Streaming using adaptive bitrateAdaptive bitrate (ABR) streaming came on the market in a big way during the last 10 years. Its main innovations compared to traditional IP delivery were:
Using HTTP communication rather than UDP multicast - lowering the impact of individual packet loss events and supporting delivery over the Internet
Having multiple bitrates of the video available, called profiles or renditions
As network conditions change, this enables a device or app to seamlessly switch between different versions of the stream with higher or lower resolution or more or less compression. This is what makes adaptive bitrate streaming adaptive. Every version of the stream is split into pieces of up to a few seconds in duration, which are called segments, fragments, or chunks.
The most impactful formats are HLS from Apple and MPEG-DASH, defined by the MPEG standards group.
Why was CMAF created?Adaptive Bitrate Streaming as originally designed had several challenges.
The first one is latency. With a traditional HLS setup, the latency from the live signal can be as much as 30 to 60 seconds. This is problematic with content such as sports, where the viewer gets the action later than the neighbors.
A second challenge was fragmentation in the media formats used. HLS typically used Transport Stream segments, while DASH and Smooth Streaming opted for MP4. Supporting multiple formats meant that packaging must be duplicated with both TS and MP4. This leads to extra expenses in both packaging and CDN delivery. A way to handle this is just-in-time packaging where a single mezzanine format (say MP4) is encoded and then transmuxed to another container format such as TS on the fly. This lowers the encoding costs but not the CDN delivery costs.
In 2016, Apple added MP4 support to HLS in protocol version 7, and the same year, Microsoft and Apple jointly proposed a new standard based on MP4, called the Common Media Application Format. CMAF was officially published through MPEG in 2018 with support from HLS, Smooth Streaming and MPEG-DASH, thus allowing fragments to be reused across all technologies.
In parallel with this container format harmonization, there has also been a move towards standardizing the encryption of assets. CMAF is frequently used with Common Encryption, another harmonizing MPEG standard. This standard specifies how to encrypt the mdat payload and how to signal the encryption while allowing each DRM vendor to use its own method for retrieving the actual decryption keys. This way, the same fragments can be decrypted on multiple platforms with different DRM vendors.
How is it structured, and how does it enable lower latency?CMAF is based on the ISO Base Media File Format, which is a subset of the MP4 container format. The format uses the same concept of boxes as MP4, and many of the boxes used with traditional fragmented MP4 are still present in CMAF. A notable difference is that there is a hierarchy of smaller subdivisions:
The ability to divide a movie or live stream into smaller pieces is key in streaming applications. Rather than waiting for a full MP4 file to download, we want to download no more than a few seconds of content at a time, so that we can play and download at the same time.
But how does CMAF lower the latency from that baseline approach?
The key difference is what is called Chunked encoding . This means that a segment is internally subdivided into smaller units, called fragments and chunks. This allows a player to start decoding video without having to download the full segment (which could be between a few seconds to 10 seconds). For that to happen, the partial segment must be made available to the player via the CDN and origin. That part of the infrastructure must support the continuous transfer of the segments and fragments as the individual chunks are added to it.
SummaryCMAF enables both lower latency and more efficient use of resources, making it an important step towards a broadcast-like experience delivered over the top.
Additional technologies are also being developed to further improve latency numbers, for instance HESP, and the Low Latency HLS technology from Apple.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/07/2026
Broadcast Management Group (BMG) has announced the appointment of Kathy Samuels ...
01/07/2026
Shade has announced Custom Objects and Automations, a platform expansion releasing June 29, 2026, that adds database and workflow automation capabilities direct...
01/07/2026
FOR-A America has announced the addition of Jaz Wray and Fernando Cruz to its U.S. sales team. Both report to Ernie Leon, Senior VP and Head of Sales and Strate...
01/07/2026
NBC Sports will air all 15 MLB games nationally on Sunday, July 5, across NBC, P...
01/07/2026
Clear-Com has announced a wireless communications upgrade for Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune, deploying FreeSpeak II and FreeSpeak Icon systems across both prod...
01/07/2026
England's performance team will use Sony's STATSports APEX GPS tracking system to monitor player physical data in real time during FIFA World Cup 2026 m...
