Streaming

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Deep dive into the technical specifications that influence seamless playback for streaming services, including bitrates, codecs, and caching mechanisms.

Streaming Documentation

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Can we say that HLS uses UDP?
Hello, Apple video engineers. According to the official documentation, HLS is built on HTTP and traditionally ran on top of TCP. However, with the introduction of HTTP/3, which uses QUIC (runs on top of UDP), I would like to clarify the following: Has the official HLS specification changed in a way that allows it to be considered UDP-based when using HTTP/3? And is it fair to say that HLS supports UDP since the transport can go over HTTP/3 and QUIC? Would it be more accurate to say that HLS remains HTTP-dependent, and the transport protocol (TCP or QUIC) only determines how HTTP requests are delivered? My thoughts: Since HTTP/3 uses QUIC running over UDP, we still can't say that HLS supports UDP in a classical way, as it is introduced in RTP, RTSP, SRT.
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412
Feb ’25
New playback error on iOS/tvOS 18.x "CoreMediaErrorDomain Code=-15486"
Hello, Our users have started to see a new fatal AVPlayer error during playback starting with iOS/tvOS 18.0. The error is defined as "CoreMediaErrorDomain Code=-15486". We have not been able to reproduce this issue locally within our development team. Is there any documentation on the cause of this error or steps to recover from this error? Thank you, Howard
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693
Feb ’25
Regarding FPS SDK Upgrade
Hi Apple Team, We have integrated FairPlay Streaming Server SDK v3 into our MDRM platform since 2017, the system works stable and stayed untouched. As you know, both Widevine and Playready have requirements to upgrade the Server SDK regularly. We want to know if Apple imposes similar requirements for upgrading the FPS SDK, or if we may continue using the old one without any updates. Thanks for your support!
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376
Feb ’25
AVPlayer playing protected HLS, when session expires and open new session created the player is stall for a small time
I am playing the protected HLS streams and the authorization token expires in 3 minutes. I am trying to achieve this with 'AVAssetResourceLoaderDelegate'. I can refresh the token and play it, but the problem is in between the session, the player stalls for a small time, LIKE 1 SECOND. Here's my code : class APLCustomAVARLDelegate: NSObject, AVAssetResourceLoaderDelegate { static let httpsScheme = "https" static let redirectErrorCode = 302 static let badRequestErrorCode = 400 private var token: String? private var retryDictionary = [String: Int]() private let maxRetries = 3 private func schemeSupported(_ scheme: String) -> Bool { let supported = ishttpSchemeValid(scheme) print("Scheme '\(scheme)' supported: \(supported)") return supported } private func reportError(loadingRequest: AVAssetResourceLoadingRequest, error: Int) { let nsError = NSError(domain: NSURLErrorDomain, code: error, userInfo: nil) print("Reporting error: \(nsError)") loadingRequest.finishLoading(with: nsError) } // Handle token renewal requests to prevent playback stalls func resourceLoader(_ resourceLoader: AVAssetResourceLoader, shouldWaitForRenewalOfRequestedResource renewalRequest: AVAssetResourceRenewalRequest) -> Bool { print("Resource renewal requested for URL: \(renewalRequest.request.url?.absoluteString ?? "unknown URL")") // Handle renewal the same way we handle initial requests guard let scheme = renewalRequest.request.url?.scheme else { print("No scheme found in the renewal URL.") return false } if isHttpsSchemeValid(scheme) { return handleHttpsRequest(renewalRequest) } print("Scheme not supported for renewal.") return false } private func isHttpsSchemeValid(_ scheme: String) -> Bool { let isValid = scheme == APLCustomAVARLDelegate.httpsScheme print("httpsScheme scheme '\(scheme)' valid: \(isValid)") return isValid } private func generateHttpsURL(sourceURL: URL) -> URL? { // If you need to modify the URL, do it here // Currently this just returns the same URL let urlString = sourceURL.absoluteString print("Generated HTTPS URL: \(urlString)") return URL(string: urlString) } private func handleHttpsRequest(_ loadingRequest: AVAssetResourceLoadingRequest) -> Bool { print("Handling HTTPS request.") guard let sourceURL = loadingRequest.request.url, var redirectURL = generateHttpsURL(sourceURL: sourceURL) else { print("Failed to generate HTTPS URL.") reportError(loadingRequest: loadingRequest, error: APLCustomAVARLDelegate.badRequestErrorCode) return true } // Track retry attempts with a dictionary keyed by request URL let urlString = sourceURL.absoluteString let currentRetries = retryDictionary[urlString] ?? 0 if currentRetries < maxRetries { retryDictionary[urlString] = currentRetries + 1 } else { // Too many retries, report a more specific error reportError(loadingRequest: loadingRequest, error: NSURLErrorTimedOut) retryDictionary.removeValue(forKey: urlString) return true } if var urlComponents = URLComponents(url: redirectURL, resolvingAgainstBaseURL: false) { var queryItems = urlComponents.queryItems ?? [] // Generate a fresh token each time let freshToken = AESTimeBaseEncription.secureEncryptSecretText() // Check if the token already exists if let existingTokenIndex = queryItems.firstIndex(where: { $0.name == "token" }) { // Update the existing token queryItems[existingTokenIndex].value = freshToken } else { // Add the token if it doesn't exist queryItems.append(URLQueryItem(name: "token", value: freshToken)) } urlComponents.queryItems = queryItems redirectURL = urlComponents.url! } let redirectRequest = URLRequest(url: redirectURL) let response = HTTPURLResponse(url: redirectURL, statusCode: APLCustomAVARLDelegate.redirectErrorCode, httpVersion: nil, headerFields: nil) print("Redirecting HTTPS to URL: \(redirectURL)") loadingRequest.redirect = redirectRequest loadingRequest.response = response loadingRequest.finishLoading() // If successful, reset the retry counter if retryDictionary[urlString] == maxRetries { retryDictionary.removeValue(forKey: urlString) } return true } }
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489
Mar ’25
Best approach for auto-play when using AVPlayer
Hello! I am trying to determine the best approach with AVPlayer for implementing auto-play, that is, playback that automatically starts without user initiation. Ideally this would work for both local and streaming audio. My current approach is using KVO and the status on an AVPlayerItem equal to readyToPlay to do this, but I was wondering if there was a better property or state to use, or, alternatively, whether this use case may already be handled when automaticallyWaitsToMinimizeStalling is true, so that I could simply write: player.replaceCurrentItem(with: AVPlayerItem(url: streamingUrl)) player.rate = 1 or let playerItem = AVPlayerItem(url: streamingUrl) player = AVPlayer(playerItem: playerItem) player.rate = 1 and expect the item to be auto-played when ready. In the context of user-initiated playback, I've typically seen code that makes a button's enabled state contingent on player.currentItem.duration, e.g. in AVFoundationSimplePlayer-iOS. On the other hand, AVAutoWait, which utilizes automaticallyWaitsToMinimizeStalling, does not seem to do this. As a side note, I am not using an AVQueuePlayer.
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380
Mar ’25
Fairplay expiration issue
We noticed the behaviour of expiration of FairPlay license changed from iOS 16.x to some version iOS 17 and the latest iOS 18.3.2 and Safari. On iOS 16.x, the video playback will stop when the license expires, but on iOS 17.x + the video continues but no audio and no error fired. On latest Safari the video and audio all continues. Any changes for the latest FairPlay and how we adapt this from the license server? Thanks
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392
Mar ’25
Apple FPS Package Request – No Response Received. How Long Does It Usually Take?
t has been quite some time since I requested the Apple FPS package, yet I haven’t received it. I haven’t received any email either. Is there a developer support inquiry center where I can check the status of the process? Alternatively, could you share approximately how long it took for you to receive a response email?
