“Monitoring innovations in post-production, head-end, streaming, iTV and nScreens strategies & tools”
Curated by
Nicolas Weil
MPEG systems technologies Part 7 Final Draft : Common Encryption (CENC) in ISO base media file format files
If you are interested into knowing details of the upcoming Common Encryption (CENC) format that is supposed to be finalized in februray (cf http://bit.ly/rxuijU ), you can take a look at its Final Draft version...
It seems that there is a ballot pending about AES CBC beside AES CTR : http://bit.ly/znGz6M
READ THE SPECIFICATION HERE : http://bit.ly/wzqsOO
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Video Breakthroughs
Video Breakthroughs
With the fall of Megaupload, legal VOD sites are quickly gaining back popularity as consumers are eager to watch fresh video contents on all their connected devices. If you are a content owner, a TV channel or a telco, it may be the right time to (re)launch you Multiscreen OTT VOD offer. This post intends to start from the reference tech choices in this game – Netflix’s ones – explain the major challenges of such type of service and the associated DRM issues, and finally drive you throughout the different market options you have to setup your own service on a close basis (this part will be covered in an upcoming post). Everything would have been easier if Netflix did sell its solution as a white label platform, but it’s not (yet) the case, so this leaves fun territories to explore ! 
The next-gen video compression technology shrinks video by 40 to 45 percent compared to today's prevailing H.264. But encoding H.265 video takes a long time right now. Qualcomm, a San Diego-based chipmaker that's on the international standards group developing H.265, demonstrated a preliminary version of H.265 video on an Android tablet at the Mobile World Congress show here in Barcelona. 
The term adaptive streaming refers to technologies that encode multiple instances of a live or on-demand stream and switch adaptively among those streams to deliver the optimal experience to each viewer, taking into account both delivery bandwidth and playback horsepower. Producing for adaptive streaming involves two discrete analyses: how to choose the optimal number of streams and their configurations and how to customize the encoding parameters of the various streams to operate within each adaptive streaming technology. This article will explore both analyses. 
libdash supports now HTTP/1.1 persistent connections and pipelining. Moreover, the HTTPConnectionManager maintains a pool of connections that will be used in a round robin manner.
Streaming media may look like magic to the end user. However, for the content creator, there is a very tangible process that must be followed to make streaming video magically travel from the playout server to the viewer’s desktop. In other articles in this year’s Sourcebook, you’ll read about codecs and formats. But an equally important—and often misunderstood—delivery consideration is which protocol to choose to transport your video content over the internet. Three basic transport protocols are used for today’s streaming media delivery: HTTP, RTMP, and RTSP. Each protocol has its pros and cons and an appropriate streaming media application. ![Intertrust’s Wasabi Marlin Client SDK v.1.3 supports MPEG-DASH multi-screen streaming [PR] | Video Breakthroughs | Scoop.it](http://img.scoop.it/Pr_2RUi8HfN87S0cDbqcIjl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBVaiQDB_Rd1H6kmuBWtceBJ)
Recognizing the growing demand for a standards-based streaming technology for Over the top (OTT) content delivery, Intertrust today announced a new version of its Wasabi Marlin Client SDK that supports MPEG-DASH (Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP). [...] Intertrust’s Wasabi Marlin Client SDK v.1.3, available immediately, is a complete Software Development Kit (SDK) for developing media applications based on the Marlin DRM standard. Wasabi allows quick and efficient deployments based on Marlin DRM on desktop (PC and Mac), mobile (iOS and Android), and embedded systems (set top box and connected TV), with support for MPEG DASH and Common Encryption on all those platforms. Wasabi Marlin Client SDK product page : http://www.intertrust.com/solutions/wasabi 
Harmonic today announced the release of the ChannelPort integrated channel playout device for Spectrum media server systems. Combining channel branding and master control switching with clip playout on the industry’s most trusted media server platform, the modular ChannelPort enables broadcasters, content owners, and service providers to speed the cost-effective deployment of new television channels through a simple incremental upgrade to their existing Spectrum architecture. [...] Support for standard tools such as Adobe Creative Suite ensures compatibility with all standard graphical formats, as well as familiar operation for broadcast graphics designers, who can author on-air templates directly in Adobe Flash Professional. Facilitating the addition of branding elements ranging from simple logos to complex effects and “live” text — and built on Harmonic’s market-leading media server technology — the new ChannelPort device serves as a reliable and functionally complete branded-channel playout solution. Product page : http://www.omneon.com/products/media-servers/channelport.php 
Since last year, Akamai has been working on developing an operator based content delivery product and this morning, the company officially announced the launch of their new managed CDN offering, which they have branded as Aura Network Solutions. While the company was light on details on how it works, what it costs and which customers they have signed up, they did provide me with their thoughts on the market and some details on their plans for a federated CDN model. Like many of the CDN vendors in this industry, most notably EdgeCast and Limelight Networks, Akamai plans to have two operator CDN products, one managed and one licensed. Today, Akamai is offering a managed CDN offering only and next month, plans to have their licensed software model in trials. One interesting piece of information the company divulged is that when launched, their licensed CDN product will have transparent caching functionality build in. That's an interesting development because Akamai's platform would then offer all three services to an operator, those being on-net services/software, off-net delivery and transparent caching. PRODUCT PAGE : http://www.akamai.com/html/solutions/aura_network_solutions.html
OTT is increasingly being deployed in Europe for subscription services rather than just as part of TV Everywhere strategies for cable or satellite operators. As well as providing a platform for new entrants, OTT is giving new life to IPTV operators that had previously not made much headway, or had been unable to afford the network upgrade required, involving building out of fiber closer to the premise. 
