System Design · Senior · Question 14 of 75
How does adaptive video streaming (HLS/DASH) work?
- ✓Correct answer: Segments at different bitrates; the player picks based on the network
- 2The whole video is downloaded as one file at maximum quality
- 3The server streams the video frame by frame over WebSocket
Explanation
A playlist lists quality variants, and the player (via MSE) picks segments based on bandwidth and buffer. Segments are ordinary HTTP files, so a CDN caches them well.