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359
Mar ’25
Error codes -1102 and 1852797029 when entering the background playing HLS assets
In our logging tools (Firebase) I see a lot of errors reported when users are playing content and the app transitions to the background. A AVPlayerItemFailedToPlayToEndTime notification is fired with an error containing error codes like -1102 and 1852797029 which seem to correspond to NSURLErrorNoPermissionsToReadFile and kCMIOHardwareIllegalOperationError respectively. To me, it looks like these might have something to do with caching logic. The items being played are HLS streams and we make use of AVAssetDownloadTask to make any streamed content offline available. Our setup is similar to the sample provided here: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/avfoundation/using-avfoundation-to-play-and-persist-http-live-streams. Whenever an item is selected for playback the app will check if a cached version is available and if so gets the url to the stored file like the "localAssetForStream()" method in the example, or get the asset from a currently running AVAssetDownloadTask for the item, or else, starts a new AVAssetDownloadTask and returns a AVAsset from that task to play. This seems to work fine, and I can't reproduce the issues our users and our logging tools are reporting. Is there some case I am missing where AVAssetDownloadTask and associated AVAssets might become unreadable when the app transitions to the background? Or do these errors indicate a different problem entirely?
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223
Mar ’25
How to detect HDCP support in Safari.
I am playing FairPlay + Multi-Key content (fMP4) in Safari browser. I want to implement the implementation to distinguish between SD and HD video quality, and play it in HD if HDCP is supported, and in SD if HDCP is not supported. I have already confirmed that HDCP support is the default, and that a black screen is output in non-HDCP environments. What I want is to improve the user experience by appropriately switching to SD/HD depending on HDCP support when playing DRM content. Question: Is there an API or function that can detect HDCP support in Safari through JavaScript or other methods? Or is there a way to indirectly guess it?
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193
Mar ’25
AVFoundationErrorDomain Code=-11819 in AVPlayer – Causes & Fixes?
We are encountering an issue where AVPlayer throws the error: Error Domain=AVFoundationErrorDomain Code=-11819 "Cannot Complete Action" > Underlying Error Domain[(null)]:Code[0]:Desc[(null)] This error seems to occur intermittently during video playback, especially after extended usage or when switching between different streams. We observe Error 11819 (AVFoundationErrorDomain) in Conviva platform that some of our users experience it but we couldn't reproduce it so far and we’re need support to determine the root cause and/or best practices to prevent it. Some questions we have: What typically triggers this error? Could it be related to memory/resource constraints, network instability, or backgrounding? Are there any recommended ways to handle or recover from this error gracefully? Any insights or guidance would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
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158
Apr ’25
Assistance Needed: CoreMediaErrorDomain Error -12971
Hello Apple Developer Community, I am trying to play an HLS stream using the React Native Video player (underneath it's using AvPlayer). I am able to play the stream smoothly, but in some cases the player can not play the stream properly. Behaviour: react-native-video: I am getting the below error. Error details from react-native-video player: Error Code: -12971 Domain: CoreMediaErrorDomain Localised Description: The operation couldn’t be completed. (CoreMediaErrorDomain error -12971.) Target: 2457 The error does not provide a specific failure reason or recovery suggestion, which makes troubleshooting challenging. AvPlayer on native iOS project: Video playback stopped after playing a few seconds. AVPlayer configuration: player.currentItem?.preferredForwardBufferDuration = 1 player.automaticallyWaitsToMinimizeStalling = true N.B.: The same buffer duration is working perfectly for others. Stream properties: video resolution: 1280 x 720 I have attached an overview report generated from MediaStreamValidator. I would appreciate any insights or suggestions on how to address this error. Has anyone in the community experienced a similar issue or have any advice on potential solutions? Thank you for your help!
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162
Apr ’25
Clarification of use of `AVAssetDownloadConfiguration` and `AVAssetDownloadTask` to persist MP3 Audio downloads/streams
Hello! I have been following the UsingAVFoundationToPlayAndPersistHTTPLiveStreams sample code in order to test persisting streams to disk. In addition to support for m3u8, I have noticed in testing that this also seems to work for MP3 Audio, simply by changing the plist entries to point to remote URLs with audio/mpeg content. Is this expected, or are there caveats that I should be aware of? Thanks you!
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73
Apr ’25
Apple Music web player will not work on wkwebview web browser or electron chromium browser.
