Best Practices for Delivering Online Video Delivering high quality video over the Internet

Transcription

1 WHITE PAPER Best Practices for Delivering Online Video Delivering high quality video over the Internet

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary... 1 Determine Goals of the Site... 2 HTTP Streaming vs. Legacy Streaming vs. Progressive Download... 3 Key Features and Benefits... 4 Features and Benefits Comparison... 5 HTTP Streaming... 5 Streaming Video... 5 Progressive Download... 6 How a CDN Can Help... 6 Conclusion... 6 About CDNetworks... 7

3 Executive Summary Delivering high-quality video over the Internet has been made increasingly easy over the past few years. Technology improvements, especially for newer streaming uses of the HTTP protocol, have enabled new features and functionality that expand the user experience of high definition online video. However, there is still no single, perfect solution that meets all the needs of the typical content provider. A variety of disparate requirements, including video quality, user experience, content security, and delivery costs make it impossible for any one solution to clearly claim superiority. Further complicating the issue are proprietary or non-standard solutions that promise to resolve all issues, but like all other solutions, these too have their pros and cons. This paper will outline some of the important questions that a content provider should ask while considering any video delivery initiative, and will help clarify some of the more popular choices for delivering video over the Internet. CDNetworks 1

4 Determine Goals of the Site One of the most important steps in determining the right solution for your content delivery needs is to clearly define the goals of your website, and the role your content will play on that website. Understanding these requirements helps guide your decision to choose the correct video delivery solution. Here are a few of the more important items to consider: WHO WILL CONSUME THE CONTENT? How much audience is expected, simultaneously as well as in total? Where will users come from? Is scalability important? WHAT ARE THE CONTENT REQUIREMENTS? Must content be consumable in real-time, e.g., live events? How big are the files? What bit rate is required for playback? What content player is required (or desired)? WHAT ARE THE QUALITY REQUIREMENTS? Is presentation time important (the time from when content is requested until it starts to display)? Is uninterrupted playback important (i.e., no pausing or stuttering) WHAT ARE THE SECURITY REQUIREMENTS? Is security from piracy important? Is file-sharing important? WHAT REVENUE IS GENERATED FROM THE CONTENT? Is revenue generated from a subscription model, pay-for-access, and/or advertising? WHAT ADMINISTRATIVE BURDEN CAN BE TOLERATED Is on-site staff available to support the solution? Is 24x7 support necessary? HOW MUCH BUDGET IS AVAILABLE What is the budget for infrastructure and other startup costs? What is the budget for the ongoing delivery of the content? CDNetworks 2

5 HTTP Streaming vs. Legacy Streaming vs. Progressive Download To deliver video over the Internet, there are several different technologies available. Some choices rely on proprietary streaming solutions using protocols such as RTSP, RTP, or RTCP, packaged today as Adobe s Flash Media Service, Microsoft s Windows Media Service, Apple s Quicktime, or RealNetworks Helix Service. These solutions are often referred to simply as streaming video, since a stream of continuous video content is sent from a server to a client and consumed in real-time. Becase of the recent introduction of advanced HTTP Streaming, this category will now be referred to as legacy streaming instead of streaming video. Recent streaming developments have been focused on extending the standard HTTP infrastructure to deliver adaptive bit-rate streaming. This technology has many benefits for the viewer, including increasing or decreasing the video quality (encode rate) depending on local PC or network conditions. This way, full-screen, high-definition video looks as good as possible on all devices and networks. Before HTTP adaptive streaming there was HTTP progressive download. Progressive download utilizes the common HTTP protocol to send files, but is not true streaming. Progressive download is a download of the entire media file that allows the client to begin displaying the content as it is received. Typically, the file is sent faster than the client is consuming the content, thus a progressively larger buffer is created. Misconception Limited seek and navigation Reality Metadata attached to encoded files allow users full seek and navigation without requiring full file download Wastes bandwidth if user aborts video Bandwidth throttling (specifying a bit rate that a file should be delivered at) can ensure only what is viewed is delivered Only good for short videos Any size file is fine, since file playback can occur before the entire file is downloaded Only good for poor-quality videos Most bit rates can be adequately supported with typical consumer network connections today Files can be pirated easily No-cache headers can be issued with the content to prevent browsers from storing content in cache reducing piracy Video start is delayed significantly Video start times can be greatly reduced CDNetworks 3

