Media Server 26.1
Media Server Help

# Retrieve an HLS Playlist

Media Server generates HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) playlists that can be used by a media player to request content from a rolling buffer. To play video from a rolling buffer, your system must meet the following requirements:

- You must configure a Web server or use the MMAP REST endpoint to serve video segments from your file system to the media player.

- The media player that you use must be HLS-compliant. By default, Media Server generates HLS version 4 playlists, but you can also configure Media Server to generate HLS version 1 playlists.

To retrieve a playlist

- Send the `GetPlaylist` action to Media Server. Set the following parameters:

  `Stream` | The name of the rolling buffer to request video from.
  `StartTime` | (Set this parameter or `Offset`) The start time of the playlist in ISO 8601 format or epoch milliseconds.
  `Offset` | (Set this parameter or `StartTime`) Specifies the start time of the playlist by calculating an offset from the current time. For example, if you specify an offset of one hour, the start time for the playlist is one hour ago.
  `Duration` | (Optional) The length of time after the start time that the playlist covers.
  `HLSVersion` | (Optional) By default, Media Server generates HLS version 4 playlists. To obtain an HLS version 1 playlist set this parameter to `1`.

  For example, to retrieve a playlist that contains five minutes of content from the `BBCNews` rolling buffer, starting from 16:27:54 on 21 February 2014:

      http://localhost:14000/action=GetPlaylist&Stream=BBCNews
                                               &StartTime=2014-02-21T16:27:54Z
                                               &Duration=5minutes

  To retrieve a playlist that contains content from the `BBCNews` rolling buffer, starting from 16:27:54 on 21 February 2014, with no end time, use the following action. If you play the content at normal speed and there is no break in recording, the media player could continue playing content forever:

      http://localhost:14000/action=GetPlaylist&Stream=BBCNews
                                               &StartTime=2014-02-21T16:27:54Z

  Media Server returns the playlist. If you open the playlist with an HLS-compliant media player, the player will play the video from the rolling buffer.

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Version 26.1 | Last updated January 2026

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Product: Knowledge Discovery Media Server 26.1

Topic Title: Retrieve an HLS Playlist