In this blog, based on my recent LinkedIn post, you’ll learn about the role of HLS in real-time streaming and why it remains essential even in a world dominated by WebRTC. While WebRTC powers sub-250 ms interactive experiences, HLS continues to handle crucial functions like live-to-VOD transitions, DVR playback, and time-shifted viewing. I’ll also share real-world examples that show how combining HLS and WebRTC can deliver flexibility and scalability for different use cases.
Role of HLS in Real-Time Streaming
It’s easy to assume that in a real-time streaming environment, everything should be built with Web Real-Time Communication technology. After all, that’s what my company Red5 mostly is known for, and it’s what powers real-time interactive experiences with sub-250 ms latency. This is also true of our competitors in the space. Most, if not all of them are solely focused on WebRTC delivery, and not many talk about how HLS still fits into the picture and why it might matter more than most folks realize.
Live-to-VOD, DVR, and time-shifting are essential in most real-time streaming use cases. And that’s exactly where HLS delivers. If users are pausing, rewinding, or scrubbing backward during a live stream, they’re already outside the real-time window. Serving that delayed video over HLS just makes more sense. It also simplifies recording and repurposing segment files for on-demand viewing.
How We at Red5 Approach WebRTC + HLS Streaming
What differentiates us from the competitors in the WebRTC delivery space? Most real-time video streaming solutions out there relegate recordings to a very simple feature: they can save the recording as a single MP4 file that you can upload to cloud storage. From there, it’s on you the developer to figure out what to do with it. In my opinion, this is not enough.
Below I’ll share two examples:
- Our own HLS + WebRTC streaming solution that we recommended to a client who needed asynchronous video delivery.
- The solutions we developed in partnership with CacheFly. Together, we are deploying a complete integrated solution where your recordings, time-shifted playback, and DVR style scrubbing are first class citizens, making it easy to build complete applications without having to write custom CDN integrations and pipelines for managing your recordings.
Real-World Applications
Asynchronous Video Delivery For Home Services Pros And Product Manufacturers
One of our customers, FormVue, is a great example. They are an AI-native, sales-first platform for video lead capture in the home services industry and product manufacturers. Their platform uses Red5 Pro, our server software deployed on AWS, to push content, but their end users engage exclusively with the recordings. Their product is designed for asynchronous video delivery where videos are reviewed and there are no live interaction happening, and that’s what makes HLS the right fit.
Scalable HLS and LL-HLS Streaming with DVR and Global CDN Reach
Another great examples is our integration with CacheFly, giving customers a streamlined connection between Red5 Cloud and their CDN. It supports time-shifted playback, archived content, and live-to-VOD transitions with minimal configuration. This approach opens up a lot of possibilities for devices that don’t support WebRTC like Roku. We presented this joint solution at IBC 2025.
Conclusion
Both HLS and WebRTC serve unique purposes that complement each other within modern streaming workflows. HLS ensures scalability, playback reliability, and seamless integration with on-demand features, making it a vital part of how real-time video reaches global audiences.
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