HTTP Live Streaming is an HTTP-based media streaming communications protocol implemented by Apple Inc. as part of their QuickTime X and iPhone software systems. It works by breaking the overall stream into a sequence of small HTTP-based file downloads, each download loading one short chunk of an overall potentially unbounded transport stream. As the stream is played, the client may select from a number of different alternate streams containing the same material encoded at a variety of data rates, allowing the streaming session to adapt to the available data rate. At the start of the streaming session, it downloads an extended M3U playlist containing the metadata for the various sub-streams which are available.

Since its requests use only standard HTTP transactions, HTTP Live Streaming is capable of traversing any firewall or proxy server that lets through standard HTTP traffic, unlike UDP-based protocols such as RTP, or adapted versions of HTTP such as RTSP.

Apple have documented HTTP Live Streaming as an Internet-Draft, the first stage in the process of submitting it to the IETF as a proposed Internet standard.

[edit] External links

• Prince McLean (Wednesday, July 8, 2009). "Apple launches HTTP Live Streaming standard in iPhone 3.0". Apple Insider. http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/07/08/apple_launches_http_live_streaming_standard_in_iphone_3_0.html. Retrieved 2009-07-10. 
• Chris Foresman (July 9, 2009). "Apple proposes HTTP streaming feature as protocol standard". Ars Technica. http://arstechnica.com/web/news/2009/07/apple-proposes-http-streaming-feature-as-a-protocol-standard.ars. Retrieved 2009-07-10. 
• Internet-Draft: HTTP Live Streaming: draft-pantos-http-live-streaming
• Backbone Networks supports http live streaming in its Internet Radio Automation system.