turn on aspect ratio preserving on Transcoder CDN nodes

video_transcoder_preserve_aspect_ratio=true

6. If the source stream contains B-fames, the picture can twitch in some players

Symptoms: a strong picture twitching while playing a stream via HLS, this may lokk like low FPS

Solution: update WCS to build 5.2.863, where the problem is solved

Space shortcuts

Page tree

Overview

Supported platforms and browsers

Supported codecs

Operation flowchart

Quick manual on testing

Publishing of a video stream on the server and playing it via HLS in a browser

Call flow

Streams which can be played as HLS

HLS playback authentication using REST hook

Custom backend application usage for HLS playback authentication

Unauthorized access to HLS segments prevention

Adding cross-domain access control HTTP headers for HLS playback

Mask support in ACAO header

Using nginx as reverse proxy for HLS playback

Returning of static HTML pages on HLS port

Preloader for HLS stream playback

Disabling HLS preloader

Custom preloader configuration

HLS subscription management using REST API

REST queries and response sates

Parameters

Issues

HLS ABR support

Legacy HLS ABR implementation in builds 5.2.484 - 5.2.582

Actual HLS ABR implementation in build 5.2.585 and newer

Transcoder node settings

HLS Edge node settings

Usage

Transcoding to higher resolutions prevention

Known limits

HLS segments storage

Using disk

Using memory

Debug logs for HLS session

Known issues

Space shortcuts

Page tree

In a browser via HLS

Overview

Supported platforms and browsers

Supported codecs

Operation flowchart

Quick manual on testing

Publishing of a video stream on the server and playing it via HLS in a browser

Call flow

Streams which can be played as HLS

HLS playback authentication using REST hook

Custom backend application usage for HLS playback authentication

Unauthorized access to HLS segments prevention

Adding cross-domain access control HTTP headers for HLS playback

Mask support in ACAO header

Using nginx as reverse proxy for HLS playback

Returning of static HTML pages on HLS port

Preloader for HLS stream playback

Disabling HLS preloader

Custom preloader configuration

HLS subscription management using REST API

REST queries and response sates

Parameters

Issues

HLS ABR support

Legacy HLS ABR implementation in builds 5.2.484 - 5.2.582

Actual HLS ABR implementation in build 5.2.585 and newer

Transcoder node settings

HLS Edge node settings

Usage

Transcoding to higher resolutions prevention

Known limits

HLS segments storage

Using disk

Using memory

Debug logs for HLS session

Known issues