HTTP Live Streaming Q&A

When we try to use AVPictureInPictureController with a AVSampleBufferDisplayLayer on tvOS 15 through tvOS 26 isPictureInPicturePossible never becomes true. The code works great on iOS, but it has never worked on tvOS. You can check this out for a repro: https://github.com/jazzychad/PiPBugDemo Feedbacks: FB9751461, FB14158567, FB14037110 DTS Case: 7999337

To reduce latency in our live HLS service, we are experimenting with short segment durations (1–2 seconds). We have noticed that ABR switching occurs more frequently than expected. Looking at the console logs, variants appear to enter and leave what is referred to as a "penalty box" under conditions such as -12889 (a segment returning 0 bytes after 1.0 × target_duration) and -12888 (a playlist remaining unchanged beyond 1.5 × target_duration). Are there recommended practices to reduce this excessive switching? Specifically: Is there an API to control this penalty box behavior? Would preparing an LL-HLS stream with 1-second parts settle this down? Alternatively, would 4-second segments with a slightly smaller configuredTimeOffsetFromLive help stabilize this?

Hi, We currently deliver HDR10+ content within a composite HLS stream where Dolby Vision is signaled as a supplemental codec alongside HDR10+. Our testing on Apple TV 4K (3rd generation) indicates that playback succeeds, but we have not found a reliable way to determine whether playback is occurring in Dolby Vision or HDR10+ mode when connected to a display that supports both formats. We have also verified that the same stream plays correctly on displays that support HDR10+ but do not support Dolby Vision. However, on displays that support both HDR10+ and Dolby Vision, we are unable to determine which dynamic range format AVPlayer ultimately selects. Is there a recommended Apple API or mechanism to determine whether AVPlayer is rendering content as HDR10+, Dolby Vision, or another HDR format at runtime? For reference, below is an example variant from our master playlist: #EXT-X-STREAM-INF:BANDWIDTH=2851276,AVERAGE-BANDWIDTH=2030750,CODECS="hvc1.2.4.L90.90,mp4a.40.2",SUPPLEMENTAL-CODECS="dvh1.08.01/dv1p,hvc1.2.4.L90.90/cdm4",RESOLUTION=854x480,FRAME-RATE=24,VIDEO-RANGE=PQ,HDCP-LEVEL=TYPE-1,CHARACTERISTICS="com.dss.cbcs.hdr.hd",AUDIO="aac-128k",SUBTITLES="sub-main" Specifically, we would like to understand: How AVPlayer chooses between Dolby Vision and HDR10+ when both are available in the same variant. Whether there is a supported way to determine the selected HDR format during playback. Whether any other APIs expose this information. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.