What are the best practices for implementing video streaming protocols and standards for live sports betting?

1 Choosing the right protocol

There are different protocols for video streaming, such as HTTP Live Streaming (HLS), Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (DASH), and Real-Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP). Each protocol has its own advantages and disadvantages, depending on the use case, the device, the network, and the server. For live sports betting, you need a protocol that can deliver low-latency, high-quality, and adaptive video streams. HLS and DASH are the most popular and widely supported protocols, but they have inherent latency issues due to the segmentation and buffering of the video. RTMP is a low-latency protocol, but it is not supported by most browsers and devices. Therefore, you need to consider the trade-offs between latency, quality, and compatibility when choosing the right protocol for your live sports betting platform.

2 Optimizing the encoding and transcoding

Encoding and transcoding are the processes of converting the raw video into a format that can be streamed over the internet. Encoding is done at the source, while transcoding is done at the server or the cloud. Both encoding and transcoding affect the quality, the bandwidth, and the latency of the video stream. For live sports betting, you need to optimize the encoding and transcoding parameters, such as the codec, the bitrate, the resolution, the frame rate, and the keyframe interval. You need to use a codec that can compress the video efficiently and reduce the bandwidth consumption, such as H.264 or H.265. You need to adjust the bitrate according to the network conditions and the device capabilities, using adaptive bitrate streaming (ABR) techniques. You need to select the resolution and the frame rate that match the content and the device specifications, avoiding unnecessary upscaling or downscaling. You need to set the keyframe interval to a low value, such as 2 seconds, to enable fast switching between different bitrates and reduce the latency.

3 Leveraging the edge computing and caching

Edge computing and caching are the technologies that enable the delivery of video streams from the edge nodes of the network, rather than from the central servers or the cloud. Edge computing and caching can improve the performance, the scalability, and the reliability of the video streaming, as they reduce the distance and the hops between the source and the destination of the video. For live sports betting, you need to leverage the edge computing and caching capabilities of your video streaming provider or platform, such as AWS Elemental MediaStore, Cloudflare Stream, or Wowza Streaming Engine. You need to distribute your video streams to multiple edge locations that are close to your target audience, using content delivery networks (CDNs) or peer-to-peer (P2P) networks. You need to cache your video segments at the edge nodes, to enable faster access and lower latency for your viewers.

4 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?