HLS, is a video playback technique that breaks a video file into a sequence of small HTTP-based file downloads, thus making video podcasts playback faster and smoother. It’s now a widely-supported technique for viewing vidoes.

HLS provides mechanisms for players to adapt to unreliable network conditions without causing user-visible playback stalling. For example, on an unreliable wireless network, HLS allows the player to use a lower quality video, thus reducing bandwidth usage. HLS videos have higher reliability by providing multiple servers for the same video, allowing the player to swap seamlessly if one of the servers fails.

HLS also allows the client to choose among video quality alternates dynamically as the network bandwidth changes, providing the best video quality as the device moves between cellular and WiFi connections, for example, or between 3G and EDGE connections. This is a significant advantage over progressive downloading.

It is strongly recommended that you use HLS to deliver video to all cellular-capable devices, even for video on demand, so that your viewers have the best experience possible under changing conditions.