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How do web browsers support HLS?

Some context:

The HTTP protocol sends headers in plaintext, for example:

GET /index.html HTTP/1.1
Host: www.example.com

There is a Content-Type header that tells applications (typically browsers) about the type of data that is in the body of the message so that it can be displayed or used correctly. If you send a HTTP response message to a browser with Content-Type: application/pdf and the bytes for a pdf in the body, the browser will display it with its own native pdf viewer.

My question is, what does it mean for a browser to support HLS? This wikipedia link lists all of the clients that support HLS. It lists some browsers as well as many different players. If browsers "support" HLS does that mean you can send it something like

HTTP/2.0 200 OK
Content-Type: application/hls
Content-Length: 333
<.m3u8 playlist bytes>

And have the browser play it in some native video player?

Thanks for your time.

Solution

  • The correct MIME type is application/x-mpegURL

    Otherwise, yes sending a valid m3u8 with that mine type will just play in browsers (safari, edge) that support it.