Akamai Technologies is prepping new capabilities, including accelerated ingest, latency reductions and predictive delivery, to help improve overall performance of over-the-top (OTT) video services and support growing demand for 4K and virtual reality content.
Akamai’s accelerated ingest capabilities are designed to minimise the amount of time live video streams take to reach the Akamai content delivery network (CDN) from their origination point. This faster transport is enabled through a combination of user datagram protocol (UDP) based delivery and dynamic encoder to entry-point mapping (DEEM), which provides improved throughput and automatically optimises entry-points based on current Internet conditions, the company said. Accelerated ingest is intended to help ensure the highest possible quality viewing experiences with fast start-up times, limited buffering and consistent video performance.Accelerated ingest is among several enhancements to Akamai’s Media Services Live delivery solutions that are designed to reduce latency, addressing a common concern raised by consumers watching live-streamed events. NAB Show attendees will be able to see first hand how Akamai is minimising the time between content capture and playback via in-booth demonstrations showing live OTT workflows from acquisition to end-user viewing devices.
Akamai is also introducing predictive delivery capabilities that aim to improve viewing experiences through instant start-up of high-quality/high-bitrate video with no buffering. Available as a white-labelled application or as part of a suite of modular, client-side SDKs, the technology allows on-demand content to be pre-positioned and stored on mobile and in-home devices, overcoming the inherent challenges of delivering video over the radio access network and Internet. New content can be propagated based upon end-user preferences and scheduled for delivery within parameters such as Wi-Fi only or during known off-peak hours.
In addition, visitors to Akamai’s NAB Show exhibit will be able to walk through 4K OTT workflows and see how the company’s technology and services can help broadcasters deliver exceptional online video experiences.
Akamai continues to make inroads for OTT. Recently, video provider TV.AE contracted UAE telco du and Akamai for OTT content delivery.
