Video Startup Time (TTFF) calculation

Discussion
1

Hi All,

Can anyone help me to understand how Video Startup Time (or sometimes called Time To First Frame ) is calculated in BITMOVIN SDK . is it include DNS, TCP/TLS time ? or just the initial segment buffering + first few frames rendering delay ?

This is What ChatGPT Explained :slight_smile: Bitmovin Player SDK

Includes built-in analytics that track the complete pipeline:

  • Manifest request/response

  • Producer and buffer readiness

  • First frame decode/render
    Startup time is reported in their analytics dashboard or via their analytics SDK.

Why This Approach is Consistent Across Players

Here’s what’s generally included in startup time:

Component Included in TTFF?
DNS + TCP/TLS + playlist download Yes
Manifest parsing + init segment download Yes
Buffering to safe threshold Yes
Decoder initialization + first frame render Yes
UI rendering beyond first frame (e.g., controls) No

Bitmovin Player SDK

  • The SDK internally sets startTime when load(SourceConfig) is called and the first segment request is issued (manifest load included).

  • If you track it manually, you can hook into:

java

CopyEdit

player.addEventListener(PlayerEvent.SourceLoad::class, event -> { startTime = System.currentTimeMillis(); });

  • Bitmovin’s Analytics SDK automatically does this behind the scenes.