Apple Talks iPhone Live TV Streaming

Using the handy iPhone Dev Center section designated for developer news and announcements, the company behind the Mac operating system has posted a stub informing iPhone developers that HTTP Live Stream Technology is required for live TV streaming. The technology can be leveraged starting with iPhone OS 3.0. Currently, the iPhone software is at version number 3.1.2.

“An innovative feature of iPhone OS 3.0 is support for HTTP Live Streaming technology,” Apple’s latest post for iPhone devs reads.  “One of the great benefits this technology delivers is the ability to dynamically adjust to varying network bandwidth conditions,” the company continues to outline. “It lets you store multiple video clips of different quality on the server, and then deliver the one that matches what the requesting customer is capable of viewing given the network they have access to.”

The technology needs to be implemented for all applications that deliver live video streaming, the report reveals. Developers will not only have to include a low-quality stream of no more than 64 Kbps, for slow network conditions, but also higher quality streams, for fast networks. The Mac maker then directs those interested in learning more about HTTP Live Streaming to this overview in the iPhone Reference Library.

The documentation contains information regarding the capabilities of HTTP Live Streaming. Apple explains that it allows devs to send live or prerecorded audio and video not only to the iPhone, but other devices as well, using their average Web server. On the iPhone, however, Apple lists iPhone OS 3.0 as a requirement for playback, whereas QuickTime X or later is required for desktop purposes. While the HTTP Live Streaming specification is an IETF Internet-Draft, Apple says, support is included for both encryption and authentication, according to the overview document.

“If you are interested in streaming live events to iPhone, streaming live events without special server software, or in sending video on demand with encryption and authentication, you should read this document,” the company says.