Video CDN Overview

What is video CDN?

Video CDN (Content Delivery Network for video) is a specialized CDN configuration optimized for delivering live streams and video-on-demand (VOD) content at global scale. Unlike the Video Streaming platform, Video CDN does not transcode your content—it simply caches and distributes your already-prepared video streams through 210+ edge locations worldwide.

Video CDN vs Video Streaming Platform

Understanding the difference between these two services is crucial for choosing the right solution:

What it does:

Caches and delivers your already-prepared video streams
No transcoding – just distribution
Works with HLS, DASH, FLV, MP4 and all other formats

Choose Video CDN if:

You already have HLS/DASH/FLV streams ready
You handle transcoding on your own servers
You need advanced CDN features (geo-blocking, secure tokens, custom domains)
You want full control over encoding settings
You need to reduce origin bandwidth costs

Example use cases:

You have a media server producing HLS streams
You're migrating from another CDN provider or adding Multi-CDN
You need geo-restrictions or custom access policies
You want to offload bandwidth from your origin servers

Supported video formats

Video CDN supports multiple streaming protocols and formats:

Format	Live	VOD	Use Case
HLS (HTTP Live Streaming)	✅	✅	Most common, wide device support, Apple-native
MPEG-DASH	✅	✅	Industry standard, great for non-Apple devices
HTTP-FLV	✅	✅	Ultra-low latency (1-3s), high concurrency, popular in Asia
MP4	❌	✅	Direct downloads, progressive playback

Low-latency streaming capabilities

CDB Video CDN supports ultra-low latency delivery for live streaming:

Low-Latency HLS (LL-HLS)

2-4 second glass-to-glass latency
Native support on iOS and modern browsers
Uses CMAF segments with immediate streaming

Low-Latency MPEG-DASH (LL-DASH)

2-4 second glass-to-glass latency
Broad device compatibility (Android, Smart TVs, web browsers)
Requires Chunked-Proxy module activation

Both protocols use CDB's Chunked-Proxy technology to stream content immediately as it's received from the origin, eliminating the typical "store and forward" delay. This reduces latency from 10-15 seconds down to 2-4 seconds.

Learn more: Low-Latency MPEG-DASH

Key features

Global CDN delivery

210+ edge locations across 6 continents
Automatic routing to nearest edge server

Optimized for video

Sliding window caching for live streams (RAM-based)
Range request support for efficient seeking
Large file optimization for VOD delivery
Origin shielding to reduce origin load by 80-99%

Security and access control

Geo-blocking: Restrict content by country
Secure tokens: Time-limited authenticated URLs
Referrer validation: Prevent unauthorized embedding
IP access control: Whitelist/blacklist specific IPs
DDoS protection: Built-in protection against attacks

Advanced configuration

Custom domains (CNAMEs)
Custom cache rules per file type
HTTP/2 and HTTP/3 (QUIC) support
WebSocket support for interactive features
Real-time statistics and monitoring

Get started with video CDN

1
Choose your format
Determine which streaming format you're using:
- HLS Streaming - Most common format for HLS MPEG-TS, and LL-HLS CMAF
- MPEG-DASH Streaming - Industry standard of DASH and LL-DASH CMAF
- FLV Streaming - Ultra-low latency option for HTTP-FLV
2
Request activation
Contact CDB Support to activate video streaming for your CDN account. Provide:
- Your domain and company name
- Content type (sports, education, entertainment, etc.)
- Sample stream URL
- Expected viewer geography
- Broadcasting license or content compliance policy
3
Create CDN resource
Follow the simple setup guide to create your video CDN resource.
4
Configure caching
Set appropriate cache TTLs for your video files:
- Playlists (.m3u8): 1-2 seconds (live) or 5-60 seconds (VOD)
- Segments (.ts, .m4s): 60 seconds (live) or 1-24 hours (VOD)
5
Test and deploy
Test your stream with the CDN URL and deploy to production when ready.