UDP Protocol Overview
UDP (User Datagram Protocol) is a network protocol for local networks and the Internet. It offers low latency but does not guarantee delivery. UDP uses checksums for data integrity and port numbers to identify applications.
For more details, see the RFC768 standard.
Multicast
Section titled “Multicast”Multicast sends data to multiple receivers at once. The network delivers a single copy of the data to all subscribers in the group. This saves bandwidth and makes multicast ideal for Digital TV streaming.
Broadcast
Section titled “Broadcast”Broadcast sends data to all devices on the network. Never use it for Digital TV - it creates unnecessary traffic on devices that don’t need the stream.
Unicast
Section titled “Unicast”Unicast sends data from one sender to one receiver. It is used in protocols like RTSP and SRT. Unicast also works for transmitting Digital TV between services on the same server or local network - for example, from a receiver to a transcoder, then to an HLS segmenter.