AliCloud VOD — Encrypted vs Unencrypted

Side-by-side cross-border playback test. Run from a mainland-China vantage point to compare startup time and buffering.

① Unencrypted — startup / rebuffers
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② Encrypted — startup / rebuffers
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① Unencrypted (direct URL)

idle
Startup (TTFF)
Rebuffers
0
Rebuffer time
0.0s
Resolution
Buffer ahead
Watched
0.0s

② Encrypted (VID + PlayAuth)

idle

Video: …7ccb25f8…-video-sd-m3u8-encrypt-stream.m3u8 · uses encryptType:1 · needs secure context · ⚡ needs node server.js running

Startup (TTFF)
Rebuffers
0
Rebuffer time
0.0s
Resolution
Buffer ahead
Watched
0.0s
Local: run the backend → ALIYUN_AK_ID=… ALIYUN_AK_SECRET=… node server.js, open http://localhost:9000, confirm the VideoId, click ⚡ Fetch PlayAuth from backend & Play.
Deployed: the same server.js runs on Function Compute (Singapore) and serves this page over HTTPS — open the FC URL and ⚡ works the same (same-origin, no ICP).
Manual: generate a PlayAuth via GetVideoPlayAuth, paste it, click Load with pasted PlayAuth — expires in ~100s–3000s.
Secure context: the page must be on https:// or http://localhost — decryption fails otherwise.
Expect the two startup times to be close — encryption mainly adds one key-fetch round-trip; the byte transfer over the China link is essentially the same.