Streaming

RSS for tag

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

Streaming Documentation

Posts under Streaming subtopic

Post

Replies

Boosts

Views

Activity

Get channels count for an audio stream in AVPlayer
In an m3u8 manifest, audio EXT-X-MEDIA tags usually contain CHANNELS tag containing the audio channels count like so: #EXT-X-MEDIA:TYPE=AUDIO,URI="audio_clear_eng_stereo.m3u8",GROUP-ID="default-audio-group",LANGUAGE="en",NAME="stream_5",AUTOSELECT=YES,CHANNELS="2" Is it possible to get this info from AVPlayer, AVMediaSelectionOption or some related API?
2
0
655
Dec ’24
Unknown error -12881 when using AVAssetResourceLoader
Here we are focusing to change the cookie at every 120 seconds while playing , in apple avplayer we can't modify cookie after initialisation due to that we followed the approach to using " Resource loader delegate " to pass cookie as a header value . What I notice is that the playlist file (.m3u8) gets downloaded correctly. Then video file (.m4a) some chunks also gets downloaded. I know that the .ts file is downloaded because I can see the GET request completing on the web server with status 200. I also set a breakpoint at the following line: loadingRequest.dataRequest?.respond(with: data) immediately got error from avplayer status as "The operation could not be completed. An unknown error occurred (-12881) From core media" Need confirmation on why I am unable to load HLS using resource loader. is it possible to update cookie value while paying continuously on avplayer. override func viewDidLoad() { super.viewDidLoad() // Do any additional setup after loading the view. let urlString = "localhost://demo.unified-streaming.com/k8s/features/stable/video/tears-of-steel/tears-of-steel.ism/.m3u8" guard let url = URL(string: urlString) else { print("Invalid URL") return } //Create cookie to prepare for player asset let cookie = HTTPCookie(properties: [ .name: "dazn-token", .value: "cookie value", .domain: url.host() ?? "", .path: "/", .discard: true ]) //Create cookie key to set AVURLAsset let options = [AVURLAssetHTTPCookiesKey: [cookie]] let asset = AVURLAsset(url: url,options: options) proxy = ReverseProxyResourceLoader() proxy?.cookie = "exampleCookie" // Set resource loader delegate to moniter the chunks asset.resourceLoader.setDelegate(proxy, queue: DispatchQueue.global()) // Load asset keys asynchronously (e.g., "playable") let keys = ["playable"] // Initialize the AVPlayer with the URL let playerItem = AVPlayerItem(asset: asset) self.player = AVPlayer(playerItem: playerItem) playerItem.addObserver(self, forKeyPath: "status", options: [.new, .initial], context: nil) // Observe 'error' property (if needed) playerItem.addObserver(self, forKeyPath: "error", options: [.new], context: nil) let contentKeySessionDelegate = ContentKeyDelegate() // Initialize AVContentKeySession let contentKeySession = AVContentKeySession(keySystem: .clearKey) self.contentKeySession = contentKeySession contentKeySession.setDelegate(contentKeySessionDelegate, queue: DispatchQueue.main) // Associate the asset with the content key session contentKeySession.addContentKeyRecipient(asset) // Create a layer for the AVPlayer and add it to the view playerLayer = AVPlayerLayer(player: player) playerLayer?.frame = view.bounds playerLayer?.videoGravity = .resizeAspect if let playerLayer = playerLayer { view.layer.addSublayer(playerLayer) } NotificationCenter.default.addObserver( self, selector: #selector(playerDidFinishPlaying), name: .AVPlayerItemDidPlayToEndTime, object: player?.currentItem ) // Start playback player?.play() } // Update cookie when ever needed func updateCookie() { proxy?.cookie = "update exampleCookie" } @objc private func playerDidFinishPlaying(notification: Notification) { print("Playback finished!") // Optionally, handle end-of-playback actions here } // // ReverseProxyResourceLoader.swift // HLSDemo // // Created by Gajje.Venkatarao on 12/12/24. // import Foundation import AVKit import AVFoundation class ReverseProxyResourceLoader: NSObject, AVAssetResourceLoaderDelegate { var cookie = "" func resourceLoader(_ resourceLoader: AVAssetResourceLoader, shouldWaitForLoadingOfRequestedResource loadingRequest: AVAssetResourceLoadingRequest) -> Bool { resourceLoader.preloadsEligibleContentKeys = true guard let interceptedURL = loadingRequest.request.url else { loadingRequest.finishLoading(with: NSError(domain: "ReverseProxy", code: -1, userInfo: [NSLocalizedDescriptionKey: "Invalid URL"])) return false } if interceptedURL.scheme == "skd" { print("Token updated Cookie:", interceptedURL ) return false } var components = URLComponents(url: interceptedURL, resolvingAgainstBaseURL: false) components?.scheme = "https" // Replace with the original scheme guard let originalURL = components?.url else { loadingRequest.finishLoading(with: NSError(domain: "ReverseProxy", code: -1, userInfo: [NSLocalizedDescriptionKey: "Failed to map URL"])) loadingRequest.finishLoading() return false } var request = URLRequest(url: originalURL) request.httpMethod = "GET" if let storeCoockie = HTTPCookie(properties: [ .name: "dazn-token", .value: cookie, .domain: originalURL.host ?? "", .path: "/", .discard: true ]){ HTTPCookieStorage.shared.setCookie(storeCoockie) } let headers = loadingRequest.request.allHTTPHeaderFields ?? [:] for (key, value) in headers { request.addValue(value, forHTTPHeaderField: key) } request.addValue(cookie, forHTTPHeaderField: "Cookie") URLSession.shared.configuration.httpShouldSetCookies = true request.httpShouldHandleCookies = true let task = (URLSession.shared.dataTask(with: originalURL) { data, response, error in if let error = error { print("Error Received:", error) loadingRequest.finishLoading(with: error) return } print(originalURL) guard let data = data , let url = response?.url else { loadingRequest.finishLoading(with: NSError(domain: "ReverseProxy", code: -1, userInfo: [NSLocalizedDescriptionKey: "No data received"])) return } loadingRequest.dataRequest?.respond(with: data) loadingRequest.finishLoading() } as URLSessionDataTask) task.resume() return true } } Example project
0
0
600
Dec ’24
ApplicationMusicPlayer stops with error after skipping quickly over playlist entries
ApplicationMusicPlayer with queue created from playlist crashes with random occurrence shortly after skipping back or forth using controls embedded in the notification, with the error on console log: applicationController: xpc service connection interrupted. I've noticed that the issue occurs more frequently the shorter is time between skipping entries. Since ApplicationMusicPlayer is run on a remote process, the main app does not crash, but the music stops playing without any exception, and the playback control turns uninitiated. Here is how I'm initiating the queue: let entries = playlist .with(.entries).entries! .map { ApplicationMusicPlayer.Queue.Entry($0) } ApplicationMusicPlayer.shared.queue = .init( entries, startingAt: entries.last ) Please give me some tips on how to solve this. EDIT: The issue does not occur when navigating quickly through the station.
1
0
510
Jan ’25
Unable to generate .p12 file from fairplay.cer
I am reaching out regarding an issue with my Apple FairPlay Streaming Certificate. To generate the certificate signing request (CSR), I used the following OpenSSL commands: openssl genrsa -out private_key.pem 1024 openssl req -new -key private_key.pem -out request.csr However, according to the guide provided by Apple and instructions from my DRM provider, I should have used: openssl genrsa -aes256 -out privatekey.pem 1024 openssl req -new -sha1 -key privatekey.pem -out certreq.csr -subj "/CN=SubjectName /OU=OrganizationalUnit /O=Organization /C=US" I suspect this discrepancy might be causing the issue with my FairPlay certificate. After obtaining the fairplay.cer file and importing it into Keychain Access, I noticed the following: When I expand the certificate in Keychain Access, I can only see a public key and no private key. As a result, I am unable to export the certificate as a .p12 file, as this option is disabled. As per my DRM provider's instructions, I need to export the certificate along with the corresponding private key as a .p12 file with a password. Since the private key is not visible in Keychain Access, I am unable to proceed further. I have read the FairPlay Streaming Overview but could not find any reasons as to why this issue is occurring or guidance on the procedure to revoke a certificate. Additionally, I came across the terms and conditions which mentioned reaching out to product-security at Apple for assistance in revoking corrupt certificates. However, despite reaching out, I have not received a response. Any help on how to proceed will be great!
0
0
533
Jan ’25
The operation couldn’t be completed error during live restart playback in native AV player
In our Apple TV application, we are using the native AVPlayer for live playback functionality. During live restart playback, we intermittently encounter an error when the playback timeline approaches the actual live event end time. Error: The operation couldn’t be completed. (CoreMediaErrorDomain error -16839 - Unable to get playlist before long download timer) / Failure reason: Scenario: The live event is scheduled from 7:00 AM to 8:00 AM. Restart playback begins at 7:20 AM, allowing the user to watch the event from the start while the live stream continues in real-time. As the restart playback timeline approaches the actual event end time (8:00 AM), AVPlayer displays an error, and playback continues in the background.
1
0
824
Jan ’25
Apple TV HDMI Connected device turn off detection problem via HDMI
Hello, we have HLS Stream app on Apple TV. Our streams are DRM protected. We have problem with streams when source device is turned off. For example, user start to watch our HLS DRM Protected content. After some time, user turns off device (it can be Monitor or TV via connected HDMI). Our app does not understand HDMI Source device turned off. Is there any way to understand HDMI connected device is turned off on Swift?
0
0
415
Jan ’25
EXT-X-DISCONTINUITY not properly handled in native iOS and Safari player (AVPlayer), broken playback.
