singlesegment

singlesegment is a term used in digital media streaming to denote a discrete, independently retrievable portion of a media stream. Each singlesegment contains a short interval of encoded audio and video samples together with timing data that allows playback to begin without requiring the rest of the file.

In segment-based streaming architectures such as MPEG-DASH and Apple HLS, content is divided into many singlesegments. The player requests segments corresponding to a chosen representation to adapt to changing network conditions. In DASH, segments are described by a SegmentTemplate and can be encoded as separate media segments, sometimes with an initialization segment that precedes the first media segment. In HLS, singlesegments are typically stored as individual media files (for example, fragmented MP4 or transport stream files).

Characteristics of singlesegments include a fixed or variable duration, independent decodability, and cacheability. Each segment carries the necessary timing information, such as presentation timestamps, to synchronize playback. When a segment boundary aligns with a keyframe, seeking is straightforward; precise frame-level seeking may still require indexing or additional metadata.

Advantages of using singlesegments include reduced startup latency, smoother bitrate switching, and easier caching and CDN distribution due to smaller, independently retrievable units. They also enable parallel downloads and more flexible error recovery. Trade-offs involve choosing segment length: longer segments can increase latency and complicate error recovery, while shorter segments increase overhead and may reduce encoding efficiency.

Notes: the term singlesegment is sometimes used interchangeably with “media segment” or simply “segment,” and in code or documentation it may appear as a concatenated form such as singlesegment.

See also: MPEG-DASH, HLS, video streaming, media segment, segmentation.