Implementing HLS and DASH Video Streaming

INPUT="$1" OUTPUT_DIR="$2"

mkdir -p "$OUTPUT_DIR"

ffmpeg -i "$INPUT"
-filter_complex
"[0:v]split=3[v1][v2][v3];
[v1]scale=1920:1080:force_original_aspect_ratio=decrease[v1080];
[v2]scale=1280:720:force_original_aspect_ratio=decrease[v720];
[v3]scale=640:360:force_original_aspect_ratio=decrease[v360]"

-map "[v1080]" -map 0:a -c:v:0 libx264 -crf 22 -preset fast
-b:v:0 5000k -maxrate:v:0 5500k -bufsize:v:0 10000k
-c:a:0 aac -b:a:0 192k

-map "[v720]" -map 0:a -c:v:1 libx264 -crf 23 -preset fast
-b:v:1 2500k -maxrate:v:1 2750k -bufsize:v:1 5000k
-c:a:1 aac -b:a:1 128k

-map "[v360]" -map 0:a -c:v:2 libx264 -crf 24 -preset fast
-b:v:2 800k -maxrate:v:2 880k -bufsize:v:2 1600k
-c:a:2 aac -b:a:2 96k

-f hls
-hls_time 6
-hls_playlist_type vod
-hls_flags independent_segments
-hls_segment_type fmp4
-hls_segment_filename "$OUTPUT_DIR/v%v/seg%06d.m4s"
-master_pl_name master.m3u8
-var_stream_map "v:0,a:0,name:1080p v:1,a:1,name:720p v:2,a:2,name:360p"
"$OUTPUT_DIR/v%v/index.m3u8"

</details>

Result:

output/ ├── master.m3u8 ├── 1080p/ │ ├── index.m3u8 │ ├── seg000001.m4s │ └── ... ├── 720p/ │ └── ... └── 360p/ └── ...

#### PHP Job for Queue

The TranscodeToHlsJob class is a typical Laravel job. Timeout 2 hours, two attempts. We only handle the successful case.

```php
class TranscodeToHlsJob implements ShouldQueue
{
    public int $timeout = 7200;
    public int $tries = 2;

    public function __construct(private Video $video) {}

    public function handle(): void
    {
        $this->video->update(['status' => 'transcoding']);

        $inputUrl   = Storage::disk('s3')->temporaryUrl($this->video->original_key, now()->addHours(3));
        $outputDir  = sys_get_temp_dir() . '/hls_' . $this->video->id;
        $s3Prefix   = "hls/{$this->video->user_id}/{$this->video->id}";

        mkdir($outputDir, 0777, true);

        $process = new \Symfony\Component\Process\Process([
            '/usr/local/bin/transcode-hls.sh', $inputUrl, $outputDir
        ]);
        $process->setTimeout(7200);
        $process->run();

        if (!$process->isSuccessful()) {
            throw new \RuntimeException('HLS transcoding failed: ' . $process->getErrorOutput());
        }

        // Upload all files to S3
        $iterator = new \RecursiveIteratorIterator(
            new \RecursiveDirectoryIterator($outputDir)
        );

        foreach ($iterator as $file) {
            if (!$file->isFile()) continue;

            $relativePath = str_replace($outputDir . '/', '', $file->getPathname());
            $s3Key = "{$s3Prefix}/{$relativePath}";

            $contentType = str_ends_with($file->getFilename(), '.m3u8')
                ? 'application/x-mpegURL'
                : 'video/mp4';

            Storage::disk('s3')->put($s3Key, file_get_contents($file->getPathname()), [
                'ContentType'  => $contentType,
                'CacheControl' => str_ends_with($file->getFilename(), '.m3u8')
                    ? 'no-cache'          // playlist not cached
                    : 'public, max-age=31536000',  // segments cached forever
            ]);
        }

        $this->video->update([
            'status'       => 'ready',
            'hls_manifest' => "{$s3Prefix}/master.m3u8",
        ]);

        // Clean up temporary files
        exec("rm -rf {$outputDir}");
    }
}

AWS MediaConvert (Managed)

For high-load projects, we use MediaConvert. Configuration in Python:

def create_hls_job(input_key: str, output_prefix: str) -> str:
    client = boto3.client('mediaconvert', endpoint_url=MEDIACONVERT_ENDPOINT)

    job = client.create_job(
        Role=MEDIACONVERT_ROLE,
        Settings={
            'Inputs': [{'FileInput': f's3://bucket/{input_key}', 'VideoSelector': {}, 'AudioSelectors': {'Audio 1': {'DefaultSelection': 'DEFAULT'}}}],
            'OutputGroups': [{
                'Name': 'Apple HLS',
                'OutputGroupSettings': {
                    'Type': 'HLS_GROUP_SETTINGS',
                    'HlsGroupSettings': {
                        'Destination': f's3://bucket/{output_prefix}/',
                        'SegmentLength': 6,
                        'MinSegmentLength': 0,
                        'DirectoryStructure': 'SUBDIRECTORY_PER_STREAM',
                    },
                },
                'Outputs': [
                    {'NameModifier': '_1080p', 'VideoDescription': {'Width': 1920, 'Height': 1080, 'CodecSettings': {'Codec': 'H_264', 'H264Settings': {'Bitrate': 5000000, 'RateControlMode': 'CBR', 'GopSize': 90}}}, 'AudioDescriptions': [{'CodecSettings': {'Codec': 'AAC', 'AacSettings': {'Bitrate': 192000}}}]},
                    {'NameModifier': '_720p', 'VideoDescription': {'Width': 1280, 'Height': 720, 'CodecSettings': {'Codec': 'H_264', 'H264Settings': {'Bitrate': 2500000, 'RateControlMode': 'CBR', 'GopSize': 90}}}, 'AudioDescriptions': [{'CodecSettings': {'Codec': 'AAC', 'AacSettings': {'Bitrate': 128000}}}]},
                    {'NameModifier': '_360p', 'VideoDescription': {'Width': 640, 'Height': 360, 'CodecSettings': {'Codec': 'H_264', 'H264Settings': {'Bitrate': 800000, 'RateControlMode': 'CBR', 'GopSize': 90}}}, 'AudioDescriptions': [{'CodecSettings': {'Codec': 'AAC', 'AacSettings': {'Bitrate': 96000}}}]},
                ],
            }],
        }
    )
    return job['Job']['Id']

MediaConvert generates HLS playlists on its own. We pay only for transcoding minutes.

CloudFront CDN

To ensure fast video delivery worldwide, we configure CloudFront with two cache policies: for playlists (TTL 5 seconds) and segments (TTL 1 year).

resource "aws_cloudfront_distribution" "video" {
  origin {
    domain_name            = aws_s3_bucket.videos.bucket_regional_domain_name
    origin_id              = "s3-videos"
    origin_access_control_id = aws_cloudfront_origin_access_control.default.id
  }

  enabled         = true
  is_ipv6_enabled = true

  default_cache_behavior {
    allowed_methods        = ["GET", "HEAD"]
    cached_methods         = ["GET", "HEAD"]
    target_origin_id       = "s3-videos"
    viewer_protocol_policy = "redirect-to-https"

    forwarded_values {
      query_string = false
      cookies { forward = "none" }
      headers = ["Origin", "Access-Control-Request-Method", "Access-Control-Request-Headers"]
    }

    min_ttl     = 0
    default_ttl = 86400
    max_ttl     = 31536000
  }

  # Playlists .m3u8 — short cache
  ordered_cache_behavior {
    path_pattern           = "*.m3u8"
    allowed_methods        = ["GET", "HEAD"]
    cached_methods         = ["GET", "HEAD"]
    target_origin_id       = "s3-videos"
    viewer_protocol_policy = "redirect-to-https"

    forwarded_values {
      query_string = false
      cookies { forward = "none" }
    }

    min_ttl     = 0
    default_ttl = 5
    max_ttl     = 30
  }
}

React Player with hls.js

Client-side integration: hls.js for modern browsers, fallback to native HLS in Safari.

import Hls from 'hls.js';
import { useEffect, useRef } from 'react';

interface VideoPlayerProps {
  manifestUrl: string;
  poster?: string;
}

export function VideoPlayer({ manifestUrl, poster }: VideoPlayerProps) {
  const videoRef = useRef<HTMLVideoElement>(null);

  useEffect(() => {
    const video = videoRef.current;
    if (!video) return;

    if (Hls.isSupported()) {
      const hls = new Hls({
        maxBufferLength: 30,
        maxMaxBufferLength: 60,
        lowLatencyMode: false,
      });

      hls.loadSource(manifestUrl);
      hls.attachMedia(video);

      hls.on(Hls.Events.ERROR, (_, data) => {
        if (data.fatal) {
          if (data.type === Hls.ErrorTypes.NETWORK_ERROR) {
            hls.startLoad();
          } else {
            hls.destroy();
          }
        }
      });

      return () => hls.destroy();

    } else if (video.canPlayType('application/vnd.apple.mpegurl')) {
      // Safari: native HLS support
      video.src = manifestUrl;
    }
  }, [manifestUrl]);

  return (
    <video
      ref={videoRef}
      poster={poster}
      controls
      playsInline
      style={{ width: '100%', maxHeight: '80vh' }}
    />
  );
}

What's Included in the Work

We handle the complete cycle for implementing HLS/DASH streaming on your website:

• Transcoding video into three qualities (1080p, 720p, 360p) using FFmpeg or AWS MediaConvert.
• Integration with queues (Laravel Horizon) for async processing.
• Development of a custom React player based on hls.js with UI customization support.
• Setting up CDN (CloudFront or Cloudflare) for fast content delivery.
• Detailed documentation of the pipeline architecture.
• Training your team on the system.
• 2 weeks of post-launch support.

Typical Mistakes

• Incorrect bitrates: too low for 1080p, too high for 360p. We use Apple recommendations.
• Playlist caching: if master.m3u8 is cached, the player won't see new qualities after retranscoding. We set no-cache.
• Missing CORS: browser blocks segments. We configure CORS on S3/CloudFront.
• Hydration mismatch: if the player renders on the server, it may mismatch with client. We use dynamic import.

Process of Work

1. Analysis — study source videos, DRM requirements, target audience.
2. Design — select stack (self-hosted FFmpeg or MediaConvert), determine bitrates, CDN.
3. Implementation — write transcoder, job, player.
4. Testing — check LCP, CLS, INP, Core Web Vitals.
5. Deployment — deploy to production, monitor logs.

Timeline and Cost

Cost is calculated individually based on video volume, bitrates, and DRM needs. Contact us for an assessment of your project — we'll calculate the timeline and cost. Order HLS/DASH streaming implementation and get a consultation. We guarantee your video will work lag-free on any device.