[FFmpeg-user] Generating HLS chunks on demand

[Vincent Deconinck]

Hi German

So, my advice is the following:
> 1. Produce a full set of HLS segments for your source file and save
> them in some folder that is not accessible to your users (archive).
> ...
>

Yes, that is the traditional way of doing it, but it would basically mean
keeping a low res version of each and every file we have.
[off-topic]A bit of context : I work for a TV station and we have around
thousands of programs around. Each incoming program passes through
automated check systems, and when an alarm is raised (e.g. a 30 second
silence is detected in the middle of a movie), a colleague has to quickly
check whether there really is an issue with the source file or if it is
just a normal silence decided by the director. Currently, he has to connect
to the file system and open the source MXF in a player to know for sure,
which is not possible remotely.
Creating a full HLS version for all incoming files would be a waste of CPU
time and disk space for just a few 30-second checks...
Hence the idea of presenting the list of alerts in a web page and allowing
the user to start the playback of the corresponding part of the video,
generated on the fly[/off topic]

In that context, I would generate a "dummy" m3u8 pointing to
yet-to-be-generated segments, the .ts segments being generated upon request
(with an acceptable short delay of course).

Kind regards,


Vincent