Exploring the future of media technology
RED BULL’S GAMING SPHERE LONDON CLOUD SERVICES DO EVERYTHING
TEACHING AI HOW TO FEEL
EVERYBODY
Turning your screen into an all-access pass
3 WELCOME
A music performance is something you listen to, sure. But it′s also something you watch. And there are more and more ways now to use video to bring musical acts big and small right to fans – in the case of virtural reality, bringing fans right into the musical act. In this issue we look at some of the innovative ways of using new technology to get music fans that front row seat. This is also our cloud issue. Cloud is so ubiquitous now that to say a technology uses the cloud doesn′t tell you very much – it′s almost like saying that a technology uses electricity. All cloud really means is computing power that isn′t under your roof. It′s computing power as utility, not as discrete process. We′ll take a look at microservices in the cloud, which are allowing media companies of all types and all sizes to implement complex workflows that only big broadcasters could afford five years ago, and we′ll investigate how AI and cloud are combining to turn content creation and distribution on their heads. Finally, you may have heard the news about the closure of FilmStruck, Turner′s streaming platform that was an outlet for Turner Classic Movies content and for the universally revered Criterion Collection. It somehow doesn′t seem right that the on-demand access to such a culturally and historically rich vein of content should suddenly vanish. But that's what happens when all your eggs go into one online basket... VIDEO AT THE VENUE
EDITORIAL EDITOR Neal Romanek +44 (0) 1223 492246 nealromanek@bright-publishing.com
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Andy Jennings DESIGN MANAGER Alan Gray SENIOR DESIGNER & PRODUCTION MANAGER Flo Thomas DESIGNER Man-Wai Wong
NEAL ROMANEK, EDITOR nealromanek@bright-publishing.com @rabbitandcrow @nromanek
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06 NEWSFEED
42 GENIUS INTERVIEW
Dispatches from the world of online video
We talk with Make.TV’s Andreas Jacobi about using the cloud for live content everywhere
10 STREAMPUNK
46 OTT TV FILES
We visit the Red Bull Gaming Sphere in London
A young entrepreneur invents a subtitle reader for people who live with dyslexia
16 YOUR TAKE
Making streaming video available in your car
60 FUTURE SHOCK
Vionlabs teaches robots about human about emotion
22 TECHFEED
Cloud microservices are democratising broadcast
66 START-UP ALLEY
This month’s start-ups innovate in metadata, peer-to-peer video and fantasy sports
32 CLOUD
Wildmoka uses cloud and AI to create automated live clipping
70 OVER THE TOP
34 ROUND TABLE
FilmStruck has shut down – taking the Criterion Collection with it
How to build a cloud-only broadcast facility
50 COUCH CONCERTS LIVE MUSIC STREAMING
34
10
A French music venue goes global with streaming to Facebook Live
28 DEEP TECH
A virtual reality app takes you into the heart of a major rock festival
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BREAKING NEWS FROM THE STREAMING SECTOR
NEWMIT FACILITY TAKES ON AI
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has committed to building a $1 billion computer science research facility with artificial intelligence development at its core. The project has been kicked off by a $350 million foundational gift from Stephen A. Schwarzman, chairman, CEO and co-founder of global investment firm, Blackstone. The new MIT Schwarzman College of Computing will be a hub for work in computer science, AI, data science and other related fields. According to the announcement on the MIT website, the new college will aim to “reorient MIT to bring the power of computing and AI to all fields of study at MIT, allowing the future of computing and AI to be shaped by insights from all other disciplines”.
The facility will create 50 faculty positions located both within the college and jointly with other departments across MIT. The college will seek to “educate students in every discipline to responsibly use and develop AI and computing technologies to help make a better world; and transform education and research in public policy and ethical considerations relevant to computing and AI”. The interdisciplinary use of AI and its
wider implications for human wellbeing, as well as ethical considerations, were especially underlined in the announcement. Some of the initiatives proposed include developing a new curriculum that will connect computer science and AI with other disciplines, hosting forums to engage national leaders from business, government, academia and journalism to examine the anticipated outcomes of advances in AI and machine learning, and to shape policies around the ethics of AI, as well as offering undergraduate research opportunities and fellowships in ethics and AI. The Schwarzman College of Computing is scheduled to open in September 2019 with a new building to be completed by 2022.
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7 NEWSFEED Updates & upgrades
DPP SPEC FOR UHD BROADCAST DELIVERY LAUNCHED
The Digital Production Partnership (DPP) has announced a new tech specification for UHD programme delivery, AMWA AS-11 X1 – MXF Programme Contribution DPP UHD. In partnership with the Advanced Media Workflow Association (AMWA), the DPP built the new spec on AMWA AS-11 UK DPP v1.1, a standardised delivery specification for air-ready masters, implemented by UK broadcasters. The new AMWA AS-11 X1 brings UHD delivery to the AMWA AS-11 family of formats and is aimed at the DPP’s international membership. The AMWA AS-11 specifications define media file formats for the delivery of finished media assets to a broadcaster or publisher. In order to facilitate automated workflows, AS-11 specifications have been developed as block-based, machine-readable specifications. The AMWA AS-11 X1 – MXF Programme Contribution DPP UHD
specification will be first implemented in UHD deliveries to the BBC iPlayer in 2019. The next additions to the AMWA
AS-11 family will be AMWA AS-11 X8 and X9, which aim to provide HD delivery formats for the North American market.