If you've been wondering what Adobe had in the works after laying Flash Player for mobile to rest, the wait is over. The outfit has unveiled the codenamed Project Primetime, the "industry's first fully integrated video technology platform" that will offer television-esque viewing sessions across your web-enabled devices. This tech plays nice with all "major" mobile platforms -- including iOS -- as well as desktop operating systems and smart TVs (Windows, Mac OS, Apple iOS, Google Android, Samsung SmartTVs and other platforms). --PR highlights-- Adobe Access 4 software will support native iOS apps, extending its existing support for desktop operating systems, Android apps and connected TVs. Adobe Access support for HLS/iOS is expected to ship in spring 2012. Adobe streaming technologies will support MPEG-DASH, a set of emerging standards for streaming multimedia content over the Web that will help reduce technology fragmentation. Support for MPEG-DASH, which is expected to become a profile of HDS, comes as Adobe continues to collaborate in this area with a large number of industry partners. At the same time, Adobe will continue to innovate and develop its HTTP streaming protocol, HTTP Dynamic Streaming (HDS), which is used by major broadcasters worldwide. Read also InformiTV analysis : http://informitv.com/news/2012/02/27/adobepreparesprimetime/ 
Our paper “Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP Dataset” has been presented at the ACM Multimedia Systems (MMSys) 2012 as dataset paper in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Furthermore we presented our paper “An Evaluation of Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP in Vehicular Environments” at the ACM Workshop on Mobile Video 2012, which is co-located with MMSys’12. 
The trend toward multiscreen content delivery is having a profound influence on the way people access, view and use media — fueled by the explosion of smartphones, tablet computers, Internet-connected TVs and streaming services for on-demand programming. Broadcasters realize that the era of linear distribution and traditional playout has passed. Now, they're eager to take advantage of emerging technologies that enable live OTT streaming of events such as sports, concerts and live pre-event, post-event and fan-oriented programming to the platforms that viewers demand. Live event streaming to multiple platforms can present significant challenges. In many cases, on-location uplink bandwidth is severely limited, and preparing the multiple renditions needed for adaptive bit-rate streaming to each different type of mobile device requires additional investments additional investment in on-site encoding hardware, bandwidth and infrastructure. Haivision Network Video has addressed these challenges with its HyperStream Live cloud-based live video transcoding service, designed to reduce the cost and complexity of OTT multiplatform content delivery. The system automatically transcodes live video source streams into the many formats and data rates required to distribute live video via the Internet and deliver the streams to any screen regardless of device, player, screen size or bandwidth. ![VeriSilicon Releases New Generation of Hantro Video IP Products to Promote WebM and WebRTC [PR] | Video Breakthroughs | Scoop.it](http://img.scoop.it/6ytOl6R9xD1KPPQb_ONwzzl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBVaiQDB_Rd1H6kmuBWtceBJ)
VeriSilicon had an excellent year 2011 on promoting WebM, a free, open media format, and WebRTC, a free, open real-time communications framework, through Hantro video semiconductor IP licensing. Most tier-1 semiconductor companies adopted VP8 video format for WebM by integrating Hantro G1 Multi-format Decoder and Hantro H1 Multi-format Encoder, the only commercially available encoding IP supporting both H.264 and VP8, into their chips and platforms. This enables WebM video in a number of new, exciting devices such as media tablets, smart phones and smart TVs. Under an existing licensing agreement with Google, VeriSilicon has rights to commercially license Hantro G1 Multi-format Decoder and Hantro H1 Multi-format Encoder products to semiconductor companies worldwide and modify the Hantro video IPs to enhance core architecture and add new features. Hantro H1 Multi-format Video Encoder IP product page : http://www.verisilicon.com/en/products_hvip.asp |
CeBIT 2012 – The Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute premieres 3D Internet TV transmission with MVC over MPEG-DASH For the first time, the Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute presents 3D web streaming using the MVC standard in the MPEG-DASH format. MVC stands for Multiview Video Coding which in a 3D transmission enables reproduction of a high quality 2D view on a standard terminal. MPEG-DASH means Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP and is a fledgling open multimedia transmission format for Internet TV for stationary and mobile end devices.