Hi folks, When doing HLS v6 live streaming with fmp4 chunks we noticed that when the encoder timestamps slightly drift and a #EXT-X-DISCONTINUITY tag is created in either the audio or video playlist (in an ABR setup), the tag is not correctly handled by the player leading to a broken playback containing black screen or no audio (depending on which playlist the tag is printed in). We noticed that this is often true when the number of tags is odd between the playlists (eg. the audio playlist contains 1 tag and the video contains 2 tags will result in a black screen with audio). By using the same "broken" source but using Shaka player instead won't break the playback at all. Are there any possible fix (or upcoming) for AV Player?
1
0
605
Jan ’25
iOS: Want to use USB client mode to send data.
I want my iOS app to be able to use USB client mode to send LiDAR data and camera frames to another device. What are my options for doing this. I've found IOUSBHost for host mode, but I want to see all my options. The device I want driving the bus is a Meta Quest 3, which, and I mention for the sake of clarity, is inherently an Android device. The iPhone is to be used as a sensor hub, sending data to the Quest 3 for further processing. As a workaround, I could let the iPhone drive the bus and have the Quest 3 use Android's accessory mode, which lets other devices drive the USB bus. But, there are more USB devices I want to attach for my project, and doing this makes such more difficult. I want to avoid it.
0
0
314
Jan ’25
Why do I get .ts and .aac requests to the server when playing a downloaded HLS?
I am developing an app to stream and download DRM protected HLS videos based on the official “FairPlay Streaming Server SDK”. When I play the downloaded video, it asks the server for .ts or .aac, even though I have passed the path of the downloaded video to AVURLAsset. As a result, playback fails when the device is offline, such as in airplane mode. This behavior depends on the playback time of the video and occurs when trying to download and play a video with a playback time of 19 hours or more. It did not occur for videos with a playback time of 18 hours. The environment we checked is iOS 18.3. The solution at this time is to limit the video playback time to 18 hours, but if possible, we would like to allow download playback of videos longer than 19 hours. Does anyone have any information or know of a solution to this problem, such as if you have experienced this type of event, or if you know that content longer than 19 hours cannot be played offline? // load let path = ".../xxx.movpkg" // Path of the downloaded file videoAsset = AVURLAsset(url: path) playerItem = AVPlayerItem(asset: videoAsset!) player.replaceCurrentItem(with: playerItem) // isPlayableOffline print("videoAsset.assetCache.isPlayableOffline = \(videoAsset.assetCache.isPlayableOffline)") // true
0
0
417
Feb ’25
[Fairplay Streaming] Time Manipulation Detection DRM License Servers
Our team conducted security testing and found one vulnerability with fairplay license acquisition. Our QA engineer manually changed the device's system date and time (setting it 4 days into the future) and was able to successfully obtain a license response and initiate playback on an iOS device. However, on an Android device, the license acquisition failed. Can you please tell us if Time Manipulation Detection is available in FairPlay SDK?
0
0
421
Feb ’25
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.
0
0
398
Feb ’25
CoreMediaErrorDomain error -12927 with HEVC and DRM
I can't play video content with HEVC and DRM. Tested HEVC only: OK. Tested DRM+AVC: Ok. Tested 2 players (Clappr/Stevie and BitMovin) Master, variants and EXT-X-MAPs are downloaded Ok, DRM keys Ok and then, for instance with BitMovin Player: [BMP] [Player] [Error] Event: SourceError, Data: {"code":2001,"data":{"message":"The operation couldn’t be completed. (CoreMediaErrorDomain error -12927.)","code":-12927},"message":"Source Error. The operation couldn’t be completed. (CoreMediaErrorDomain error -12927.)","timestamp":1740320663.4505711,"type":"onSourceError"} code: 2001 [Data code: -12927, message: The operation couldn’t be completed. (CoreMediaErrorDomain error -12927.), underlying error: Error Domain=CoreMediaErrorDomain Code=-12927 "(null)"] 4k-master.m3u8.txt 4k.m3u8.txt 4k-audio.m3u8.txt
1
0
531
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 } }
0
0
476
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.
0
0
377
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
0
0
387
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?
0
0
348
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?
0
0
212
Mar ’25
"Conduct marketing and request technological support."
A few months ago, I had the opportunity to receive a 2018 iMac, and I’ve been using it to create content for my social media. I was truly impressed by the power of its processors. Even with this older model, I’ve been able to grow my presence online—something I couldn’t achieve with newer computers from other brands that I previously purchased. I would love to become a promoter of your brand in the gaming world. All I ask for is technological support with more recent equipment and a minimal payment for collaborating with you. I am genuinely interested in being part of your company and leveraging the potential and reputation of Apple to reach even greater heights.
1
0
154
Mar ’25