CHROME BROWSER ADDS PIP, AV1
Google’s Chrome browser has been updated to support several new video features. With Chrome 70, web developers can now control picture-in-picture (PiP) for videos via a new PiP API. Picture-in-picture allows users to watch videos in a floating window on top of other windows, while interacting with other sites or applications. The Chrome picture-in-picture API followed in the footsteps of Safari’s PiP support in macOS Sierra. Chrome Desktop x86-64 now supports the AV1 decoder. AV1 is a new codec established by the Alliance for
to improve compression efficiency by more than 30% over the VP9 codec. Chrome 70 adds an AV1 decoder to Chrome Desktop x86-64 based on the official bitstream specification. The supported container is MP4. Cross-codec and cross-bytestream buffering and playback is possible in Google’s MSE (Media Source
Extensions) and Chrome also now supports the audio codec Opus in MP4. Additionally, in Chrome 70
Open Media, a consortium of video technology companies, seeking to create an open, royalty-free solution for media delivery over the web. AV1 is said
for Android the default value of the ‘protected content’ setting has been changed from ‘Ask First’ to ‘Allowed’ to reduce friction for video consumers.
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8 NEWSFEED Updates & upgrades
At last month’s Twitch Con in San Jose, California, CEO Emmett Shear announced a number of new features on the platform. A Squad View feature will allow up to four users to broadcast jointly over a single stream. This update is especially relevant for streaming multiplayer games, offering audiences multiple player viewpoints within the same broadcast. Squad View mode retains each player’s individual chat window as well. Starting in January, new moderator tools will be introduced. By clicking on a username in the chat window, moderators will be able to see the person’s stats, including how long they have been on Twitch and any timeouts or bans. Also the Twitch Highlight Editor will allow streamers and editors to stitch together moments from across a video into a single highlight. Twitch also launched Twitch Sings, a karaoke feature that is currently in closed beta testing. TWITCH OFFERS NEW FEATURES
CHINA’S SKYWORTH SHOWCASES AI TV TECH
Chinese TV manufacturer, Skyworth, has announced its ‘always-on’ AI TV. At the launch event, Yu Jianwei, Skyworth’s China marketing headquarters executive vice general manager and marketing director, presented the new TV and controlled it solely by voice. The Skyworth always-on AI TV wakes up in response to voice commands. Earlier this year, Skyworth entered into a strategic partnership with Chinese technology company, Baidu. The TV employ’s Baidu’s DuerOS and Coocaa System. The Coocaa System provides an optimised media resource library and DuerOS turns the display into a responsive device with more accurate content search and an easy user experience. Skyworth has also worked with voice and audio processing company XMOS to develop the TV’s AI voice chip and eliminate the need for a remote control. The AI TV voice chip is based on XMOS VocalFusion XVF3500 voice processor, with a four-microphone linear array. The solution enables Skyworth’s TV to
deliver 180° all-dimensional sound-source identification from up to five metres. The XVF3500 voice processor also supports de-reverberation and noise suppression, helping the Skyworth TV to more accurately capture user commands in a noisy environment.
BROADCASTERS HOPE FOR CHILDREN’S TV Children’s broadcasters have
Canada, Sky/Fresh Start Media and UNICEF UK, and TV Escola, Brazil. The project was launched in 2016 at the Children’s Media Conference in the UK out of concerns that children are potentially exposed to media with disturbing, polarising or violent content. Easy access to the Internet and the influences of social media make children’s consumption of disturbing content even more likely. The project was led by Lucy Murphy, head of kids’ content at Sky TV, and Alison Stewart, former head of CBeebies production at the BBC.
collaborated on a collection of short films, which will offer young viewers stories of hope and inspiration. The Hope Works project will launch simultaneously on major children’s networks globally and on a dedicated YouTube channel managed by Wildbrain, on World Children’s Day on 20 November. Twelve films, aimed at children aged five to 12, have been produced by a global collection of companies, including partners Ragdoll Productions for DisneyEMEA, CBC
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9 NEWSFEED Updates & upgrades
MOVIE CLASSICS STREAMER FILMSTRUCK CLOSES
Profiled only last month in FEED ’s OTT TV Files, the classic movie-focused service, FilmStruck, is closing down. The service was launched by Turner as an online platform for its Turner Classic Movies library. In early 2016, the online service acquired streaming rights to the Criterion Collection of classic films. The announcement on the FilmStruck site, from parent company WarnerMedia, revealed that the company would no longer enrol new subscribers and that the last day of service is 29 November. The company said that, despite its devoted fan base, FilmStruck was a “largely niche service”. This was followed up with the intention to use what was learned during the running of FilmStruck to help shape an online service for its library and own original content at some point in the future. Film fans, including many high-profile industry talents, publicly mourned – and indeed railed against – the closing of the service. It’s seen by many to be one of the premier online spaces for high-quality, classic cinema.
