video streaming - m3u access?

We stumbled across an m3u file that must be the HLS streams.  From what I've read, there are currently no API's for this.  I think if there were, the customer I am working with would be quite happy as it handles a bunch of questions/concerns they have over the current API's I'm using.

The m3u file has a 720p, 480p, and 360p URLs.  These play quite nicely in the html5 video player.  Sample code below (although I am not using a valid URL.)

<video width="400" controls>
<source src="https://showboxtr.dropbox.com/hls_transcode/AVAPRFsZT968MfZzWx3cg8x***.some_filemov">
Your browser does not support HTML5 video.
</video>

Are there any API's or ways to access the m3u file?  It would solve some issues we are running into.

Currently, we have a prototype that gets a list of video files.  We then get a URL for that file, pass it to the video player.  This works - but I think it is streaming the actual file no matter the device requeting it (and no concerns for bandwidth).

The current URL's we get back look something like:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/imjXXXXXXgo/some_file.mov?dl=0

I change the URL to:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/imjXXXXXXgo/some_file.mov?raw=1

With raw=1, the html5 video player does play the file back.  However, this is not transcoded - correct?

I think it would be nice if there was more documentation on streaming videos.  The API notes do have bits and pieces, but you have to do a lot of digging to find what you are looking for.  I still have questions I'm a bit shaky about.  I've spent a lot of time the last 2 days building a prototype so I could answer my own questions.  (Not necessarily a bad thing, but I could have saved time if there was a more concise guide on it.) . 

Sorry for the rambling post.  I'm hoping there is a way to generate or access the m3u file, but I suspect this is not supported with my current approach since I haven't found any mention of it in the documentation.