Netflix Video Streaming System Design
Netflix-scale video streaming system design covering video upload/transcoding pipeline, adaptive bitrate streaming, CDN distribution, recommendation engine, and real-time analytics.
Requirements
Functional
- Upload and transcode videos in multiple resolutions
- Stream video with adaptive bitrate based on network
- Browse and search content catalog
- Personalized recommendations based on watch history
- User profiles with watch lists and preferences
- Resume playback from where user left off
- Content delivery with minimal buffering worldwide
- Parental controls and content ratings
Non-Functional
- Support 200M+ concurrent streaming sessions
- Sub-200ms video start time
- 99.99% availability globally
- Handle 100+ PB of video content
- Adaptive streaming across varying network conditions
Author
Published
February 18, 2026
Last updated February 18, 2026