The many complexities of online video

Paul Skinner, Senior Software Engineer, Switch Media.

 

At Switch Media we often speak to clients who assume putting video online is no more difficult than adding a new webpage to their site. Yet, the reality is that Google bought YouTube for over 2 billion dollars… that figure was unheard of in 2006. Just look around at how many websites contain really good video that consistently works across all devices… it’s certainly not many. That’s because putting video online can be a complex operation, but why?

Let’s go through some of the challenges businesses who want to put video content online face.

 

Royalties. Web standards tend to be more of a consensus system. When Adobe flash animations ruled the web, Steve Jobs led the charge against its inefficient vector based system that would slow down his iPhones. In that particular case, the problem was clear and the world agreed on royalty free standards like HTML 5, as they allow for far more efficient animations on phones and tablets.

Video is a different animal. With video we are not reaching a consensus on how we explain an animation. Video standards require researchers at institutions like Germany’s Fraunhofer Society, or possibly even Australia’s CSIRO, to test mathematical Fourier transforms, compression algorithms and colour spaces to find the most efficient ways to compress video. But someone has to foot the bill for their efforts.

This leads to several competing standards. The most recent high profile battle was when Google bought the VP8 codec to compete against MPEGs H.264 codec as the standard of choice for the web. Google intervened because of the royalties MPEG was charging. Which horse would you back in this race?

 

Hardware decoding in devices. This is where the algorithms to decrypt video are baked into the client’s CPU with low level software that ‘cannot be changed’. This allows the power efficient CPU in your phone or set top box to play video. Although due to royalties, every device supports different video technologies. A phone manufacturer may license a wide range of technologies for their high end devices. And yes, you guessed it, their cheaper devices may not be so lucky. This leads to the video supplier having to support a myriad of codecs, bitrates, muxing formats etc. which can be a complex and lengthy process.

 

Doing it all live! Live streaming presents its own challenges. Typically the TV shows you watch on Presto or Netflix have been encoded with a piece of software that unfortunately is too slow to produce good quality video in real time. A common solution is hardware encoding appliances, which can easily cost over $100K! This is a huge expense for any business, but there are other options that don’t cost an arm and a leg. Switch Media can help you to understand these other options, as well as how much redundancy you require and how much bandwidth you need to reserve for your live feeds.

 

Video processing infrastructure. Video is a trade-off between processing power and the amount of data required to transmit and store it. By using more CPU cycles to encode multiple renditions of the video, the result is quality video that is quick to transmit and is supported by even older devices. But who’s got multiple spare multi core servers lying around to encode videos, or terabytes of redundant storage to store the multiple renditions? That’s why using online video specialists like Switch Media is a smart option. We have the equipment and software ready to go, with the skills and experience to manage them.

 

Securing content. The content you wish to share on your site may need to be licensed and is often only for a specific audience – so it’s important to secure your content. To do this you can go through Digital Rights Management providers, also known as Conditional Access Vendors, who can help to control who can watch your video. But this is just one piece of the puzzle, these guys cannot encode your video or ensure it plays across all devices. Going with an online video specialist that can cover all elements of your video is a much easier option. At Switch Media, if we do the encoding then it’s our responsibility to ensure all security requirements are met so that our client’s content is as secure as it can be, and where possible we avoid going through a CA vendor to avoid unnecessary costs.

 

A globally competitive technology leader in delivering online video content, Switch Media understands every facet of online video, from hardware and infrastructure to royalties and security. Our in-house team of strategists, architects, programmers and technical staff can provide expertise and management of all elements around placing video online, so that businesses can reap the benefits of implementing this new technology without having to become sudden experts in the many complexities that are involved. 

Feel free to contact us  to discuss how we can assist you with your online video needs and queries.

 

Paul Skinner, Senior Software Engineer, Switch Media.
Paul has worked from video engineer to lead software engineer. He has worked for 8 years with customers that include tier 1 broadcasters in Australia and Africa.