Want to roll your own HTML5 player? Here's what you need to know to get started. When I was 6 years old, I had metal-capped front teeth, a lazy eye, an eye patch to correct my lazy eye, thick glasses, plastic tubes in my ears to drain fluids, and a speech impediment. HTML5 video is kind of like me at 6 years old. It has the potential to some day be a fully functioning HTML tag. But right now, it has some issues. In order to work with HTML5, we need to know what its issues are and how to patch them. That said, HTML5 video will some day be the default method developers use for playing video on the web. Apple is holding strong on its decision not to support Flash on iOS, Adobe is cutting development on Flash for other mobile browsers, and more users support HTML5 video every day as Chrome takes over the browser market. That makes this a great time to get a head start on building video experiences with HTML5 video. 
Two wireless giants are demonstrating a transmission method similar to one proposed by a U.S. broadcast coalition last fall. Ericsson and Qualcomm unveiled “LTE Broadcast” at the Mobile World Congress 2012 in Barcelona, taking place now through March 1. “The platform has the potential to significantly reduce operators' costs by allowing them to optimize content and software distribution using broadcast principles over LTE networks,” Qualcomm said. LTE Broadcast leverages the cellular infrastructure in a way that allows it to delivery content to multiple users simultaneously, as opposed to the one-to-one model now used. 
Until now, video calling from your computer has required dedicated apps such as Skype or browser plugins like Flash that power the likes of Vox.io. However, the similarly-named Voxeo Labs has been cooking up something impressive; plugin-free video and voice calls in a browser. Using its own Phono SDK, Voxeo Labs has demoed a way of making calls using the WebRTC technology included in the Canary build of Google’s Chrome browser. Backed by Google, Mozilla and Opera, WebRTC is an open source project that allows developers to create real-time communications apps for the Web via Javascript APIs and HTML5. ![DVEO Announces NAB 2012 Products : RSS Feed/Logo Inserter, IP Time Delay, Multichannel Streaming Video Monitoring [PR] | Video Breakthroughs | Scoop.it](http://img.scoop.it/Cv2s7sCPahPvvHI6d9m29Dl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBVaiQDB_Rd1H6kmuBWtceBJ)
DVEO products at NAB 2012 will include: 
Due to its advanced codec, multiformat file support and unparalleled speed, the Grass Valley EDIUS high-definition (HD), nonlinear video editing software is quickly becoming one of the dominant solutions among editors working in the digital news and professional video production industries. At NAB 2012 Grass Valley will demonstrate the latest version (EDIUS v.6.5), with a comprehensive 3D editing workflow and native support for raw footage captured with digital cinematography cameras from RED Digital. The new EDIUS software boasts a comprehensive 3D workflow, complete with 3D stereoscopic editing tools and new 3D support across its editing peripherals. The full family of 3D-compatible Grass Valley editing peripherals-such as the STORM 3G 3D and STORM 3G Elite 3D accelerator cards (with stereoscopic 3D I/O through a single 3G SDI source and/or dual 3G SDI signals)-are now all supported from the EDIUS timeline. EDIUS software and hardware supports all of the most common stereoscopic modes-including the Side-by-Side, Top & Bottom and Line-by-Line display methods. 
