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Updated on 2022-10-24 GMT+08:00
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What Are the Differences Between DASH, HLS, and MP4 Files?

Table 1 lists the differences between DASH, HLS, and MP4 files.

Table 1 Differences

Video Format

Playback Experience

Traffic Usage

DASH
  • Videos are segmented and played by segment. Videos start quickly with less freezing.
  • If you drag the time axis to any time point, the corresponding segment can be quickly located and played.

Small

HLS
  • Videos are segmented and played by segment. Videos start quickly with less freezing.
  • If you drag the time axis to any time point, the corresponding segment can be quickly located and played.

The overall traffic usage is low because only the segment is downloaded if you want to play a single segment. If a video is at a low bitrate, traffic usage is relatively high due to high packaging costs.

MP4
  • Large-size header files and caching while downloading. MP4 videos start slower than HLS and DASH videos.
  • If you drag the time axis to any time point, it takes some time to cache.
  • Most browser clients can play MP4 videos.

If you drag the time axis to any time point, the entire header file needs to be downloaded. This leads to high traffic usage. Therefore, you are advised to use MP4 when you need to process short videos.
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