Instant start
Video CDN
Your videos start 12x faster and buffer 8x less — delivered from 250+ edge servers worldwide. That’s what a purpose-built video CDN does.
What Is a Video CDN?
A video CDN (content delivery network) is a global network of servers that stores and delivers your video content from locations close to your viewers. Instead of streaming from a single origin server — which creates bottlenecks and buffering — a video CDN replicates your content across hundreds of edge servers worldwide.
The result? Faster start times, smoother playback, and a better experience for every viewer regardless of where they are.
But here’s what most people miss: not all CDNs are built for video. Generic CDNs were designed to deliver web pages, images, and small files. Video is a different animal — large files, sustained throughput, real-time adaptive delivery. A purpose-built video content delivery network handles these demands in ways that general-purpose CDNs simply can’t.
Why a Video CDN Outperforms Generic CDNs
Generic CDNs were built to deliver web pages — lots of small files loaded in quick bursts. When you browse a website, your connection grabs HTML, CSS, and images, then goes idle until you click the next link.
Video streaming is the opposite. Your viewer needs a sustained, uninterrupted flow of data for minutes or hours. A single stall means buffering. A dropped connection means a lost viewer. The CDN needs to maintain consistent throughput while adapting to each viewer’s device and network conditions in real time.
SmartVideo’s video CDN is built specifically for this. We create 5–10 device-specific encodes of every video you upload, then deliver the right version from the nearest edge server. Our streaming optimization continuously monitors each viewer’s connection and adjusts quality on the fly — so your audience gets the best possible experience whether they’re on fiber in New York or mobile data in Jakarta.
The numbers tell the story: SmartVideo starts playback 12x faster and reduces buffering by 8x compared to standard video hosting. That’s the difference between a CDN built for video and one that treats video like just another file.
Scale Without Worrying About Infrastructure
One of the biggest headaches with self-hosted video is capacity planning. How much bandwidth do you need? What happens when a video goes viral? With a traditional setup, a traffic spike can crash your server and take your entire site down with it.
SmartVideo’s video CDN absorbs the load. Our 250+ global edge servers handle delivery so your origin server doesn’t have to. Whether you get 100 views or 100,000, the experience is the same — instant start, zero buffering. And because we include unlimited bandwidth on every plan, you’ll never get hit with overage charges for a popular video.
Why Reliability Matters More for Video
When a web page loads, a missing image is barely noticeable. But when a video stream drops a single segment, your viewer sees a buffering spinner — or worse, the video stops entirely. Video delivery has zero margin for error.
That’s why SmartVideo’s video CDN is built with redundancy at every layer. If an edge server has issues, requests automatically route to the next closest node. Combined with our adaptive bitrate streaming, your viewers get uninterrupted playback even on unstable connections. The CDN doesn’t just deliver your video — it actively works to keep it playing.
Instant Start: The Make-or-Break Moment
Research shows that 53% of viewers abandon a video if it takes more than 3 seconds to start. On mobile, that threshold is even lower. Every fraction of a second counts.
SmartVideo’s Instant Start technology pre-positions your content at edge servers before viewers even hit play. The first frames are ready and waiting. Combined with our lightweight player (no bloated JavaScript like YouTube’s 1.5MB embed), your video begins almost immediately — giving you the best possible chance to keep that viewer engaged.