Video CDN for streaming: what the delivery layer does for you

After upload, the transcoding queue produces a ladder of renditions, by default 720p, 480p and 360p, and writes a master playlist that lists them. Those files are what the delivery layer serves. The size of each rendition is the main driver of bandwidth, so the ladder you choose on the video transcoding page sets your delivery cost as much as your audience does. A leaner ladder for talking-head content is the cheapest optimization available.

When an entitled viewer presses play, the player receives a playback URL for the master playlist, reads the available renditions, and starts requesting short media segments from the delivery layer. It measures how fast segments arrive and moves up or down the ladder to avoid stalls. Each segment request is an ordinary HTTP request, which is why referer checks and signed URLs work the way they do.

In storage settings the signed-URL flag adds a signature and an expiry to each playback URL, and the time-to-live field sets how long the link is valid. After that window the delivery layer refuses the request. A link copied from the browser and pasted elsewhere stops working, while a legitimate viewer who reloads the page simply receives a fresh signed link from the platform.

The delivery layer can be configured to read the HTTP Referer header on each request and refuse segments when the page or app is not on your approved list. This is set up on request rather than from the admin. It stops a third-party site from embedding your player and serving your bandwidth to its audience. Native apps identify themselves differently from browsers, so the list is built with the Flicknexs team to cover both.

Every segment served counts toward the bandwidth allowance stated for your plan on our pricing page. The web-only plan and the F3 and F4 plans state a monthly allowance; the F1 and F2 plans state an annual one, which suits services whose traffic peaks around a few releases. Watch-hours and completion reports in analytics show which titles and devices consume the most, so you can tune the ladder or the catalog.

A live event is packaged as HLS in near real time and served by the same delivery layer, with the same entitlement check, the same signed-URL behavior and the same referer rules. Pay-per-view on a live event therefore protects the stream the same way it protects a film. Because live audiences arrive at once, the allowance math for a live event is peak concurrent viewers multiplied by rendition bitrate and duration.

The platform includes the delivery layer, and the plans do not offer a self-serve option to route playback through a delivery account you hold elsewhere. Bandwidth is metered against the plan allowance rather than billed by an outside provider. If your organization has a contractual reason to use its own delivery arrangement, raise it with the enterprise team before signing; it is a scoping conversation, not a switch in the admin.

Flicknexs serves through a single delivery layer rather than switching between several providers per request. For almost every audience that is the right tradeoff: one path to monitor, one set of referer rules, one bandwidth meter. Operators who require failover between independent delivery providers should treat that as an enterprise requirement to scope, not as something a plan includes.

Delivery is HLS with a master playlist. There is no second packaging format, and the master playlist is protected by the signed-URL expiry and the entitlement check rather than by a per-viewer token embedded in the manifest itself. For most catalogs that is sufficient. Studio contracts that require encryption belong on the DRM video protection page, where encryption through the delivery layer on request is explained.

The pricing page states the bandwidth allowance per plan and does not publish a rate for traffic beyond it. Rather than assume one, ask for a written quote before a launch or a live event that could exceed the allowance, and keep the analytics reports open so you see the trend early. A plan step up is often cheaper than a surprise, and the annual figures reward operators who plan ahead.

Because hotlink protection is configured at the delivery layer, it is set up on request and every domain that embeds your player must be on the list. Browsers do not always send a Referer header, for example under strict privacy settings, so a small share of legitimate requests can be refused if the rule is too strict. The Flicknexs team tunes the rule with you to balance protection against those cases.