What are the best ways to ensure scalability and reliability in video on demand business models?

CDN technology should have cache ability from popular to none popular contents. Also, should make load balance. You need to decide which clients use which profile, if it is mobile client providing high BR can be mass of your sources. On the other hand if we cannot efficient resolution large screen can have quality problems.

Building scalable video platform serving VOD content to millions would involve certainly cloud components. Mostly a content will be encoded few times, then stored and then be served to users. Target is to achieve great AV experience for users in cost efficient and secure way. Ideally encoded and encrypted content shall be stored on cloud storage storage and served through CDN. Content caching strategy need to perfect as it improves user experience. Usage of cloud storage helps reliability, redundancy and scale. Using CDN from multiple providers is advisable. Last but not least encoding and encryption. Having automated transcoding workflow is must. Encoding techniques need to fine tuned to maximise capability of target devices.

When selling a solution it is always key to check the customers expectations and needs first to find a solution which can meet or exceed these. The customers don’t always want or need the latest and greatest technology as ultimately they don’t use it. They need quality video with reliable and manageable storage so when they need something it is there and the event can be used.

First, you must have a long-term strategy to be as immune as possible to small technological changes. The solution must be tailored to the strategy and not the other way around. Having an established strategy, the best tactics must be chosen at each moment, in order to ensure future scalability without jeopardizing the nearest past. At present, the strategy is to study the market and check the various trends and use open and scalable platforms, in order to be prepared for possible future innovations.

Well, the debate here can go unended, however the solution choices are limited-identifying a correct VMS platform is probably the step3 of a 36 step process, hence adaptability to cross platform functionality is something I really value in selecting a service model to scale as we go, something that can be utilised to directly point edge devices to a centralised location, or can also accommodate a Linux NvR and a windows server based platform depending on the site in concern , note here my consideration is not limited to individual user, but the vast variety to tackle corporates and government facilities too.

Encoding and packaging strategy for ABR is all about balancing AV quality and bandwidth.It is important to understand target devices where content would be consumed. AVC is supported on all devices, HEVC penetration is growing. Based on target devices, it may make sense to have both codecs or only AVC. While encoding usage of quality adaptive mode shall be preferred. It helps to create device specific content resolutions. Encoder settings like frame rate conversion (avoid if possible), sharpness,NR, keyframe interval, deinterlacer, profile et al play crucial role. For ABR packaging, usage of MPEG DASH and HLS need to be done to have support on all devices. HLS CMAF provides better bandwidth saving and futuristic (support for low latency).

Optimising video encoding involves balancing factors like video quality, file size, and processing speed. Below are the vital factors has to be considered:- Choose the Right Codec Adjust bit rate, frame rate and resolution settings Adaptive Streaming:** Employ adaptive streaming techniques, such as HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) or Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (DASH). This allows viewers to receive the appropriate video quality based on their internet connection, improving overall user experience. Keyframe Interval:** Adjust the keyframe interval. Longer intervals can reduce file size but may affect seeking within the video. Optimize Audio Settings:** Don't overlook audio settings. Choose appropriate audio codecs and bitrates.

CDN provides an effective multi layered cache for video content.Setting right TTL for ABR segments and manifests are key for effective caching. CDN provider with most POPs in terms of distribution and concentration on target geography can be preferred. Effective caching would protect origin from too many requests, improving reliability. CDNs provides "Origin shield" feature (wrapper over origin), very effective solution for incoming requests from distributed geo locations. For large OTT solution providers usually work with multiple CDNs for reliability and scalability. CDNs also can provide effective security features like prevention of DDOS attacks, authenticated access to content, Basic media encryption for some content et al.

Estoy de acuerdo. El almacenamiento en caché de video es una estrategia eficaz para mejorar la escalabilidad y confiabilidad en VOD. Al reducir la carga del servidor de origen, disminuir la latencia y proporcionar una fuente de respaldo, se logra una entrega más rápida y consistente del contenido, mejorando así la experiencia del usuario y optimizando el rendimiento de la plataforma de vídeo.

Piracy of OTT content causes major revenue loss. Prevention of unauthorised content access can be classified into following mechanisms. Proactive: 1. Encrypting content using DRM. Encrypt both HLS and DASH, use key rotation (for live). 2. Access to CDN origin (cloud storage) which holds the transcoded content must be controlled using right criteria. 3. CDN provides effective protection mechanisms like token authentication and proxy detection. These mechanisms help a lot to prevent unauthorised access. Reactive:- Watermarking can be done both on server and client side. With newer piracy patterns (posting content on internet) and tech (web crawlers et al), server side wm is better suited ti identify pirates and take down pirated content.

Encryption:** Implement strong encryption for both video content and communication channels. Use protocols like HTTPS for secure data transmission and Digital Rights Management (DRM) systems to encrypt the video itself. 2. **Digital Rights Management (DRM):** Utilize DRM technologies to control access to your video content. DRM systems help prevent unauthorized copying, distribution, and viewing of protected content. 3. **Watermarking:*

Opino que proteger el contenido de vídeo en servicios de VOD mediante cifrado y la implementación de gestión de derechos digitales (DRM) es esencial. Esto no solo salvaguarda la calidad y reputación del contenido, sino que también asegura ingresos y el cumplimiento de obligaciones legales y contractuales. Además, facilita la distribución controlada solo a usuarios autorizados, fortaleciendo la seguridad del sistema.

Estoy de acuerdo. Probar y optimizar el rendimiento del vídeo es esencial para garantizar una experiencia de transmisión de video escalable y confiable. La atención a métricas como tasas de bits, resoluciones y velocidades de fotogramas, así como la evaluación de la velocidad de entrega mediante métricas como latencia y tiempo de inicio, contribuyen significativamente a la calidad general del servicio de video bajo demanda (VOD).

Observability is key to any successful OTT solution. It shall provide all key metrics with respect to user experience like video start time, start failures, playback failures, buffering ratio et al. It is important to choose right partner for this and then use their library on uniformly across all client devices to drive right info about playback experience to dashboards of partner for granular representation of user experience of entire user base. Observability solution shall also allow pushing custom logs which helps to understand details about app behaviour. These services are costly and thus use judiciously. Things like CMCD also shall be looked at, as it allows finer details of device stats and readily integrated to many OTT players.

When building OTT VOD/Live streaming chain, it is important to consider primary market for it. Consider client device capabilities (present and near future) and build streaming chain accordingly. Learning applicability of various standards is important, right ones are chosen and incorporated. Content security is very important, consider handling of other forms of unauthorised access like password sharing et al. Choosing right partners (encoder, storage/origin, CDN, players) wherever applicable is very important for great end to end experience. Observability aids having a view of user experience, also worth monitoring user feedback and pick up elements to improve streaming and delivery chain.

Creating a road map is important. Understanding where you are and where you want to be is key to steering clear of dead ended solutions. Migration is a cost effective way towards your goal. Versus the rip and replace model.

In my experience, one of the most important aspects is the transport network, especially the clients network and since you have no control over their connection, is really important to choose the correct adaptive bit rate algorithm, in order to estimate correctly the bandwidth that the user is obtaining, most ABR algorithms take into account too much history and some times, specially in mobile scenarios is difficult to estimate bandwidth, because stalling is one of the worse scenarios that you can encounter when transmitting VOD over the Internet