We introduced HLS to Elevated X CMS users in 2013 -
AVN - Elevated X CMS Adds Streaming Video Support
At that time and until very recently we licensed JW player but the same adaptive streaming is possible via other means including Flowplayer and MediaElement which is open source and the player we now include with the CMS by default.
With this setup, the bitrate you upload as your source or your highest quality viewable or downloadable file matters less because most users will watch the video that loads for them automatically based on their bandwidth.
Most of the video players that support HLS allow for the user to choose a higher quality file and bypass the automatic detection but the result is video buffering.
The standard MediaElement player doesn't have format selection but we added that so on Elevated X powered sites the basic HLS functionality is very similar to that of JW or Flowplayer.
You can upload really high bitrate files and ultra-HD video and take advantage of the best of every scenario assuming the amount of large file storage needed isn't a concern.
This is definitely the way to go Jake
AJ