For an HLS VOD Stream, Is it possible to only play specific Media Sequences in a Media Playlist File?

Question

I'd like to play specific time-segments from an HLS Stream, without needing to re-edit the original MP4 file. Is it possible to alter the Media Playlist File to play specific TS Media Sequences that are out of order?

For instance, in the below M3U list, is it possible to only play fileSequence0-fileSequence2, then skip over fileSequence3 and go right to fileSequence4?

Example M3U List:

#EXTM3U
#EXT-X-PLAYLIST-TYPE:EVENT
#EXT-X-TARGETDURATION:10
#EXT-X-VERSION:4
#EXT-X-MEDIA-SEQUENCE:0
#EXTINF:10.0,
fileSequence0.ts
#EXTINF:10.0,
fileSequence1.ts
#EXTINF:10.0,
fileSequence2.ts
#EXTINF:10.0,
fileSequence3.ts
#EXTINF:10.0,
fileSequence4.ts

According to HLS Documentation, I would need to change or omit the Media Sequence Number for fileSequence3.ts in order to skip it, but I'm unsure if this is possible.

6.3.5. Determining the Next Segment to Load ... The first segment to load is generally the segment that the client has chosen to play first (see Section 6.3.3).

In order to play the presentation normally, the next Media Segment to load is the one with the lowest Media Sequence Number that is greater than the Media Sequence Number of the last Media Segment loaded.

Answer 1

Yes, you can play them in any order, Just put a #EXT-X-DISCONTINUITY tag before any 'splice'. You also need #EXT-X-ENDLIST at the end, or the player will assume this is a live manifest and only play the most recent segments.

If the segments do not begin with keyframes however, you may not get the result you want.