Video playback overview
Video delivery
Microsoft Stream (on SharePoint) primarily leverage HTTPS unicast adaptive bitrate (ABR) streaming to deliver video content to users. Users can upload and playback content in many supported video formats.
The table below summarizes how video is delivered:
| Video category | Playback delivery technology | Available video qualities | Bitrate | Encryption scheme |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teams meeting recording | Adaptive bitrate (ABR) streaming | 1080p only | ~1 Mbps | 128-bit AES using common encryption as described in ISO/IEC 23001-7 |
| All other video hosted on OneDrive & SharePoint | Adaptive bitrate (ABR) streaming | 240p, 480p, 720p & 1080p | ~360 Kbps - 6 Mbps | 128-bit AES using common encryption as described in ISO/IEC 23001-7 |
For ABR streaming, the bitrate options shown in the table vary based on input content (e.g. bitrate, codec, resolution, frame rate). The “Quality” menu in the player shows the available bitrates for any video. If the “Quality” menu is not shown, the video is being delivered via progressive playback.
If an unexpected error occurs while attempting playback via ABR streaming, an alternative playback tech, progressive playback, will be used as a fallback.
Note
SharePoint resource quota limits apply to video playback and may lead to temporary throttling in scenarios where large numbers of users playback video simultaneously. In the event of throttling, users can retry after a few minutes. If you have requirements for concurrent playback in excess of 100 users per minute, please connect with us.
Adaptive bitrate streaming
During playback, the player adapts to fluctuations in network conditions and displayed size of the player. When available bandwidth is high, the player streams a high-quality version of the video. When available network bandwidth drops, the player streams a lower-quality version of the video. The quality and resolution of the video requested is proportional to the displayed size of the player. If a viewer is watching on a smaller screen, the player limits the resolution sent to match the displayed size.
Adaptive bitrate streaming does this work in the background while the video plays with the least amount of disruption or buffering. Player controls allow the viewer to override this logic and select a specific video playback quality.
Progressive playback
Progressive playback involves playback directly from the uploaded source video file and only offers the original video quality and bitrate delivered over HTTPS authenticated download. The browser and playback client must support playback of the codec of the originally uploaded source content.
Video encryption & security
We know how important it is to keep your data secure and private. The Microsoft Trust Center describes our commitment to the privacy and security of your content. With video playback, performance is important for a good experience, however, we don’t compromise your security or privacy in exchange for performance. Here’s how we accommodate performance, security, and privacy.
When someone in your organization uploads a new video, that video is stored in SharePoint.
- All SharePoint-hosted video is encrypted both in transit and at rest.
When someone in your organization watches a video, they follow these steps:
Stream (on SharePoint) determines if the viewer has access to the video by checking the permissions set on the video SharePoint and information in Azure Active Directory about the user
If the video is played using ABR streaming
Video content is requested from SharePoint origin, if not cached in Azure CDN
The playback decryption key is retrieved and delivered to the video player
The video player uses the decryption key to decrypt content as it is played
If the video is played using progressive playback
Video content is requested from SharePoint origin
Video content is transmitted over secure TLS 1.2 connection
Network & bandwidth requirements
Required endpoints for viewers inside your organization's network
Stream (on SharePoint) playback requires connectivity to the internet. All endpoints listed for SharePoint Online and OneDrive for Business must be reachable by viewers within your organization's network.
Calculating bandwidth requirements for playback
Video playback in Stream (on SharePoint) is unicast, meaning every viewer is sent a separate video stream. Bandwidth requirements for video playback vary based on:
Original resolution, bitrate, codec, and content complexity
Viewer’s available bandwidth
Player display size
To estimate bandwidth utilization, upload videos that represent typical content your organization will use with Stream (on SharePoint). Watch the videos on screen sizes you think will be used by your viewers. Collect data over a few minutes of viewing and use this data to estimate how much bandwidth your viewers will consume based on your estimate of simultaneous viewership.
Optimizing video delivery within your organization’s network
Stream (on SharePoint) works to minimize the amount of network bandwidth consumed by video playback. Video watched by many viewers could consume a significant portion of your organization’s internet bandwidth.
To reduce this internet traffic for popular videos, leverage existing cache proxies in your network. Video content from Stream (on SharePoint) is delivered via over HTTPS, so normal web cache proxies can be configured to cache the video playback traffic. You may need to configure custom SSL certificates to implement this with HTTPS. Using a network trace while playing a video, you can see the URLs that Stream (on SharePoint) uses to stream the video for your organization. These URLs vary by tenant. By routing these URLs through your cache proxy, video traffic can be cached, reducing your internet traffic for frequently played videos.