Live and VOD OTT Streaming Practical South African Technology Considerations
Purpose of Presentation Discuss the state of video streaming technology in South Africa Discuss various architectures and technology platform choices available to South Africa Broadcasters, Media Companies and Video Production companies Remove technology concerns, allowing you to focus on online video strategy and monetization opportunities
100+ Radio Station streams in SA And many more
Corporate & Government Video Webcasts
IPTV Streaming in SA And many more
Explosive growth of online video By 2017, there will be nearly 2 billion Internet video users globally, up from 1 billion in 2012 1. Internet video traffic will experience a 5.3-fold increase from 2012 to 2017 Content Delivery Networks (CDN s) set to carry over half of total Internet traffic by 2017. 1. Cisco Visual Networking Index 2013
Elements of Online Video
Typical VOD Solution Requirements DRM & CDN Distribution for Internet Based Public VOD system Support for media encryption and rights protection Content protection/rights protection e.g. Verimatrix, PlayReady or other compliant DRM solution Support for high volume video distribution Support for HD format video Video Management System (VMS) for management of video library VMS supports user subscription, content management, content access, playback function Integration to an existing or new video management system
Typical VOD Solution Requirements (cont) CDN distribution support for tens of thousands concurrent users End device support to include Desktop (PC and Mac) Mobile (ios, Android, Windows, Blackberry) Support for adaptive bit rate streaming From 256kbps up to 2Mbps or more Pre-defined source media format Typically MP4 format Multi- or single bit rate Options for trans-rating in the cloud
Typical Solution Architecture Upload of unencrypted, unprotected content to Antfarm CDN Automation and Integration into VMS Sync of media to CDN edge nodes On the fly encryption and key ingestion Streaming to end user device in encrypted format Stream playback: player initiates a request for a license key from the DRM key management provider DRM key management provider: BuyDRM/other Streamed content is decrypted on local device by player Device detection assumed to be handled by VMS Player DRM key acquisition workflow Either exists within VMS. Or custom developed players are available. The CDN will support HTTP adaptive streaming to Silverlight clients (Smoothstreaming) and Apple/Android mobile devices (HLS).
Example VOD DRM Solution Architecture
Bit rate recommendations To support adaptive streaming, all media needs to be transcoded to multiple bitrates to ensure reliable playback takes place (by target user s Internet access connection e.g. 10Mbps, 4Mbps, 2Mbps ADSL, LTE, 3G, Edge etc). The following encoding media bitrates/resolutions are recommended: 2Mbps 1080p HD, 1Mbps 720p HD, 500kbps 480p, 200kbps 360p. All media needs to be encoded to the recommended profiles before ingestion to CDN takes place CDN bandwidth costs will be derived from concurrency requirements and aggregation of recommended bit rates
Live Streaming Encoding/transcoding 2 options for encoding/transcoding: Onsite encoding at studio Cloud based transcoding Codec formats Live encoding: AVC (H.264 / AAC) Reliability and ease of integration into CDN Widely used Arguably the best / first choice in streaming industry for live streaming Future proof Support for live codecs such as HEVC, MPEG2/4, MPEG-DASH, HTTP etc
Onsite Encoding/Transcoding Hardware, appliance based encoders Source feed: SDI Video and XLR Audio Many alternative hardware vendors look for: Support for encoding of multiple bitrates (in support of 3 screens / OTT) Support for variety of commonly used codecs/stream formats Support for simultaneous live stream archiving, video pre-processing, captioning, logo insertion etc Remote management of multiple encoders, scheduling and creating automated workflows Broadcast grade platform Robust and reliable hardware.
Cloud Transcoding Cloud-based live stream transcoding Supported within the Antfarm CDN MPEG-TS stream routed via broadcasters WAN link to Antfarm/IS CDN Existing, production ready transcoding engine Cloud-based Static Media Transcoding FTP upload of files to transcoding engine Automated media ingest and transcode Automated media synch within CDN Email or automated integration of target media URL to broadcasters Website Workflows for managing batch, multiple, scheduling and uploading Support for large variety of input media formats Existing, production ready transcoding engine
Players Multi-platform supported stream players Live and VOD players Flash and HTML5 players Support for all popular OS Platforms / browsers Windows, MAC, Linux, Android, Blackberry, Symbian, ios OS, browser and device type auto-detection (for mobile devices) included in the player Video stream served using the most suitable streaming format and player for the detected device. Player will include support for Adaptive Bit Rate (ABR) streaming to supported media players (Flash, ios).
Multi Platform Delivery
Antfarm global CDN
Elements of online video strategy Technology Workflow Content Sales
Advertising and Monetization Incidental brand exposure value determinatio n Support for Multiple Advertisers Social Networking Peripheral advertising real estate Video preroll (hyperlinked ) Squeeze backs Banner Ad (hyperlinked ) Video Bug/Waterm ark
Way Forward The technology of online broadcasting is available right now in SA Online video strategy is complex with many moving parts Online environment is constantly changing and evolving Change happens fast in the online world Broadcasters need to embrace online presence asap. Choose technology platforms with low cost, flexibility and speed of implementation in mind. Avoid lock-in with any 1 platform vendor Choose business models that allow freedom to explore, evolve and innovate Avoid lock-in to a single business model, commercial partner or publishing platform Choose flexible platforms that embrace and support variety of business models Including subscription and ad supported models With publishing options across a wide variety of outlets
Andrew Aitken @andyantfarm andrew@antfarm.co.za