10 articles
AES-128 is a symmetric 128-bit cipher used to encrypt HLS video segments. Keys are fetched separately at playback, blocking unauthorized download or replay of the stream.
Read moreA dynamic watermark renders viewer-unique text (email, ID, IP) onto each video playback, identifying the source of any leak — unlike static logos that reveal nothing.
Read moreDRM (Widevine, PlayReady, FairPlay) is encryption plus license control and hardware-bound keys. AES-128 alone is enough for self-produced courses and paid memberships.
Read moreEncoding compresses raw video into a codec format. Transcoding decodes an already-encoded file and re-encodes it to a different codec, bitrate, container, or resolution.
Read moreH.264 is universal but inefficient. HEVC saves ~30% bandwidth. AV1 saves ~50% but encodes slowly. VP9 powers YouTube. Pick by audience reach and bandwidth budget.
Read moreAdaptive bitrate streaming (ABR) lets a player switch between encoded variants based on real-time bandwidth, preventing buffering without sacrificing quality.
Read moreHLS (HTTP Live Streaming) is Apple's video streaming protocol that chops video into short segments served over HTTP and adapts quality to viewer bandwidth in real time.
Read moreEmbed tokens are opaque IDs validated server-side (revocable, rich metadata). Signed URLs use HMAC (stateless, fast, no revoke). Choose based on revocation needs.
Read moreHLS is Apple's protocol with native Safari support and the simplest path to ship. DASH is the MPEG standard with multi-DRM via CENC. Here is when each one wins.
Read moreOrigin holds the canonical video file; the CDN caches it on edge servers close to viewers. Together they cut latency, scale traffic, and absorb spikes without origin load.
Read more