How do I use HLS video on Transistor?

What is HLS video?

HLS stands for HTTP Live Streaming, is a protocol developed by Apple for streaming multimedia audio and video over the internet. It's a widely used method for delivering on-demand content. HLS works by breaking down a video or audio stream into smaller, manageable chunks that are then delivered over HTTP, making it compatible with most devices.

How to enable HLS video on Transistor?

Before we can enable HLS video on your show you'll need to understand and agree to these 3 key things:

1. You are hosting your video elsewhere e.g. on Vimeo, Cloudflare Stream etc
2. You are responsible for all video-related costs on your chosen video hosting platform
3. There will be no video analytics in Transistor, they will be on your video hosting platform

Why is Transistor supporting HLS Video?

One of the initiatives over at the Podcast Standards Project is to explore the idea of how we might do video in classic RSS based podcasting. So we have implemented in beta the ability to add an HLS manifest URL to your episodes. Once we enable this beta feature on your show, when you're editing or creating an episode, you'll see a section for HLS video.

How to add HLS video to an episode in Transistor?

1. Your finished video file should be uploaded to your video hosting platform that supports HLS e.g. Cloudflare Stream, Vimeo etc.
2. Get the HLS manifest URL from your video hosting provider. The URL should end with the extension of .m3u8
3. Copy and paste your HLS the HLS video section in your episode
4. Save the changes and publish your episode like normal

If you want to inspect the XML code of your RSS feed, you will see the HLS manifest URL appear as part of the <podcast:alternateEnclosure> tag.

Which podcast apps support HLS video via RSS?

So far the apps that support HLS video via RSS feed:

• Fountain
• TrueFans

HLS Video FAQs

What about video on YouTube and Spotify? You can still upload video files directly to YouTube and Spotify. That does not require HLS. Here's how to add video episodes on Spotify: How do I distribute my video podcast to Spotify?

Switching between audio / video is out of sync in podcast apps: One thing to keep in mind with HLS video is that it allows listeners to switch between audio and video seamlessly within the podcast apps that support it. However to do this accurately your audio and video files need to be the same length for this to work. So if your audio file has dynamic ads and your video doesn't it will appear out of sync in podcast apps

How much will HLS video cost?: There's no additional cost in Transistor for adding HLS video to your episodes but your may want to be mindful of the minutes you're using on your video hosting platform. Video files are much larger and can easily be multiple gigabytes per episode. You may want to watch an episode as a test and see the costs incurred on your video hosting provider. For example the Cloudflare Stream Starter plan is $5 per month and includes storage of up to 1,000 minutes of video content and delivery of 5,000 minutes of video content each month. Be sure to enable billing notifications in your video hosting platform!

What are the next steps for the HLS beta? We're excited to have this beta working on Transistor!**** Currently we're enjoying innovating as part of the Open Podcast ecosystem. We have built a proof of concept, released a beta and are now at the stage of getting feedback from customers. We want to better understand video streaming costs and what changes are needed in our UI. We want to give it some time and see if other podcast apps plan to support this feature. At the moment we need to find out if creators like it and if consumers actually use it.

If you're a Transistor customer and you want to try this out, feel free to get in touch. And if you work on a podcast app that might want to support this, get in touch and we can provide you with a test feed that includes HLS.

Updated on: 15/07/2025