diff --git a/doc/protocols.texi b/doc/protocols.texi
index 626886069d..0eb4c69b49 100644
--- a/doc/protocols.texi
+++ b/doc/protocols.texi
@@ -80,6 +80,11 @@ hls+http://host/path/to/remote/resource.m3u8
 hls+file://path/to/local/resource.m3u8
 @end example
 
+Using this protocol is discouraged - the hls demuxer should work
+just as well (if not, please report the issues) and is more complete.
+To use the hls demuxer instead, simply use the direct URLs to the
+m3u8 files.
+
 @section http
 
 HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol).
diff --git a/libavformat/hlsproto.c b/libavformat/hlsproto.c
index 244f270398..f611f7599c 100644
--- a/libavformat/hlsproto.c
+++ b/libavformat/hlsproto.c
@@ -222,6 +222,12 @@ static int applehttp_open(URLContext *h, const char *uri, int flags)
         ret = AVERROR(EINVAL);
         goto fail;
     }
+    av_log(h, AV_LOG_WARNING,
+           "Using the hls protocol is discouraged, please try using the "
+           "hls demuxer instead. The hls demuxer should be more complete "
+           "and work as well as the protocol implementation. (If not, "
+           "please report it.) To use the demuxer, simply use %s as url.\n",
+           s->playlisturl);
 
     if ((ret = parse_playlist(h, s->playlisturl)) < 0)
         goto fail;