By Dacast Editorial Team | Reviewed by Jon Whitehead, COO at Dacast | Updated April 2026<\/em><\/p>\n There is a lot that goes on behind the scenes of <\/span>live streaming<\/u><\/span><\/a>. Various technologies work in unison to produce the end result that viewers see when they watch your content.<\/span><\/p>\n One technological aspect of this process involves delivering the video from the camera to the encoder to the video host and finally, to the viewers.<\/span><\/p>\n Two of the top <\/span>streaming protocols<\/u><\/span><\/a> that professional broadcasters use are MPEG-DASH vs. HLS format. <\/span><\/p>\n In this post, we\u2019re going to define video streaming protocols and how they work before reviewing the specifics of HLS Streaming and MPEG-DASH. We\u2019ll also make a live-streaming protocol comparison between these two standards on a variety of quality and reliability metrics, including latency, device support, DRM, and codec flexibility.<\/span><\/p>\n A streaming protocol is a type of technology that is designed to transport video files over the internet.<\/span><\/p>\n Before protocols evolved, online video was delivered primarily via <\/span>RTMP streaming platforms<\/a>. RTMP or real-time messaging protocol<\/a> is a Flash-based <\/span>live streaming standard<\/u><\/span><\/a> that\u2019s still used today for sending video from your <\/span>RTMP encoder<\/u><\/span><\/a> to your online video platform.<\/span><\/p>\n However, Flash-based video is no longer appropriate for delivering video to users. The Flash plugin has been depreciated and <\/span>fewer and fewer devices<\/u><\/span><\/a> support this aging protocol each year. It is no longer possible to run Flash player in the new versions of most web <\/span>browsers.<\/span><\/p>\n RTMP has slowly been replaced by the <\/span>HLS protocol<\/u><\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n In the past decade, the MPEG-DASH protocol has become a player in the game. It serves the same purpose as HLS, but since it is the newest option available, it is on the rise. This has created an increase in the need to understand the <\/span>difference<\/span> between MPEG vs HLS.<\/span><\/p>\n With that background in mind, let\u2019s jump right into our MPEG-DASH vs HLS streaming comparison.<\/span><\/p>\n HLS is short for <\/span>HTTP Live Streaming<\/u><\/span><\/a>. It is a protocol used to <\/span> stream live video<\/u><\/span><\/a> over the internet. Originally developed by <\/span> Apple<\/u><\/span><\/a>, the purpose of HLS was to make the <\/span> iPhone capable of accessing live streams<\/u><\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n At first, the HLS format was exclusive to iPhones, but today almost every device supports this protocol, so it has become a proprietary format.<\/span><\/p>\n As the name implies, HLS delivers content via standard HTTP web servers. This means that no special infrastructure is needed to deliver HLS content. Any standard web server or CDN will work. Additionally, content is less likely to be blocked by firewalls with this protocol, which is a plus.<\/span><\/p>\n HLS can play video encoded with the <\/span>H.264<\/u><\/span><\/a> or HEVC\/<\/span> H.265 codecs<\/u><\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n Standard HLS works by chopping video into segments, typically 2 to 6 seconds in length. Latency for delivery with standard HLS tends to fall in the 15\u201330 second range.<\/span><\/p>\n Apple introduced Low-Latency HLS (LL-HLS) as an official extension of the HLS specification, available in production since iOS 14 in 2020. LL-HLS breaks standard segments into smaller \u201cparts\u201d (typically 200\u2013500ms each), allowing players to begin downloading and decoding content before a full segment is complete. The result is end-to-end latency of 2\u20135 seconds at scale, a dramatic improvement over standard HLS. (Source: Apple Developer Documentation; Dolby OptiView, 2025)<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n This protocol also includes several other built-in features. For example, HLS is an adaptive bitrate protocol. This means that the client device and server dynamically detect the internet speed of the user and adjust video quality accordingly. HLS <\/span>format<\/span> does a lot more than just deliver your video; it impacts the quality of the video delivery. <\/span><\/p>\n That\u2019s how a mobile user can receive a full HD video stream while using speedy, home WiFi. The same user can receive a medium-quality stream after walking out the door via LTE. <\/span><\/p>\n Finally, that user can even maintain a low-quality stream when encountering areas of poor cell service. All of this happens automatically with HLS <\/span>format<\/span>. Adaptive bitrate protocol is one reason why HLS stands out when comparing MPEG-DASH vs. HLS. <\/span><\/p>\n Other HTTP live streaming features include <\/span>HLS ingest<\/u><\/span><\/a> via RTMP encoders, embedded closed captions, synchronized playback of multiple streams, good support for advertising standards (i.e., VPAID and VAST), DRM support, and more.