Support of CMAF’s fMP4 Container Format for Inaris HLS Player
Operators often use HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) to provide the service to their customers via the Internet. Initially, HLS only supported the MPEG transport stream as a container format for video and audio. However, in 2016 Apple and Microsoft proposed fragmented MP4 (fMP4) as part of the Common Media Application Format (CMAF).
The use of fMP4 has many advantages for operators. In many cases, the operator offers its service also on mobile devices and via a web browser, where MPEG DASH is used. MPEG DASH uses fMP4 as a container format. By supporting fMP4 for MPEG DASH and HLS, the playout system can be unified, and the network can be used more efficiently. In addition, Apple only allows fMP4 for UHD content, a requirement for many DRM systems, such as Widevine or Verimatrix Ultra Security.
To offer the operator these advantages, we are expanding our Inaris HLS Player to support the fMP4 container format in addition to the classic transport stream.