The closure also extends to FilmStruck International, Turner’s international art house and classic film service. FilmStruck International did not offer the wide range
of Turner Library and Criterion Collection titles that were available in the US, but showed a range of indie and art house films alongside carefully curated classics.
HELPME, VIMEO. YOU’RE MY ONLY HOPE
Streaming platform Vimeo is now offering a channel exclusively for holograms. The company has teamed up with volumetric video company, the Looking Glass Factory. The New York-based images without the aid of goggles or headsets via its transparent cube display. The Vimeo Creative Labs department has curated a number of samples on the site. Without the Looking Glass technology, the videos look like a grid company is trying to create virtual reality
the individual images are stitched together and create the impression of a moving three dimensional scene in front of the viewer. The Looking Glass has dropped its prices for the Christmas season and is available on the company website (www. lookingglassfactory.com) starting at $499. The viewer comes in two sizes. The Standard Looking Glass is 8.9in and aimed at desktop display. The Large Looking Glass is 15.6in and designed for simulation or retail applications.
of images of a scene, all taken from a slightly different point of view –
which is in fact what they are. Using the Looking Glass holographic display,
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STREAMPUNK 10 Red Bull Gaming Sphere
GAMING SPHERE LONDON Red Bull’s Gaming Sphere in London has been built to create a flexible and responsive hub for esports events and streaming. It also may be the future of broadcast facilities
gaming personalities or players who come in and offer tutorials or trainings. London systems integrator Dreamtek was responsible for the tech build of the Red Bull Gaming Sphere London. The head of esports at Red Bull approached the company looking to build a public gaming space, but one which could also host and live stream esports events. Dreamtek senior engineer Saqib Razaq was the lead technical architect responsible for outfitting the space and building its infrastructure. “We went back and forth with them, exploring different ideas of what the space could be like and what Red Bull wanted to achieve with it,” says Razaq. “We looked at the different areas that would be in the space and how to best utilise the space to be as flexible as possible in incorporating different kinds of events and environments.
ondon’s Red Bull Gaming Sphere went online in March of this year. Billed as the UK’s largest public esports venue, the Gaming Sphere is a space for esports pros, casual gamers and fans to broadcast, play or just hang out. The opening of the London Gaming Sphere came hot on the heels of the launch of the inaugural Red Bull Gaming Sphere Tokyo, and it probably won’t be the last such space. Based in London’s tech-hipster haven, Shoreditch, the Sphere admits anyone over 16, for free. Users just need to register beforehand and then they get access to all the facilities, plus opportunities to participate in and attend events, tournaments and challenges, as well as access to a huge array of game titles. There are also events built around individual
BECAUSE THERE’S SO MUCH FLEXIBILITY IN THE FACILITY AND ITS DESIGN, THEWORLD IS YOUR OYSTER
LIVING THE DREAM Systems integrator Dreamtek worked with Red Bull to create a welcoming, flexible space for gamers to enjoy
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11 STREAMPUNK Red Bull Gaming Sphere
They wanted it to be a hub for the gaming community in London, somewhere that the community could come and enjoy the space.” GAME OF STREAMS In addition to being a community hub, the Gaming Sphere was designed from the start to be a broadcast facility for capturing and streaming gaming and esports content. Dreamtek brought to bear its substantial experience in building bespoke livestreaming infrastructure. “It was clear from the outset that the space wouldn’t just be a place where games were played,” says Razaq, “but where they would be able to be shared as well, and not just with events, but down the micro-level of an individual gamer streaming out from any one PC in the space.”
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STREAMPUNK 12 Red Bull Gaming Sphere
EVERY EVENT HAS A UNIQUE CHALLENGE , AND IT’S ALWAYS A NEW LAYOUT The Sphere has made every attempt to put professional tools in the hands of the gamers using it, even including chromakey facilities with one of the studio spaces having a blue screen. “We’ve tried to take all the equipment up to the next level, so it’s not just a PC with a webcam. There’s a huge amount of capability that we’ve put into that space, so that they’ve got the ability to broadcast out to as many outlets as they want to.” SHOOTING AND DELIVERING The broadcast infrastructure for the Sphere is built on two racks full of broadcast equipment, which gathers feeds from all over the facility into one central gallery where it can be vision mixed, using Blackmagic Design’s ATEM 4 M/E Broadcast Studio 4K. The team also uses vMix software-based video mixing and switching too. Blackmagic’s DeckLink 8K Pro capture cards allow high-resolution playback over 12G-SDI and allow for the high frame rates essential in esports production.” There are multiple video capture points in the space, which use Panasonic UE70 PTZ cameras, controllable from the gallery. In addition, to the PTZ cameras, there are two Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro cameras available which can be used anywhere in the space, for just about any function that could be imagined. There is
EVERYBODY WELCOME The
space is equipped to host everything from major multi- stream events to individual gamers
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13 STREAMPUNK Red Bull Gaming Sphere
PRO APPROACH The Sphere’s production gallery (far right) includes top tools from Blackmagic Design
also a Blackmagic Micro Studio Camera 4K. Because of its small size and great resolution, the Micro Studio Camera is often employed for highly effective specialty shots. “We’ve put the Micro Studio Camera on a Magic Arm mount and mounted it on the ceiling for a top-down effect. We’ve had events with a kind of board game style set up where we used this top down feed. Because there’s so much flexibility in the facility and its design, the world is your oyster. We’ve had external clients come in and bring their own cameras into the space and we’ve been happy to mix them in.” DELIVERING TO FANS The infrastructure is also built to take in the feeds from each gaming console and PC which can be mixed in the gallery. “People who want to do their own individual streams can absolutely do that from their own workstations. In some of our set-ups we have had a dedicated machine for the actual gaming and another PC for just the streaming elements. For some of the larger events and shows, you can have multiple streams. And sometimes people will come with their own gear and their own set-ups, and we can be quite flexible about that and let them run their own show.”
