What is Linear Streaming?
Linear streaming delivers a scheduled, continuous sequence of programs rather than allowing each viewer to choose the start time and order. Viewers join the presentation at its current position.
How Linear Streaming works
A linear service maps wall-clock schedule time to media timestamps and publishes a continuously advancing presentation. Its manifest normally exposes a moving window around the current point, with program boundaries and optional restart or catch-up availability layered on top. Playout automation assembles live inputs, prerecorded programs, bumpers, and advertisements into that timeline. Distribution components must propagate discontinuity and timing signals without letting individual viewer actions alter the shared schedule.
Key facts
- Late joiners need an independently decodable segment near the live edge; otherwise the advertised current point may depend on media already removed from the window.
- Schedule time and encoded presentation timestamps are separate domains, so splice points and clock corrections must be translated without creating overlaps or gaps.
- In HLS, discontinuity signaling is required for changes in file format, in the number, type, or identifiers of tracks, or in the timestamp sequence, and recommended for changes in encoding parameters or encoding sequence. An unmarked boundary can stall or reset clients that retain old state.
When Linear Streaming matters
Virtual channels, live events, and scheduled broadcasts use linear delivery to provide a shared timeline. Systems must maintain schedule accuracy and handle late joins, discontinuities, and ad insertion.