Smaller, Smarter, Smoother: Optimizing Video Delivery with AEM Dynamic Media Adaptive Videos

[#1]

Smaller, Smarter, Smoother: Optimizing Video Delivery with AEM Dynamic Media Adaptive Videos

From immersive product showcases to engaging brand stories, video content drives user engagement and conversion. According to a 2025 study, 95% of marketers now use video as a core part of their digital strategy, and 93% report positive ROI from video marketing.

However, delivering high-quality videos across diverse devices and fluctuating network conditions remains a challenge. In a study conducted way back in 2012, Sitaraman and colleagues found that each additional second of load time beyond ~2 seconds increases the probability of the viewer abandoning the video by approximately 5.8%. While this study dates to 2012, its relevance persists, especially in 2025, where viewer expectations for instant playback are even higher.

In this blog, we will experience together, with a demo, how buffering impacts user experience and how AEM Dynamic Media addresses it. To be specific, we will ingest an 84 MB video in AEM Dynamic Media and deliver the same video as a 2.4 MB adaptive stream, resulting in a near buffer-free experience. Before we go there, here are some basics to set the context.

Limitations of Static Video Rendition (aka Progressive videos)

Static video renditions—where the same resolution is served to all users—are inefficient and often lead to poor user experiences. A 4K video, for example, may look great on a desktop but is excessive for mobile screens. Users on slower networks can experience buffering or long load times, and large video files can negatively impact page performance, affecting Core Web Vitals and SEO. Clearly, a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work. That’s where Adaptive Video Streaming comes in.

Benefits of Adaptive Streaming

Adaptive video streaming dynamically adjusts video quality based on the viewer’s device and network conditions. AEM Dynamic Media supports this through:

• Automatic Rendition Generation: When you upload a video, AEM Dynamic Media automatically creates multiple versions of it in different resolutions (like 240p, 360p, 720p, and 1080p). This makes it easier to deliver the right quality based on the viewer’s device and internet speed. You can use built-in adaptive streaming profiles for web delivery or create custom profiles to control how your videos are encoded.
• Streaming Protocols: AEM Dynamic Media uses HLS (HTTP Live Streaming) and MPEG-DASH, enabling smooth bitrate switching.
• Smart Delivery URLs: A single URL intelligently serves the best rendition without manual intervention.
• Delivery at the edge: The global CDN infrastructure of Dynamic Media caches and delivers the assets at blazing speed.

This ensures that end users get the best possible experience along with bandwidth savings—whether they’re on a high-speed desktop connection or a mobile device in a low-bandwidth zone.

How to Identify Progressive vs. Adaptive Video Streaming on a Website

This can be done easily using browser developer tools like Chrome DevTools.

Please follow these steps

1. Open Developer Tools
   Launch the website in Chrome and open DevTools (right-click → Inspect or press Ctrl+Shift+I).
2. Go to the Network Tab
   Navigate to the Network tab and start playing the video on the site.
3. Filter by Media or XHR
   Use the filter options to narrow down the traffic:
• Select Media to see video-related requests.
• Or filter by XHR to catch dynamically loaded chunks.
4. Look for File Types
• If you see a single large .mp4 file, the site is likely using progressive streaming.
• If you spot a playlist file like .m3u8 (HLS) or .mpd (DASH), followed by multiple small segment files (e.g., .ts, .m4s), the site is using adaptive streaming.
5. Watch for Multiple Requests Adaptive streaming typically involves many small XHR requests as the video plays. These chunks allow the player to adjust video quality based on network conditions, ensuring smoother playback.

Streaming Type	Key Indicators
Progressive	Single .mp4 file
Adaptive (HLS/DASH)	.m3u8 or .mpd + multiple .ts / .m4s/mp4 chunks via XHR

Now let's watch the the demo

Watch this screen recording of a step-by-step demo showcasing how we ingest an 84 MB video into AEM Dynamic Media.

First, we deliver the same video using Dynamic Media Adaptive Streaming, and you’ll see a smooth, near buffer-free experience-here is the Dynamic medias URL for the adaptive video.
The original 84 MB source video was delivered as just 2.4 MB, with an instant start—highlighting the efficiency of adaptive streaming. Next, we deliver it as a progressive video while enabling network throttling to Fast 4G, where you can observe noticeable buffering. For reference, here is the progressive version of the video.

Closing Remarks

Customers across industries are leveraging AEM Dynamic Media Adaptive Videos for a wide range of use cases, including shopping cart videos, hero banners for travel and automotive, brand storytelling, and complex product descriptions for healthcare and scientific products. Today, AEM Dynamic Media delivers over 4 billion adaptive videos per month. In addition to Dynamic Media Cloud Services, adaptive videos are also supported in Dynamic Media Classic, Managed Services, and our new offering—Dynamic Media with Open API.

Dynamic Media is a complete video solution featuring a built-in HTML5 viewer, support for multiple captions and audio tracks, AI-driven smart crop, and AI-generated captions. If you haven’t already, get started with AEM Dynamic Media Video today!

Last, but not least, our team has launched an early access program for a next generation video viewer for Dynamic Media offering accessibility (WCAG 2.2 compliance), enhanced UX and performance. Please review this blog to join our VIP Early Access Program.