Buffering

To provide a smoother viewing experience, Browser TVSDK sometimes buffers the video stream. You can configure the way the player buffers.

Browser TVSDK defines a playback buffer length of at least 30 seconds and an initial buffer time within that, before the media starts playing, of at least 2 seconds. After the application calls play but before playback begins, Browser TVSDK buffers the media up to the initial time to give a smooth start when it actually starts playing.

Set buffering times

The MediaPlayer provides methods to set and get the initial buffering time and playback buffering time.

• To use the buffer parameters, use the MediaPlayer’s bufferControlParameters attribute.

  For example, to set the initial buffer to 2 seconds and the playback buffer time to 30 seconds:

  var params = new AdobePSDK.BufferControlParameters(2000, 30000);
  

Buffering time policies

Depending on your environment (including the device, the operating system, or the network conditions), you can set different buffering policies for your player, such as changing the minimum duration for initial buffering and for ongoing playback buffering.

After you call play, the media player begins buffering the video. When the media player has buffered the amount of video specified by the initial buffer time, playback begins. This process improves the start-up time because the player does not wait for the entire playback buffer to fill before starting playback. Instead, after the few initial seconds are buffered, playback begins.

While the video is being rendered, Browser TVSDK continues to buffer new fragments until it is has buffered the amount that is specified by the playback buffer time. If the current buffer length drops below the playback buffer time, the player will download additional fragments. Once the current buffer length is above the playback buffer time by a few seconds, Browser TVSDK will stop downloading fragments.