F1 Superstreams Deployed Superfast

Network Ten’s free and live coverage of the 2015 Formula 1® Rolex Australian Grand Prix was a hit with viewers around the country, attracting 1.38 million viewers nationally and a peak audience of 1.75 million.  On Network Ten’s digital platform TENplay the 2015 Formula 1® Rolex Australian Grand Prix recorded 240,000 video views and 417,000 page views from 13 – 16 March 2015.

In Switch Media’s fastest deployment ever, their cloud based technologies, robust infrastructure and professional services enabled Network Ten to provide an additional five live ‘F1 Superstreams’ to their online services. Free of charge and with no commercial breaks, the live streaming complemented Network Ten’s live TV coverage and allowed viewers to experience the thrill of the F1 like never before.

With live view from the driver’s seat and pit stop, aerial view of car positions on the track, as well as lap times and highlights streamed live to the tenplay apps on mobile, tablet, and desktop – this marks the most extensive access F1 fans have ever seen.

Pit Stop Cam – live view of the action and pressure of the pit lane.


Driver Cam – live view direct from the driver’s seat during the race. 


Highlights – playback of race highlights video footage. 


Stat Tracker – up to date view of lap times, sector splits and other real-time data. 


Driver Tracker – Live view of real-time car positions around the race track.  


To achieve this advanced live stream broadcast capability, Switch Media provided tailored live solutions, integrating with Network Ten’s F1 broadcast systems with on-site encoding and cloud video management tools, all backed by ongoing technical and operational support throughout the race.

Switch Media’s cloud based video content management system, the Switch Media Manager, enabled digital delivery of 5 IP streams direct from the race itself, as well as a system to quickly collect, collate and publish results online.

Switch Media will be streaming the remainder of Network Ten’s online broadcast of the 2015 Formula 1® Rolex Australian Grand Prix racing tournament.

Network Ten’s Chief Digital Officer, Rebekah Horne, said:
“In 2015 tenplay undertook a goal to complement our live and free TV coverage of the 2015 Formula 1® season, including the Australian Grand Prix, with an additional five live streams exclusive to tenplay apps on mobile, tablet and desktop. Streaming live footage from the driver’s cockpit and pit stops, exact car positions of drivers around the track, plus lap times and highlights; viewers can experience the thrill of the F1 like never before. By working with Switch Media, we were able to deploy a tailored solution within a very short timeframe which met our specific needs, allowing us to give viewers the most extensive Formula 1® coverage they have ever seen.”

Highlights of service provided

  • 5 baseband SDI feeds from the live broadcast received and encoded into IP streams for the tenplay web app and the tenplay native apps for iOS and Android phones and tablets
  • Pit Stop Cam live stream broadcast
  • Driver Cam live stream broadcast
  • Highlights live on-loop video broadcast
  • Lap times, sector splits and other data capture and broadcast (Stat tracker)
  • Real time view of car positions around the race track (Driver tracker)
  • Adaptive bit rate employed for all four different renditions required
  • Interactive capability enabling the viewer to use the app as a second screen experience whilst watching the race on TV, e.g. while viewing the live Driver tracker
  • Live F1 streams made available free of charge to the public for the first time
  • No commercial break during live stream broadcasts
  • Speedy deployment – fastest Switch deployment ever

 

About Switch Media

Switch Media enables broadcasters, publishers and providers of media content to create, manage and deliver their content across all platforms – fixed or mobile. Switch Media’s service suite includes:

  • Asset management systems for video content and beyond
  • Design and build of online digital media asset portals
  • Content rights protection / DRM
  • Content hosting and distribution
  • Workflow management and integration with existing system

The platform provided by Switch Media can be adapted to suit each client’s architecture preferences – cloud-based, hybrid or dedicated.

Switch Media is the online technology partner to a multitude of government, education, broadcast and media entities including Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), Australian Federal Parliament, Foxtel, Fox Sports, INSEAD, Screenrights Australia, and Network Ten.

Key Points:

  • Australia’s leading professional services provider in OTT & IPTV solutions
  • Privately owned and operated Australian business
  • 9 years of operations
  • 50%+ year on year revenue growth