6 KEY FEATURES AND BENEFITS Feature Description Benefit Full Media Support CDNetworks supports Flash Media Server, Windows Media Server and in Q4 2010, will support Flash Dynamic HTTP Streaming and Silverlight Smooth Streaming A single CDN provider gives you all of the Web s top media formats to help you reach 100% of your target audience Media Protection Geo-blocking and authentication Gives you the ability to allow or deny specific content based on your business needs Origin Offload Ability to pull content directly from customer s origin without having to upload directly to CDNetworks Ease the load on your media/web servers by leveraging our global footprint of streaming servers Closer Last Mile Media servers are close to your viewers Reduce buffering and delays when our media servers place the content closer to your viewers Portal and Reporting Administration and reporting analytics for your media and viewers Real-time and historic data helps you make intelligent decisions on what media is popular and where allowing you to better target your audience Log Files Full streaming metrics in raw format Send raw-logs via FTP to a customer designated server for custom analytics or integration into third party applications Industry Standards Full interactivity with 3rd party players and online video platforms Use any standard media player or customize your own for a solution tailored for your audience CDNetworks 4

7 FEATURES AND BENEFITS COMPARISON HTTP Streaming Pros Uses any HTTP server to send content Leverages (substantial) efficiencies from any HTTP cache infrastructure (scalability and cost) Detects local bandwidth and CPU then delivers best quality video Optimized for full screen and high definition Content is consumed immediately (minimal startup delay) Supports security and authentication Typically provides better tracking and statistics reporting Cons Need to encode multiple bit rates (encoding SAAS can help) Generally requires an updated or new player Often requires updated security and authentication Live events generally require hardware based encoding Streaming Video Pros Can use UDP more efficient delivery mechanism when used with a retransmission method Content is consumed immediately (minimal startup delay) Good for live events Basic adaptive bit rate is possible to adapt to bandwidth limits Typically provides better tracking and statistics reporting Cons Need to encode multiple bit rates (encoding SAAS can help) Generally requires an updated or new player Often requires updated security and authentication Live events generally require hardware based encoding CDNetworks 5

8 Progressive Download Pros Uses any HTTP server to send content Leverages (substantial) efficiencies from any HTTP cache infrastructure (scalability and cost) Accelerated start can greatly reduce video startup times (due to buffer) Minimal training for support and implementation File can be downloaded while viewed for later file-sharing Cons Requires a buffer be filled prior to playback (can be offset with accelerated start) Playback bit rate is set at start (unless proprietary solution is used) Poor for live events (unless proprietary solution is used) How a CDN Can Help A content delivery network (CDN) can be a valuable asset for your content delivery initiative. CDNs leverage distributed infrastructure and place streaming or cache servers near clients, providing high-quality video and a high-quality user experience. They use existing HTTP cache infrastructure to support HTTP streaming, legacty streaming, and progressive download seamlessly and cost-effectively, and can reduce implementation times and learning curves to enable you to get your content on-line quickly and easily. They also provide real-time reporting and customer support. By leveraging their established network, you can reduce operating costs, increase the speed of your deployments, improve video quality (and therefore improve end-user experience) and scale your offering. Conclusion There is really no right or wrong answer for choosing a content delivery solution. There are pros and cons for using either HTTP Streaming or Legacy Streaming or Progressive Download depending on the particular use-case. Fully understanding your content goals and how each solution meets those goals is critical to making the best choice for your business, and to having a successful content delivery deployment. There are many benefits to using a CDN for your content delivery needs, as they can greatly improve your ability to scale and support your service, and provide a great end-user experience while keeping operating costs to a minimum. CDNetworks 6

9 CDNetworks Global Offices US 441 W. Trimble Road San Jose, CA EMEA Juxon House 100 St Paul s Churchyard London, EC4M 8BU About CDNetworks CDNetworks enables mission critical e-business in the world s most challenging markets. CDNetworks unique position as the only multinational CDN with expertise and infrastructure in China, and other emerging markets, makes us a trusted technology and business advisor to more than 1,200 companies across the highly-competitive industries of software, travel, ecommerce, high tech, manufacturing, media, and gaming. Reliably delivering over-the-top performance anywhere in the world, CDNetworks helps businesses get closer to their end users without the limitations of hardware and private networks. Founded in 2000, CDNetworks has offices in the U.S., Korea, China, Europe, and Japan. For more information, please visit: Korea Handong Bldg. 2F,828-7 Yeoksam-Dong, Gangnam-Gu Seoul Japan Nittochi Nishi-shinjuku Building 8th Floor, , Nishishinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo China Room No.A-1502, Keijidalou, 900 Yi shan Road, Shanghai info@cdnetworks.com CDNetworks. All rights reserved. Features and specifications subject to change without notice. CDNetworks 7