Lag is acceptable, but can I sync streams in MPEG DASH/HLS across browsers & devices?

Wowza Streaming Engine
1

So from what I understand here:

is that with chunked streams I have to accept (some) lag as opposed to RTMP/ RTSP, but is it then possible to have players on different devices/ in different browsers sync up?

I have a project where I add meta-content and web elements to a (live) stream; for instance I show (live) linkedin information, as a person gets into view; however, if the streams have different lags on different browsers then there is no telling when exactly I should show the overlay.

In flash I could communicate this with the netConnection, and RTMP was in it self incredibly accurate, but I’m unsure how to solve this issue in MPEG-DASH/HLS

I’m not even sure if it is something I should solve in wowza, or in my player(s)

any thoughts on this are appreciated

2

Hi,

RTMP/RTSP is really the best protocol for reduction in lag as well as more control over streams. HTTP streams that are chunk based will always have more latency. Having very small chunk duration targets is the way to go, but if you go too small then you may incur other issues such as choppy playback. This latency is also not just at the Wowza level but also at the player level as the spec may require minimum number of chunks before the player begins a stream. You can experiment with different HLS or MPEG-DASH chunk settings to reduce lag but don’t expect RTMP performance.

Paul