Hello, I'm trying to create a webbrowser but currently when signed into apple music webplayer I get the following message when I attempt to play on any versions of my webbrowser: Not available on the web You can listen to this in the Apple Music app. Is there a way to setup DRM (assuming this is the issue) with apple to allow my webbrowser to play this content? I believe Apple TV is also affected. Thank you ahead of time.
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145
May ’25
Can I Fade Out Track Volume Before End Using ApplicationMusicPlayer?
I’m building a music app using Apple Music streaming via ApplicationMusicPlayer. My goal is to decrease the volume of the current song during the last 10 seconds, and when the next track begins, restore the volume to its normal level. I know that ApplicationMusicPlayer doesn’t expose a volume API, and I want to avoid triggering the system volume HUD. ✅ Using Apple Music streaming (not local files) ❓ Is it possible to implement per-track fade-out/fade-in logic with ApplicationMusicPlayer? Appreciate any clarification or official guidance!
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87
Jun ’25
Couldn't able to hear audio via speaker on ios real device
This is my native module code implementation I'm getting base64 encoded string from server and passing this to my native module of pcm player to play audio App.tsx PcmPlayer.writeChunk(e.data); PcmPlayer.swift import AVFoundation @objc(PcmPlayer) class PcmPlayer: RCTEventEmitter { private var engine: AVAudioEngine? private var playerNode: AVAudioPlayerNode? private var format: AVAudioFormat? private var bufferQueue = [Data]() private var isPlaying = false private var hasEnded = false private var scheduledBufferCount = 0 private let minBufferBytes = 50000 private let pcmQueue = DispatchQueue(label: "pcm.queue") override init() { super.init() } override func supportedEvents() -> [String]! { return ["onStatus", "onMessage"] } @objc(initPlayer:channels:bitsPerSample:) func initPlayer(_ sampleRate: NSNumber, channels: NSNumber, bitsPerSample: NSNumber) { pcmQueue.async { self.stopInternal() let session = AVAudioSession.sharedInstance() do { try session.setCategory(.playback, mode: .default, options: []) try session.setActive(true, options: .notifyOthersOnDeactivation) try session.setMode(.default) print("🔈 Audio session active. Output route:", session.currentRoute.outputs) } catch { print("❌ Audio session setup failed:", error) return } self.engine = AVAudioEngine() self.playerNode = AVAudioPlayerNode() guard let engine = self.engine, let playerNode = self.playerNode else { print("❌ Engine or playerNode is nil") return } engine.attach(playerNode) self.format = AVAudioFormat(commonFormat: .pcmFormatFloat32, sampleRate: sampleRate.doubleValue, channels: AVAudioChannelCount(channels.uintValue), interleaved: false) guard let format = self.format else { print("❌ Failed to create AVAudioFormat") return } engine.connect(playerNode, to: engine.mainMixerNode, format: format) do { try engine.start() playerNode.play() engine.mainMixerNode.outputVolume = 1.0 print("✅ AVAudioEngine started with format:", format) } catch { print("❌ Engine start failed:", error) } self.hasEnded = false } } @objc(writeChunk:) func writeChunk(_ base64Pcm: String) { pcmQueue.async { guard base64Pcm.count >= 10 else { print("⚠️ Skipping short base64 string") return } var padded = base64Pcm let mod4 = base64Pcm.count % 4 if mod4 > 0 { padded += String(repeating: "=", count: 4 - mod4) } guard let data = Data(base64Encoded: padded, options: .ignoreUnknownCharacters) else { print("❌ Failed to decode base64") return } self.bufferQueue.append(data) print("📥 Received PCM chunk (\(data.count) bytes)") print("📥 writeChunk called. isPlaying=\(self.isPlaying), bufferQueue.count=\(self.bufferQueue.count)") if !self.isPlaying { self.isPlaying = true self.waitForBufferAndStartPlayback() } else if self.scheduledBufferCount == 0 { self.isPlaying = true self.waitForBufferAndStartPlayback() } } } private func waitForBufferAndStartPlayback() { DispatchQueue.global().async { while self.queueSize() < self.minBufferBytes && !self.hasEnded { Thread.sleep(forTimeInterval: 0.01) } self.writeLoop() } } private func writeLoop() { DispatchQueue.global().async { writeLoop: while self.isPlaying { if self.bufferQueue.isEmpty { for _ in 0..