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Latency

technology

The delay between a request and the streaming service responding with content.

Explanation

In streaming, latency is the delay between a viewer action (like pressing play or skipping ahead) and the content starting to play. High latency causes noticeable delays. For live streaming, latency is the gap between a real event and when viewers see it. CDNs and adaptive bitrate help reduce latency.

Last updated: March 2026