Shulou(Shulou.com)06/02 Report--

This article will explain in detail what m3u8 and HLS refer to. The content of the article is of high quality, so the editor will share it with you for reference. I hope you will have a certain understanding of the relevant knowledge after reading this article.

HLS, which stands for HTTP Live Streaming, is a streaming protocol proposed by apple. This protocol is supported by iOS terminals (iPhone, iPad, iPod, etc.) as well as Android terminals. Android and iOS terminals support HLS protocol in the system, and there is no need to develop additional components. HLS video streams can be played directly through HTML5 web pages and system players.

M3u8 is the broadcast index file of HLS protocol and the playlist (Playlist) of HLS protocol. The content of the file is utf-8-encoded text data. The broadcast content of the HLS protocol is distributed in pieces, and the video file (or video stream) will be cut into small video clips of roughly the same length for distribution. The m3u8 file describes the order and download location of these video clips. If the HLS broadcast content is encrypted, m3u8 also describes the encryption protocol and information about how the key is obtained.

Compared with other broadcast protocols, HLS has the following advantages:

1. Cut large files into small file fragments and transfer them using HTTP protocol, which can make full use of the existing cache and CDN acceleration technology for rapid distribution, and is suitable for efficient transmission on the Internet.

2. Both Android and iOS have built-in players and support HTML5 tags, which can be easily integrated into HTML5 applications and APP applications, making it easy to develop and integrate.

3. Coding, multiplexing, transmission and encryption technologies are all open international standards. Devices and applications are easy to integrate and are easier to accept and use.

The process for the player to play the HLS stream is as follows: 1) obtain the url location of the m3u8 file, 2) download the m3u8 file, analyze the playlist, 3) download the video clip according to the definition of the playlist, and 4) demultiplex, decode and play the video clip.

The analysis of HLS protocol by m3u8 and hls analysis tools also follows this process, by downloading and parsing m3u8 files to analyze and judge the broadcast of HLS streams.

So much for sharing what m3u8 and HLS refer to. I hope the above content can be helpful to you and learn more knowledge. If you think the article is good, you can share it for more people to see.

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