01/07/2026
Adder Technology has announced the appointment of Neil Hillier as Chief Executive Officer, effective July 1, 2026. Hillier succeeds Adrian Dickens, who transiti...
01/07/2026
Bitcentral, Inc. has announced a strategic transaction creating two separate companies. The Production and Playout business will continue as Bitcentral, now own...
01/07/2026
DAZN has announced results from DAZN48, its creator initiative for the FIFA World Cup 2026. Launched in April 2026, the program received thousands of applicatio...
01/07/2026
Sarah Rose, VP, global services, Daktronics (NASDAQ: DAKT), will be inducted into the Information Display and Entertainment Association (IDEA) Hall of Fame at t...
01/07/2026
Gravity Media and the World Economic Forum's production team provided broadc...
01/07/2026
Insight Productions has announced the launch of Insight Storm, a 53-foot mobile broadcast unit built for esports production. The truck is built around a Ross Vi...
01/07/2026
ESPN has announced several content initiatives marking America's 250th anniversary, as part of The Walt Disney Company's Disney Celebrates America pro...
01/07/2026
Eleven production kits, REMI workflows, and cloud distribution bring 40 World Cu...
01/07/2026
The conference also discussed the opportunities offered an industry that is endu...
01/07/2026
The Mountain West Conference has announced the launch of MW , a direct-to-consumer streaming platform powered by Kiswe. The platform will carry live Mountain We...
01/07/2026
New AI Assistant, Multi-channel Audio, ARA2 improvements & more
Tracktion's DAW software has just received its latest major update, gaining a selection ...
01/07/2026
Stammering, stuttering, strangulated tones
The Crow Hill Company's latest creation promises to be the most original sound set they've produced to d...
01/07/2026
Exclusive run of limited-edition modelling pedals
Sweetwater and Andertons M...
01/07/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) is pleased to announce that the ca...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Manfrotto Introduces UNCOVER, the new premium camera bag collection for modern h...
01/07/2026
Blackmagic Design Powers Houston Tamil Sangam Literacy Competition
Brie Clayton July 1, 2026
0 Comments
Volunteers use ATEM Mini Pro, Blackmagic Desig...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
PlayBox Technology has published State of Broadcast Infrastructure 2026, an in-depth industry research report examining the technologies, operational challenges...
01/07/2026
LONDON, UK, 1 JULY Jigsaw24 has appointed Alan Henry as Head of Sales for Media and Entertainment, reinforcing its continued investment in helping broadcaster...
01/07/2026
Content Vault, the patent-pending secure content distribution platform protecting high-value media from disclosures, theft and unauthorised access, today announ...
01/07/2026
Bitcentral, Inc. a leading provider of enterprise software and digital media solutions for news, sports and entertainment broadcasters, as well as streaming pla...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Groundbreaking First Nations Screen Business Accelerator launched through nation...
01/07/2026
Chyron Launches the All-New Chyron Academy: A Reimagined, Hands-On Learning Expe...
01/07/2026
Amplium Captures Kawasaki Brave Thunders Game with Blackmagic URSA Cine Immersiv...
01/07/2026
Boris FX Optics Expands Plugin Support to Apple Photos, Capture One, and Affinit...
01/07/2026
UKTV has today announced the appointment of Matt Berry to the newly created role of General Manager - Marketing, effective 1 July.
Matt will take on this senio...
01/07/2026
Sky Zero Footprint Fund-backed TV campaign featuring Deborah Meaden challenges consumers to rethink everyday bathroom wasteWednesday 1 July 2026
Fussy asks Bri...
01/07/2026
Constituency-level analysis reveals where girls miss out most on sport - and where targeted action could unlock more than £640 million in economic and health be...
01/07/2026
Wuppertal July 1, 2026
Riedel and SKAARHOJ Expand Collaboration With SimplyLive IntegrationRiedel Communications today announced an expanded collaboration wit...
01/07/2026
Apple today introduced power-packed updates to Apple Creator Studio, a groundbre...
Streaming using adaptive bitrateAdaptive bitrate (ABR) streaming came on the market in a big way during the last 10 years. Its main innovations compared to traditional IP delivery were:
