System Design Prompt
Design a large-scale video streaming platform similar to Netflix.
Core user journeys
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Users browse a catalog (home page rows, search).
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Users press play and stream video reliably.
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Continue watching across devices.
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Recommendations/personalization (high level is fine).
Business/technical goals
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Low startup time (time-to-first-frame), minimal buffering.
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High availability globally.
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Support multiple devices and network conditions.
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Handle large catalog and high QPS during peak.
Clarifications you may assume
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Both VOD (video on demand) and trailers.
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Subscription-based access (no ads required unless you choose).
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DRM is required at a basic level.
What to cover
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High-level architecture and key components.
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Data model / APIs (at least playback + catalog).
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Storage/encoding/packaging pipeline.
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Content delivery strategy (CDN, caching).
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Scalability, reliability, monitoring, and tradeoffs.