<100 { Thread.sleep(forTimeInterval: 0.01) if !self.bufferQueue.isEmpty { break } } if self.bufferQueue.isEmpty { print("🔇 No more data to play after waiting") self.isPlaying = false break writeLoop } } var data: Data? self.pcmQueue.sync { if !self.bufferQueue.isEmpty { data = self.bufferQueue.removeFirst() } } guard let chunk = data else { print("⚠️ No data to process") continue } if let buffer = self.pcmBufferFromData(chunk) { self.scheduledBufferCount += 1 self.playerNode?.scheduleBuffer(buffer, completionHandler: { self.pcmQueue.async { self.scheduledBufferCount -= 1 if self.bufferQueue.isEmpty && self.scheduledBufferCount == 0 { print("ℹ️ Playback idle - waiting for more data") self.isPlaying = false } } }) } } } } private func pcmBufferFromData(_ data: Data) -> AVAudioPCMBuffer? { guard let format = self.format else { return nil } let frameCount = UInt32(data.count / 2) guard let buffer = AVAudioPCMBuffer(pcmFormat: format, frameCapacity: frameCount) else { print("❌ Failed to create AVAudioPCMBuffer") return nil } buffer.frameLength = frameCount guard let floatChannelData = buffer.floatChannelData?[0] else { print("❌ floatChannelData is nil") return nil } data.withUnsafeBytes { (rawBuffer: UnsafeRawBufferPointer) in let int16Buffer = rawBuffer.bindMemory(to: Int16.self) let count = min(int16Buffer.count, Int(frameCount)) for i in 0..<count { floatChannelData[i] = Float32(int16Buffer[i]) / Float32(Int16.max) } } return buffer } @objc(stopPlayer) func stopPlayer() { pcmQueue.async { self.stopInternal() } } private func stopInternal() { print("🛑 stopInternal called") self.playerNode?.stop() self.engine?.stop() self.engine?.reset() self.playerNode = nil self.engine = nil self.format = nil self.bufferQueue.removeAll() self.isPlaying = false self.hasEnded = true self.scheduledBufferCount = 0 } @objc(canWrite:rejecter:) func canWrite(_ resolve: @escaping RCTPromiseResolveBlock, rejecter reject: RCTPromiseRejectBlock) { pcmQueue.async { resolve(self.bufferQueue.count < 20) } } @objc(flushPlayer:rejecter:) func flushPlayer(_ resolve: @escaping RCTPromiseResolveBlock, rejecter reject: RCTPromiseRejectBlock) { pcmQueue.async { self.bufferQueue.removeAll() resolve(nil) } } @objc static override func requiresMainQueueSetup() -> Bool { return false } private func queueSize() -> Int { return pcmQueue.sync { return self.bufferQueue.reduce(0) { $0 + $1.count } } } } I couldn't able to hear any audio via my real iOS device also it is working fine on emulator.
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199
Jul ’25
AVKit - PiP with AVSampleBufferDisplayLayer Error
AVPictureInPictureControllerContentSource *contentSource = [[AVPictureInPictureControllerContentSource alloc] initWithSampleBufferDisplayLayer:self.renderView.sampleBufferDisplayLayer playbackDelegate:self]; AVPictureInPictureController *pictureInPictureController = [[AVPictureInPictureController alloc] initWithContentSource:contentSource]; pictureInPictureController.delegate = self; (void)pictureInPictureController:(AVPictureInPictureController *)pictureInPictureController failedToStartPictureInPictureWithError:(NSError *)error { //error NSError * domain: @"PGPegasusErrorDomain" - code: -1003 0x00000002819fe3a0 } when first start the PiP play, I got the error "//error NSError * domain: @"PGPegasusErrorDomain" - code: -1003 0x00000002819fe3a0", why? and second start is Ok.
