Video hosting glossary

Thirty terms from video, streaming and European law, in plain language.

Choosing a video platform means wading through jargon: technical terms from streaming and legal terms from European law. This glossary explains them in one or two sentences each, with a link to where we go deeper.

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Video hosting: Storing videos on a server and delivering them to viewers over the internet, usually with a player you can place on your own website. More: Business
Online video platform (OVP): A complete service for uploading, managing, publishing and analysing video, as opposed to a single tool such as a player or a CDN. More: Features
Video management system (VMS): The part of a video platform where you upload videos, add titles, tags and subtitles, organise your library and decide what is published. More: Video management system
Transcoding: Converting an uploaded video into several qualities and formats, so it plays smoothly on every screen and connection. More: Automatic transcoding
Adaptive bitrate streaming (ABR): A technique where the player switches automatically between qualities during playback, depending on the viewer’s connection, to avoid buffering. More: Automatic transcoding
HLS: HTTP Live Streaming: the most widely used streaming format, originally from Apple. The video is split into short segments listed in a playlist. More: Automatic transcoding
DASH and CMAF: DASH is an open international streaming standard comparable to HLS. CMAF is a common segment format that lets HLS and DASH share the same files. More: Automatic transcoding
Codec: The method used to compress video, such as H.264, HEVC or AV1. Newer codecs give the same quality at a lower bitrate. More: Automatic transcoding
CDN: Content delivery network: a network of servers in many locations that delivers video close to the viewer. Who owns the CDN determines which law applies to the data passing through it. More: Sovereign video hosting
Origin server: The server where the original video segments live, from which a CDN fetches them. Owning your origin means owning the source of your delivery. More: Self-hosted video platform
Live streaming: Broadcasting video over the internet as it happens, for example a council meeting, conference or service. More: Live streaming
Video on demand (VOD): Video that viewers can watch whenever they want, as opposed to live streaming. More: Video portal
Embed code: A short piece of HTML that places a video player on any web page, intranet or learning environment. More: Sharing and embedding
White-label player: A video player in your own colours and logo, without the platform’s branding. More: Branded video player
Subtitles and closed captions: Subtitles render speech as text; closed captions also describe relevant sounds for deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers. Both can be switched on and off by the viewer. More: Automatic subtitles and translation
Transcript: The full text of everything said in a video. It makes video accessible, searchable and readable for search engines and AI assistants. More: Automatic transcription
WCAG 2.2 AA: The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, level AA: the standard that public bodies in the EU must meet and that the European Accessibility Act refers to. More: Accessible video player
European Accessibility Act (EAA): An EU law, in force since June 2025, that requires many digital products and services to be accessible to people with disabilities. More: The EAA and video
GDPR: The General Data Protection Regulation: the EU law on personal data. For video it covers viewer data, cookies, tracking and transfers outside the EU. More: GDPR-compliant video hosting
CLOUD Act: An American law that allows US authorities to demand data from American companies, even when that data is stored in Europe. More: The CLOUD Act explained
Digital sovereignty: Being able to decide for yourself where your data lives, which law applies and who can access or switch off your services. More: Digital sovereignty explained
SEAL (EU Cloud Sovereignty Framework): Sovereignty Effective Assurance Levels: a scale from SEAL-0 to SEAL-4 in the European Commission’s Cloud Sovereignty Framework, used to assess how sovereign a cloud service is on eight objectives. More: Sovereign cloud frameworks in Europe
NIS2: The EU directive on network and information security. It sets cybersecurity and supply-chain requirements for essential and important organisations and their suppliers. More: NIS2 and video platforms
Data Act: An EU regulation that, among other things, gives customers the right to switch cloud services and take their data with them, with limits on switching charges. More: The Data Act and switching platforms
AI Act: The EU regulation on artificial intelligence. It sets transparency and risk rules for AI systems, including those that generate or process content. More: AI training and your videos
Self-hosting and air-gapped: Running the software on your own servers instead of the provider’s. Air-gapped means the installation has no connection to the internet at all. More: Self-hosted video platform
Cookieless analytics: Viewing statistics collected without cookies or personal profiles, so no consent banner is needed and data is not shared with any third party. More: Privacy-friendly analytics
DRM: Digital rights management: encryption that prevents copying of premium video, used mainly for films and paid content. More: Private and password-protected video
Vendor lock-in: Dependence on one provider because leaving is technically difficult, expensive or contractually restricted. More: Switching to StreamZilla
Sovereignty washing: Presenting a service as European or sovereign while it depends on non-European companies, clouds or law. The opposite of verifiable sovereignty. More: Blue Billywig alternative

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between video hosting and an online video platform?

Video hosting is storing and delivering video. An online video platform adds everything around it: management, a player, subtitles, a portal and statistics.

Why does it matter who owns the CDN?

The owner of the CDN determines which law applies to the data passing through it. An American CDN is subject to the CLOUD Act, even when its servers are in Europe.

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