Streaming & Delivery
Segment (Video Segment)
A short chunk of video, typically 2-10 seconds long, that adaptive streaming protocols download and play one after another.
Rather than downloading an entire video file before playback, HLS and MPEG-DASH split content into small segments that are requested continuously as you watch. This segmented approach is what makes adaptive bitrate switching possible — the player can change quality level at the next segment boundary without interrupting playback.