<\/span><\/p>\n Some of the best HLS alternatives for live streams include MPEG-DASH, RTMP, and RTSP. You can use MPEG-DASH as a great HLS alternative because it offers low latency streaming and are highly compatible with a wide range of devices. RTMP and RTSP are also ideal for streaming media over IP networks and are great for large-scale streaming applications. <\/span><\/p>\n MPEG-DASH (Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP) is an open-source streaming protocol published as an international standard (ISO\/IEC 23009-1) in April 2012, developed by the MPEG consortium with support from Google, Microsoft, Netflix, and Samsung.<\/span><\/p>\n This protocol was created as a response to fragmentation in the video streaming market. At the time, Apple\u2019s HLS was competing with several other <\/span>video streaming protocols<\/u><\/span><\/a>. The outcome was uncertain, which led standards organizations to develop <\/span>an<\/span> MPEG-DASH<\/span> server<\/span> as an alternative, unifying streaming protocol. MPEG-DASH streaming was developed to ensure that there was a protocol everyone could use. <\/span><\/p>\n MPEG-DASH extension is an open-source standard. Like the <\/span>HLS streaming protocol<\/u><\/span><\/a>, MPEG-DASH is an adaptive bitrate video method. <\/span>This means that it is an adaptive streaming protocol that enables video streams to switch between bit rates. This usually depends on how weak or strong the internet connection is. As a result, live streams will play without interruption, even with inconsistent network connection. <\/span><\/p>\n It also supports advertising, and the technology for this is rapidly advancing. DASH protocol stands out with its advertising support, and because it is always changing. <\/span><\/p>\n MPEG-DASH iOS supported devices also<\/span> support DRM, HTTP delivery, lower-latency streaming, and several other features. For example, it\u2019s codec agnostic. It supports <\/span>H.264<\/u><\/span><\/a>, HEVC\/H.265, VP9, and any other codec.<\/span><\/p>\n If you want to create MPEG-DASH live streams, you must use specialized software called packagers. Some of the packagers you can use for this process include FFmpeg<\/a>, Shaka Packager by Google, mp4dash by Bento4, and mp4box by GPAC. <\/span><\/p>\n Here\u2019s what the streaming protocol looks like for MPEG-DASH extension:<\/span><\/p>\n Like HLS, MPEG-DASH has a low-latency mode. LL-DASH uses CMAF chunked transfer encoding to deliver segments as they are being encoded, achieving 2\u20133 second latency. However, LL-DASH is less widely adopted in production environments than LL-HLS as of 2026. (Source: MwareTV, 2026)<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n Here is a side-by-side comparison of both protocols across the metrics that matter most to broadcasters in 2026:<\/span><\/p>\nTable of Contents<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Introduction to Streaming Protocols<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"hls](\"https:\/\/prod-images.dacast.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/what-is-hls-streaming.jpg\")
What is HLS?<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"hls](\"https:\/\/www.dacast.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/hls-streaming-protocol.jpg\")
Low-Latency HLS (LL-HLS)<\/b><\/h3>\n
What is MPEG-DASH?<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"MPEG](\"https:\/\/www.dacast.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/mpeg-dash.png\")
How Does MPEG-DASH Work?<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Low-Latency DASH (LL-DASH)<\/b><\/h3>\n
HLS vs. MPEG-DASH Live Streaming Protocol Comparison<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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\n Feature<\/b><\/td>\n HLS<\/b><\/td>\n MPEG-DASH<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Standard \/ Origin<\/strong><\/td>\n Apple (IETF RFC 8216)<\/span><\/td>\n ISO\/IEC 23009-1 (Open)<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Standard Latency<\/strong><\/td>\n 15\u201330 seconds<\/span><\/td>\n 10\u201320 seconds<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Low-Latency Mode<\/strong><\/td>\n LL-HLS: 2\u20135 seconds<\/span><\/td>\n LL-DASH: 2\u20133 seconds<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n iOS \/ Safari Support<\/strong><\/td>\n Native (required)<\/span><\/td>\n Partial (via MSE; not native)<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Android \/ Chrome<\/strong><\/td>\n Yes (via player)<\/span><\/td>\n Yes (native MSE)<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Smart TVs \/ Consoles<\/strong><\/td>\n Yes<\/span><\/td>\n Yes<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Codec Support<\/strong><\/td>\n H.264, H.265\/HEVC<\/span><\/td>\n H.264, H.265, VP9, AV1<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 4K \/ HDR Support<\/strong><\/td>\n Yes (since 2017)<\/span><\/td>\n Yes<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n DRM Support<\/strong><\/td>\n