FLEXIBILITY FOR CREATIVITY Dreamtek continues to collaborate with Gaming Sphere London on a regular basis, running, facilitating and delivering events. The open nature of the space really allows gamers and event producers to try all kinds of new ideas for productions and how to stream them. “We’ve had the full spectrum of people who want to do something really unique. On an individual level someone might want to film something from a unique point of view. We have a couple of sim racing rigs and people have come in and done special racing set ups for their channel. “We’ve also had huge events, like a World of Warcraft launch, where they transformed the entire space completely, physically put in plants and trees
and redecorated the space so it was unrecognisable. There’s innovation from the individual all the way up to these huge events. “Every event has a unique challenge, and it’s always a new layout. You may have one where it’s very straightforward, with PCs on the right side and on the left side. You may have another event where you have a huge stage with a giant video wall. Or another event which is a fighting game tournament with maybe just two consoles that come out on the stage. “We’re very proud of the flexibility that we’ve been able to incorporate into the infrastructure and design. The feedback and the response has been incredible, both from the community and from the people using the space as well.”
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STREAMPUNK 14 Tool of the Month
Words by Phil Rhodes SAMSUNG CHG90 MONITOR Are you a gaming
broadcaster? Or just an esports star in training? Samsung’s super-wide screen CHG90 QLED may inspire you
ost of the world’s monitors are either 16:9, the same shape as a high-definition TV, or around 21:9, the shape of the classic
SOME PEOPLEMIGHT ALSO TAKE INTEREST IN IT AS ADESKTOP DISPLAY , PERHAPSWITH THE IDEA OF STRETCHING AN EDIT TIMELINE OUT ACROSS THE FULL WIDTH a hand in front of a bright area, but at such high frame rates there’s no sense of flicker in the image itself. There’s a selection of modes intended for various types of game, though serious gamers often have very specific ideas about how a monitor should be set up and can assign three configurations to hotkeys. Cinemascope screen. Samsung’s 49in C49HG90 monitor is more ambitious. It’s three and a half times wider than it is high, with a native resolution of 3840 by 1080. The CHG90 is a gamer’s display, prioritising speed. As well as 144Hz frame rates, there’s backlight strobing. This switches off the LEDs behind the LCD panel when it’s changing state from frame to frame, so the tiny moment of blur is invisible and there’s no motion smearing. The effect can be made visible by waving
WIDE, WIDE WORLD Whether the view-filling shape translates to a competitive advantage will depend on the game, but that 32:9 aspect ratio certainly covers more peripheral vision than even a 21:9 image. It’s not a VR headset, but it’s more involving than a conventional display. The effect works best at a distance – sit too close and the extreme edges start to require a head-turn to take advantage of the extra acreage. The monitor is spectacular in flight simulators and some people might take interest in it as a desktop display, perhaps with the idea of stretching an edit timeline out across the full width. That works, but the monitor is best suited for games. The CHG90 is basically the size of two 16:9, 27in monitors side by side and a display of that spec would invariably be 1440 pixels high. For productivity applications, the CHG90’s 1080-pixel height can feel a little confining. It’s an understandable decision, though. Make a 32:9 monitor 1440 pixels high and it’d be 5K wide, requiring a big system to achieve frame rates high enough to take advantage of the 144Hz modes. The monitor does support FreeSync, so it will make the best use of all the frames your machine can throw at it. If there’s any other problem, it’s that the sheer width means if the start menu is over here, then the system tray is very much over there, and it’s easy to fall into the trap of working only in part of the space.
FAST REACTING Colour is good for something that isn’t a reference monitor. In standard sRGB mode, errors are generally under five delta E (under two is ideal), with one error of 6.8 in the yellows. It drifts slightly blue in the highlights, and greens and reds are more saturated than blues, but it’s within a correctable range. Viewing angles tend to suffer on fast displays like this, but the CHG90’s performance is actually pretty good, showing an increase in black level but very little colour shift. Samsung promotes HDR support. Rolling the mouse cursor over a black image, viewed deliberately off-axis, reveals that there are probably eight large rectangular zones on the backlight, with output approaching 600 nits peak with 250-300 on average. Between these two factors, the CHG90 won’t provide a premium HDR experience, though it might encourage more games to implement HDR. The CHG90 is designed to be a fast-reacting display that fills the user’s peripheral vision, while not overly stressing your graphics card. Those are specific design choices for gamers and the CHG90 achieves them ably. The display sells for £1000 in the UK, which is a fair deal for such a rare bloom, and there’s certainly nothing else like it.
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16 YOUR TAKE Deluxe
With self-driving vehicles potentially on the horizon, in-car viewing may be about to experience a boom. Car manufacturers are looking to use streaming connectivity to add value to their products TRIP
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17 YOUR TAKE Access Europe
to new media companies. This would mean the manufacturer has a reduced need to invest in technical solutions and design a content catalogue. However, such a move could also enable these media companies to fully control the user experience and engage deeply with the manufacturer’s customers – which may work at cross-purposes to most car manufacturers’ objectives. Streaming giants, such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, will have their own content portfolio tailored to their target audience. This audience may or may not align with the manufacturers, potentially resulting in an offering that isn’t always suitable to the manufacturer’s brand positioning. DRIVING CUSTOMER SATISFACTION Car manufacturers want to participate in the shaping of the content catalogue and know the exact requirements of their moving screens, which can prove challenging for the content industry. Contrary to the experience we usually face in the living room, or even on the go, any video consumed inside the vehicle needs to be adjusted to the journey. For the content industry, this means rethinking formats to suit this brand new use case – a challenge that goes beyond the simple access to connectivity. The option that provides the most value to manufacturers is developing their own branded in-car entertainment solutions. For media companies – whether public service broadcasters or commercial operators – the monetisation opportunities are unlimited. Via the car manufacturer’s service would build a rapport with an audience that is usually lost as soon as it steps foot inside the car. In addition, this can benefit smaller players who can compete with major companies through original and targeted offerings. Studios could offer exclusive content to passengers inside the car, while broadcasters and content distributors can strike deals with manufacturers to extend their pay TV services outside of the home and build a stronger relationship with their subscribers. Ultimately, what will drive in-car entertainment forward is better collaboration between manufacturers and media companies which ensures that both industries can enjoy the commercial benefits of content consumption on the road. As the industry turns to 5G as a Holy Grail that will solve all problems, it is time to look at alternative use cases that can be of real benefit. Car manufacturers today are already looking at the best options to deliver multimedia entertainment – it is high time we offer consumers the programmes they want on their own terms and help them turn their cars into moving media hubs.
MARCIN HANCLIK, SVP PRODUCT MANAGEMENT It is high time we offer consumers the programmes they want on their own terms
y 2023, it’s estimated the connected car market will be worth more than $43 million. Its rapid growth can be attributed
to improved connectivity, which is paving the way for futuristic in-car services. Such services include the widespread availability of multimedia and entertainment services. This vision of the future is supported by senior players in the industry, such as Markus Zumkeller, director of tech and engineering at Sony Europe. During a keynote at this year’s IBC, Zumkeller went as far as to say that ‘the car is the next living room’. The growth in autonomous driving will give drivers and passengers more free time to consume entertainment, which means it is time for the content industry to get on board. Consumers are already able to access entertainment in the car. Passengers can watch downloaded content on their personal devices, and even watch live TV via internet connected devices or an antenna built into their car. However, over the next few years, the technology options will become more sophisticated, and more integrated, as in-vehicle Wi-Fi and screens in the back of seats become more common. The transition from 4G to 5G and the promise of much higher bandwidth will also open new doors to the monetisation of services. The future we are driving towards is one where the hyper-personalised services consumers currently enjoy on their mobile devices are extended to the car. The user’s own library will be combined with an international content catalogue and the experience will be adjusted to each journey and user, providing tailored content that’s compatible with the demographic and duration of the ride. For example, a parent taking his or her children to school can have family-friendly cartoons playing in the back; while on the commute home, the driver can listen to audio content or news on demand. Yet, the road to bringing entertainment into the car won’t necessarily be smooth. While the technology to take us to that
destination will soon be available, there are still bumps that need to be overcome in order to make it a reality.
STEERING DELIVERY IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION
Increasing engagement and promoting brand loyalty are just two of the benefits the automotive industry can enjoy if it starts to offer personalised in-car experiences. However, this is only true if car manufacturers choose to be directly involved with multimedia services by developing their own branded entertainment solutions, which is easier said than done. Infotainment services face one fundamental hurdle: content provision. If manufacturers want to offer their own in-car entertainment solutions, they will need to create commercial frameworks with everyone from games publishers to Hollywood studios. Apart from the legal implications of so many contracts, this also makes manufacturers responsible for the management of all these content sources. They will need to guarantee content delivery to all screens inside the car – both built-in and brought in. Plus, car manufacturers will need to navigate a sea of content protection rules and the requirement for ‘rights management’ that they have had minimal experience handling. Manufacturers might absolve themselves of this responsibility by handing over control
CONTRARY TO THE EXPERIENCEWEUSUALLY FACE IN THE LIVINGROOM… ANYVIDEOCONSUMED INSIDETHE VEHICLENEEDSTOBEADJUSTEDTOTHE JOURNEY
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18 ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE AWS Elemental
ON-PREMISES ENCODERS
AWS Elemental LO21AE AWS Elemental LO25AE
FIELD ENCODERS Teradek Cube LiveU Solo
ANYWHERE Station File Upload (SFTP/Aspera) Frankly Apps (iOS/Android)* 3rd Party API Integrations
FRANKLY, CLOUD IS THE FUTURE efore being acquired by Frankly, Frankly Media is using AWS Elemental to create an entire channel management system in the cloud
company shipped its own hardware appliances built to receive and record an SDI broadcast, allowing the customer to do live-to-VOD editing using a DVR function on the appliance, as well as live streaming. “That architecture was the correct one for a long while,” says Omar Karim, COO at Frankly. “At that time it was hard to push high-quality video to the cloud and then work with it remotely. But over the last few years we have pivoted that whole architecture into the cloud.” What was once potentially risky has become an obvious choice for many broadcasters. Bandwidth is stable and
more affordable, so companies can leverage a fast connection in and out of the cloud very reliably. Karim points to other practical reasons for using cloud architectures. “The cloud also allows us to diversify video sources,” says Karim, “so now we’re not just working with a primary broadcast signal but we also bringing in secondary signals from the station or feeds from the field. The goal has been to take all of our customers’ investment in IP video workflow and help move that up into the cloud so they no longer need to be connected to a local appliance. It can all be done through
WorldNow had been in the digital solutions business for broadcasters since 1999.
The company provided a digital publishing platform, which included CMS and multimedia functions with a front end that delivered to a variety of platforms including iOS, Android, Apple TV, Fire TV, Roku and the Web. It was primarily used by TV and radio broadcasters, as well as some newspapers. In response to demand from broadcast customers, Frankly developed a fully- integrated video workflow system. The
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19 ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE AWS Elemental
package or MP4 outputs, storing those on Amazon S3 or serving them on Amazon CloudFront or other CDNs. All of that is completely invisible from a customer perspective. It’s orchestrated by an API layer we wrote on the Amazon Elastic Container Service for Kubernetes (Amazon EKS). We’re using multiple elements of the AWS ecosystem to connect all of these parts together.” CAPTURE EVERYWHERE Karim recognizes that for many parts of the world “mobile first” is the preference, and Frankly works to accommodate that. Right now the company is looking at standards- based encoders such as LiveU and other cellular bonding vendors that can push content to the cloud. No matter where the source is, or what device it is captured on, each new content stream appears as a unique channel in the Frankly CMS. “The great thing about the cloud is that it’s completely elastic. Depending on what the customer has signed up for, they can have multiple channels of video coming in at the same time. We have a dashboard that displays all of the channels, and we’re recording them all in the cloud. Through the web-based CMS, they can clip out and highlight what they want and publish it to all of their endpoints.” “Our goal is to create a channel management system in the cloud. When customers are working with their current broadcast channel, the idea of restreaming it is just the first step. But the next step for this architecture is to allow them to control all aspects of channel programming in the cloud.”
our web-based CMS.” Building the new service on top of AWS Elemental’s platform allows Frankly to easily migrate their customers to the cloud to help them better monetise their content and services. CLOUD TOOLS TAKE OVER For the last year, Frankly has focused on building a codebase on the AWS Cloud and is currently testing it with customers. The new workflow allows certified appliances to transmit into the cloud and then control the content through the Frankly Producer web-based CMS. Once the video signal is captured in the cloud, it is fed through AWS Elemental MediaLive for video processing. It is then made available on the AWS Elemental Delta video delivery platform where it is optimized for monetization, management and distribution across internal and external IP networks. AWS Elemental Delta, which offers frame-accurate editing, records a buffer that customers immediately access through the CMS. Using Frankly Producer, customers manage, store and archive the content in Amazon S3 or use AWS
Elemental MediaConvert to create video- on-demand content for broadcast and multi-screen delivery at scale. “Customers very simply choose a particular show that they want to edit, pull out clips or other assets, and publish those on their websites or apps,” explains Karim. “In the background, we are using AWS Elemental Delta features to export an HLS
Frankly’s legacy workflow (right) has been turned into a flexible and highly configurable channel management system (above) using AWS Cloud WORKFLOW TRANSFORMATION:
FRANKLY MEDIA VISION APPLIANCE (MVA) Capture Encoding DVR FRANKLY VIDEOSCRIBE Capture LAN/VPN
scheduling LiveToVOD Editing
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20 ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE AWS Elemental
ON PAR WITH SSAI J-Stream used AWS Elemental MediaTailor to create a server side ad insertion workflow for a live stream during the Augusta Golf Tournament
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21 ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE AWS Elemental
or live streams of this summer’s 2018 RIZAP KBC Augusta Golf Tournament hosted in Fukuoka, Japan, KBC Kyushu Asahi
AVOIDING THE INFLUENCE OF AD BLOCKERS MAKES IT POSSIBLE TO EXPAND REACH
Broadcasting partnered with Japanese video streaming and distribution leader J-Stream for dynamic server-side ad insertion (SSAI) services for sponsored content. Server side video ad insertion (SSAI) is a method in which video ads are inserted into the main content on the video distribution system side, and integrated into a single video stream before final delivery. With SSAI there is no need for the client side playing out the video to do the switch between the main video and the ad. Buffering and delay before and after the insertion of the ad are eliminated, making for a higher quality viewing experience. In addition, enabling distribution to a wide range of devices and avoiding the influence of ad blockers (software preventing online advertising from being displayed) makes it possible to expand reach. SSAI SET-UP To streamline the SSAI workflow during the internet broadcasts, J-Stream integrated solutions from AWS Elemental, including AWS Elemental MediaTailor and AWS Elemental Cloud for seamless insertion of broadcast-quality targeted
advertisements throughout the Tournament live streams. Five channels of video were live-streamed simultaneously over the regular internet. These included three camera feeds from the golf course and live video of the par-three eighth hole. J-Stream inserted scheduled pre-rolled video ads into all the channels, and was also able to insert mid- roll video ads arbitrarily as required. Set-up for J-Stream’s SSAI workflow took seven days and included a JWPlayer flexible video platform, a DAC FlexOne ad server and AWS Elemental cloud- based live encoder instances running at 2Mbps. The simultaneous connection for the SSAI workflow ran at over 1000Mbps. Integrating MediaTailor into the live-stream workflow ensured that all ads played back at broadcast-level quality. QUALITY When offering SSAI in live-stream environments, maintaining broadcast
quality is vital. Advertisers simply will not tolerate delay or buffering when ads play, and ad blockers must not prevent sponsored content from being properly displayed to each and every viewer. Integrating AWS Elemental MediaTailor into SSAI workflows allows J-Stream to personalise ads displayed to viewers, monetise their content and also to view automated reporting on server-side ad delivery metrics for accurate assessment on ad impressions and audience viewership behaviour. J-Stream’s array of services includes its own content distribution network, website creation, and system development. The company plans to further integrate AWS Elemental MediaTailor’s features into its proprietary workflow, including client-side measurement and reporting tools.
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22 TECHFEED Cloud Microservices
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23 TECHFEED Cloud Microservices
Words by Adrian Pennington
Microservices are the building blocks on which all modern and successful digital businesses are constructed. What are they and what’s the best approach to using them?
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24
TECHFEED Cloud Microservices
t doesn’t sound much. A microservice is the minimum embodiment of technology that provides a performant
and valuable service. Yet this software design architecture is instrumental to the spectacular success of Spotify, Netflix, Expedia, Uber, Airbnb and essentially every other digital business that has gained commercial prominence in the past decade. It’s an approach to application development and management that is also seen as crucial to the transition of old school media – pay TV operators and commercial broadcasters – to the brave new world of the cloud. The key word is ‘approach’ and not all broadcast or vendor engineering teams are getting it right. “Microservices serve a fundamental role in most aspects of the software landscape for media and entertainment,” says Brick Eksten, CTO, playout & networking solutions at Imagine Communications. “Whether it is a core network function, a piece of a website, or a utility that runs in the background, there is an opportunity to improve that role or function through the use of microservices.” WHAT EXACTLY IS A MICROSERVICE? The term has been used to describe the practice of breaking up an application into a series of smaller, more specialised parts, each of which communicate with one another across common interfaces such as APIs and REST interfaces like HTTP. “These smaller components can scale independently of each other and the wider stack,” says Kristan Bullett, co-MD at cloud product and services provider, Piksel. “They are modular, so can be tested, replaced, upgraded and swapped out easily. It is also much easier to break down workloads using microservices and spread them across the cloud, efficiently matching resources more closely to business needs.” A familiar example is the landing screen you face when accessing a new service on a website which asks you to sign in with Facebook or Google or email. Netflix have built much of its operation
MOVING AWAY FROM MONOLITHS Microservices enable small changes to be made in a more efficient, controlled and non-invasive fashion and at a reduced cost
from microservices, dozens of which interoperate to provide the slick experience users of its platform receive. “The reason microservices are so great is because typical software approaches rely on bulk installations, which must be upgraded all at once (like operating system updates to phones or laptops),” says Alex Snell, associate solution architect at system designer and consultant BCi Digital. “Microservices can be changed as the provider sees fit, so a user sees different things between visits to a platform, or even during a single session.” In the broadcast facility, the same approach using bulk software implementations still exists. To add new functionality to a system, often a months- long provider acquisition and consultation period is followed by further months of installation, testing and finally launch. “As speed to deployment increases, broadcasters want upgrades to be faster,” says Snell. “If a system is built from microservices, implementation of upgrades and changes can be realised in days, or even hours.” Microservices contrast with the older broadcast model which is typically
characterised as monolithic. Essentially inflexible, cost inefficient and no longer fit to compete with digital-first rivals, any organisation stuck with this model won’t travel far. A monolithic architecture is where the functions needed to run operations are so tightly interwoven that a change to one part of the software will have immediate consequences for the rest. “Microservices are really about making small changes in a controlled and non- invasive fashion,” explains Bullett. “By taking a microservices approach you have a much smaller slice of functionality which you can test and introduce with great confidence into the wider service. Where cloud utilises compute, storage and networking resources more efficiently, microservices- in-the-cloud makes even better use of them, pulling down operating costs.” While a number of workflow functions including transcoding, graphics insertion and scheduling are harnessing microservices, it is the macro benefits of the approach that are more important. These include the ability to scale cloud resources, avoiding the need to scale an entire platform that the applications are part of, the ability to pick best of breed applications and scale easily with them, the isolation of software development so developers can work on part of a service without interfering with the rest of the stack, and the agility to update, release and – if necessary – pull back a software release without impacting the applications around it. “Broadly, it’s about lowering the cost and the risk of change while increasing flexibility,” says Bullett.