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162
Jul ’25
EXT-X-DISCONTINUITY misalignment
We encounter issue with avplayer in case of EXT-X-DISCONTINUITY misalignment between audio and video produced after insertion of gaps. The initial objective is to introduce an EXT-X-DISCONTINUITY in audio playlist after some missing segments (EXT-X-GAP) which durations are aligned to video segments durations, to handle irregular audio durations. Please find below an example of corresponding video and audio playlists: video: #EXTM3U #EXT-X-VERSION:7 #EXT-X-MEDIA-SEQUENCE:872524632 #EXT-X-INDEPENDENT-SEGMENTS #EXT-X-TARGETDURATION:2 #USP-X-TIMESTAMP-MAP:MPEGTS=7096045027,LOCAL=2025-05-09T12:38:32.369100Z #EXT-X-MAP:URI="hls/StreamingBasic-video=979200.m4s" #EXT-X-PROGRAM-DATE-TIME:2025-05-09T12:38:32.369111Z #EXTINF:2.002, no desc hls/StreamingBasic-video=979200-872524632.m4s #EXTINF:2.002, no desc hls/StreamingBasic-video=979200-872524633.m4s #EXTINF:2.002, no desc hls/StreamingBasic-video=979200-872524634.m4s #EXTINF:2.002, no desc hls/StreamingBasic-video=979200-872524635.m4s #EXTINF:2.002, no desc hls/StreamingBasic-video=979200-872524636.m4s ## Media sequence discontinuity #EXT-X-GAP #EXTINF:2.002, no desc hls/StreamingBasic-video=979200-872524637.m4s ## Media sequence discontinuity #EXT-X-GAP #EXTINF:2.002, no desc hls/StreamingBasic-video=979200-872524638.m4s #EXT-X-PROGRAM-DATE-TIME:2025-05-09T12:38:46.383111Z #EXTINF:2.002, no desc hls/StreamingBasic-video=979200-872524639.m4s #EXTINF:2.002, no desc hls/StreamingBasic-video=979200-872524640.m4s audio: EXTM3U #EXT-X-VERSION:7 #EXT-X-MEDIA-SEQUENCE:872524632 #EXT-X-INDEPENDENT-SEGMENTS #EXT-X-TARGETDURATION:2 #USP-X-TIMESTAMP-MAP:MPEGTS=7096045867,LOCAL=2025-05-09T12:38:32.378400Z #EXT-X-MAP:URI="hls/StreamingBasic-audio_99500_eng=98800.m4s" #EXT-X-PROGRAM-DATE-TIME:2025-05-09T12:38:32.378444Z #EXTINF:2.0053, no desc hls/StreamingBasic-audio_99500_eng=98800-872524632.m4s #EXTINF:2.0053, no desc hls/StreamingBasic-audio_99500_eng=98800-872524633.m4s #EXTINF:2.0053, no desc hls/StreamingBasic-audio_99500_eng=98800-872524634.m4s #EXTINF:1.984, no desc hls/StreamingBasic-audio_99500_eng=98800-872524635.m4s #EXTINF:2.0053, no desc hls/StreamingBasic-audio_99500_eng=98800-872524636.m4s ## Media sequence discontinuity #EXT-X-GAP #EXTINF:2.002, no desc hls/StreamingBasic-audio_99500_eng=98800-872524637.m4s ## Media sequence discontinuity #EXT-X-GAP #EXTINF:2.002, no desc hls/StreamingBasic-audio_99500_eng=98800-872524638.m4s #EXT-X-DISCONTINUITY #EXT-X-PROGRAM-DATE-TIME:2025-05-09T12:38:46.778444Z #EXTINF:1.6213, no desc hls/StreamingBasic-audio_99500_eng=98800-872524639.m4s #EXTINF:2.0053, no desc hls/StreamingBasic-audio_99500_eng=98800-872524640.m4s In this case playback is broken with avplayer. Is it conformed to Http Live Streaming? Is it an avplayer bug? What are the guidelines to handle such gaps?
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186
Jul ’25