Great question and I just asked docs to make sure the article matches whatās going on in the video or vice versa.
So here is the deal:
Turning off the sort packet buffer speeds the time it takes to decode and deliver video data to players. Could be 2 seconds or more so yes it affects latency if you are really trying to get it down as much as possible.
When you āenable low latencyā in the UI or in the REST API, we turn off that sort packet buffer and change the buffer to 0.
You do have the option to edit those settings because sometimes too small of a buffer or turning off the sort packet buffer can result in some choppy playback if your network isnāt fast enough. etc. ( For low-latency HLS playback)
A buffer of 0 is great for RTMP input and WebRTC playback, but be cautious how low you go with HLS. Justin changes it to 0 in the video and you can, but run some tests to make sure your playback is smooth for HLS. Might be better to go with 4 seconds as a buffer in my opinion.
Summary:
Sort packet buffer: We turn it off when you select enable lower latency.
We do give you the option to turn it back on though.
Did that help @Daniel_Taylor ? I think the deselect language is confusing and will request we adjust that.