Over the past year, as pricing in the sector has reached a commoditized level, the definition of a content delivery network (CDN) has started to change. As pricing competition has narrowed their differentiation, CDNs have started to focus on the value-added parts of their propositions. If you call Akamai Technologies or Limelight Networks a CDN, company reps will do their best to point out that distribution is only a part of their services. This means that while we can track pricing to some extent, as Dan Rayburn famously does at http://blog.streamingmedia.com, it is becoming difficult to simply buy data transfer services from CDNs. These companies like to offer a richer range of services than pure byte-shifting. Each CDN now has its own online video platform (OVP), which provides content management and user interfaces. Each offers some form of relationship with advertising partners, and so on and so forth. Still, there is a fairly clear set of key performance indicators (KPIs) for anyone who wants to engage the services of these companies. These are outlined in the accompanying chart.
Cord-cutting is on the rise, the futures of Netflix and Google TV are up in the air, and services like HBO GO are paving the way for a true anytime, anywhere online video universe. In 2011, the streaming media world finally figured out what consumers want: everything. Subscription content on their TVs, mobile devices, and tablets? Yes. Premium first-run movies available for anytime streaming? Yep. Apps that deliver pay-TV content controlling living room DVRs? Certainly. Catch-up TV shows available online immediately after a show airs? Of course. Unlimited personalized music services that play whatever the listener wants to hear for no cost? Definitely. And for anything not covered by the above, there's always BitTorrent. The media and entertainment industries made big strides online in 2011 and are poised for complete ubiquity in 2012. Consumers are getting more comfortable accessing streaming content, whether from a connected living room setup or a mobile device. The major studios are still leery of piracy and cannibalizing their DVD market, but they are determined to avoid the music industry's fate by making more titles available at reasonable prices. We're also seeing the growth of original online entertainment, which promises to help smaller names find an audience and bigger names develop new revenue streams. The past year also saw its share of pitfalls and stumbles. Netflix, once the shining king of the streaming entertainment world, will spend 2012 trying to undo self-inflicted damage from a few poorly thought-out changes. And the rise of bandwidth caps by cell carriers threatens to strangle the streaming party just when it's getting good. ![Destiny Media Announces Successful Testing of Cross Platform Playerless Streaming Video Prototype [PR] | Video Breakthroughs | Scoop.it](http://img.scoop.it/--6NMO_fJm_34rrVVZsl_zl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBVaiQDB_Rd1H6kmuBWtceBJ)
Destiny Media Technologies is pleased to provide an update on development of its second generation playerless streaming video solution, which will eliminate the need for publishers to maintain separate streaming hardware and various video formats to reach their audience. Destiny has developed a single video file format that acts like any other web object, streaming directly from a web server and rendering directly by the browser without a player plug-in. The technology is working well across a wide number of computers and smart phones, including Mac, Windows, Android, iPhone, iPad, Blackberry and any other recent device that is standards compliant. Video playback is at twenty-four frames per second and at similar quality to competing offerings. The company is currently building out the prototype solution into a mass-market product. A soft launch of the commercial product for sale to select early customers is expected by April. 
[...] What Adobe technologies will support MPEG DASH? Adobe will support MPEG-DASH as an HDS profile within its future streaming technologies that include Adobe Flash Media Server, Adobe Access, Adobe Flash, Adobe AIR and the Open Source Media Framework including Flash Media Playback and Strobe Media Playback. MPEG-DASH will also be supported by Project Primetime including Adobe Auditude Advertising platform. 
As amazing as Super Hi-Vision televisions are, most of the footage we've seen is of slow-moving cityscapes, nature and portraits. We may get more action sequences soon, thanks to a new CMOS sensor capable of picking up 8K (33MP) footage at 120 frames per second. 
At the 2012 NAB Show, Front Porch Digital will feature LYNX, an integrated, cloud-based environment for managing assets on a global scale from any device and any location. Leveraging the latest cloud and Web services technologies, LYNX will underpin a range of networked and distributed solutions, included a hosted disaster recovery service for existing DIVA customers, a private/hybrid cloud service allowing global media enterprises to centralize critical assets and consolidate operations, and a public cloud service with DIVArchive functionality offered on a SaaS basis. 
Jet-Stream R&D identified many issues that cripple massive adoption of these technologies. There are some serious design flaws in HTTP Adaptive Bit Rate streaming than apparently these vendors and CDNs have never thought of and never encountered: 1) File size, block size 2) Number of objects 3) Number of log entries 4) Stateless delivery means loss of session reporting 5) Stateless delivery means loss of concurrent streams reporting 6) Stateless delivery means loss off anti deep linking features; loss of separate manifest distribution 7) The Thundering Herd: http live streaming renders caches useless 8) No QoS 9) Overloading networks |
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