SOFTWARE DESIGNED TO SIT ON DEDICATED HARDWARE SYSTEMSWILL BE CONSTRAINED INWHAT IT CAN ACHIEVE IN THE CLOUD
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25
TECHFEED Cloud Microservices
IF A SYSTEM IS BUILT FROMMICROSERVICES, IMPLEMENTATIONOF UPGRADES AND CHANGES CANBE REALISED INDAYS, OR EVENHOURS
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26 TECHFEED Cloud Microservices
CLOUD-NATIVE Microservices could just as easily be called ‘cloud-native software’ since they are specifically re-architected for life in the cloud. However, much of current cloud usage in the TV industry is what is dubbed ‘lift-and-shift’. This is when developers which previously married software with dedicated hardware simply port their existing software into a datacentre, without any software redesign. “There are crucial differences between how physical and virtual hardware systems operate,” says Bullett. “Software designed to sit on dedicated hardware systems will be constrained in what it can achieve in the cloud. This ‘lifted and shifted’ software simply can’t scale as efficiently as a ‘cloud- native’ solution. They lack the ability to tap into traditional cloud characteristics such as elastic scaling, geo-dispersion and advanced process automation.” “The best ways to write software for the cloud don’t necessarily change what the software is doing,” counters Shawn Carnahan CTO, Telestream. His company has spent the past 18 months taking the software it ships today and migrating it to a microservice, often using the exact same code. Imagine’s Zenium platform, according to
MICROSERVICES ARE REALLY ABOUT MAKING CHANGES INA CONTROLLEDANDNON-INVASIVE FASHION
Eksten, allows its customers and partners to create microservices on demand. “Our investment has been to develop a platform that allows us to develop at the nano-services scale, one that maximises the philosophy of microservices, while allowing us to maximise our return on R&D investment,” he says. “The next step, where the community will become more involved, is to establish a set of standards around how microservices interoperate at the network level. It’s something we need as a community to move the collective success of the industry forward.” The EBU, a coalition of Europe’s broadcasters, is working on this. The Media Cloud and Microservice Architecture (MCMA) builds on previous work in the FIMS (Framework for Interoperable Media Services) project and aims to develop a
set of APIs to combine microservices in the cloud with other in-house services and processes. MCMA will also share libraries containing “glue code” between these high- level APIs and low-level cloud platforms. SUPPLY CHAIN METHODOLOGY According to Simon Eldridge, chief product officer of SDVI Corporation, a provider of software as a service solutions, the real challenge is less about technology per se and more about an approach to business. “Traditionally, vendors have sold product with licences or in boxes and broadcasters are used to buying boxes and licensing software, then amortising the expense over time,” he says. “When you move to an operations model where you only pay for what you use, it seems difficult for some organisations to get
HOW TO MAKE THE MICROSERVICES SWITCH
The easiest way to get into microservices, at least according to Imagine, who provide a range of microservice- based options, is to just put the money down on a microservices-based solution. But the more cautious can explore microservices provided by a cloud vendor. For instance, if you wanted to try the automated captioning services from IBM or Microsoft, you can start by sending a few files into the services, and in turn, those cloud providers will provide back captions or captioned content. The most common way to start building a microservices-based infrastructure is to select parts of your existing
service/solution chains and start swapping out individual components for ones based on microservices. “That will provide you with a piece-wise method for stepping into microservices,” says Imagine’s Brick Eksten. “If, however, the customer wants to move to a more pure microservices architecture, there are many considerations to get from traditional rack/stack thinking to a process and plan based on microservices.” The first step is organisational. Eksten explains that a pure-
unit of functionality — what it is, what its requirements are, how it works, and ultimately how it will be deployed and managed. This doesn’t necessarily mean DevOps, but it does mean bringing together the right people. It takes a diverse team with a broad skillset to bring the right perspective and to ultimately be successful in moving to microservices. The second step is to set goals, starting with small pieces of the solution set. The third step is to begin building up the scope and complexity of the deployment. The last step is to tackle the more complex solution-sets like playout.
play microservices solution requires a
team to consider each service element, each microservice, as a logical
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