Maximizing Video Streaming Efficiency with NETINT’s Quadra Video Server and Norsk Media Processing Framework

by Mark Donnigan at NETINT Technologies Inc.

For video streaming engineers, the challenge lies in delivering seamless, high-quality streams efficiently and cost-effectively. This article explores two pivotal components: NETINT’s Quadra Video Server and Norsk, a cutting-edge media processing framework. Together, these products can significantly enhance your streaming infrastructure’s performance and efficiency.

Understanding NETINT's Quadra Video Server

NETINT Technologies has developed a series of purpose-built video processing units (VPUs) that offer specialized video encoding, decoding, and transcoding capabilities. Unlike traditional CPUs, VPUs are optimized for video tasks, ensuring superior performance and efficiency.

Technical Specifications

1. Quadra T1UForm Factor: U.2 facilitates easy integration.Performance: Supports 32x 1080p30 HEVC, H.264, and AV1 live encodes.Decoding: Handles 48x 1080p30 HEVC, H.264, or VP9 streams.AI Capabilities: Equipped with a dedicated 15 TOPS AI engine.
2. Quadra Video ServerConfiguration: Houses 10 T1U VPUs in a 1U chassis.Capacity: Capable of encoding 320 live 1080p30 channels.Versatility: Supports multiple codecs and packaging formats, including HLS and DASH with integration options for FFmpeg, GStreamer, SDK, and APIs.

The Quadra Video Server’s compact design significantly reduces physical space requirements and associated cooling and power costs. This consolidation simplifies infrastructure management and enhances scalability, ensuring reliable service even during peak demands.

Economic Advantages

The economic benefits of adopting VPUs are substantial. For example, a live video streaming service initially used CPU-based encoding with annual operating costs of $10 million. Transitioning to GPU encoding reduced OPEX to $3.4 million. However, the most significant savings were achieved by implementing VPUs, which cut operational costs to $1.4 million annually. These savings allow streaming platforms to allocate resources strategically, investing in content acquisition and user experience enhancements.

Introducing Norsk: Simplifying Media Workflows

Norsk, developed by id3as, is a media processing framework designed to simplify the creation of custom live media workflows. By bridging the gap between human-friendly workflow descriptions and complex computer processing, Norsk makes sophisticated workflows accessible to engineers without deep technical expertise.

Key Features

1. Simplified Workflow Creation. Norsk allows engineers to define inputs, outputs, and processing steps using intuitive TypeScript or visual interfaces. This abstraction reduces the complexity of setting up workflows, enabling engineers to focus on high-level objectives.
2. Real-Time Monitoring and Transparency. With built-in support for OpenTelemetry, Norsk provides real-time insights into workflow performance. This transparency is crucial for troubleshooting and optimizing live events, ensuring a smooth viewing experience.
3. Flexibility and Extensibility. Norsk’s architecture is designed for ease of extension. Engineers can create custom components to integrate specific business logic or third-party services, enhancing the platform’s versatility.

Practical Applications

1. SRT to WebRTC Workflow. Norsk simplifies the conversion of SRT inputs to WebRTC outputs, which is particularly valuable for live events requiring low-latency streaming, such as online auctions or real-time gaming.
2. RTMP to Low-Latency HLS/DASH. Norsk facilitates complex workflows, such as converting RTMP streams to low-latency HLS and DASH formats. This ensures rapid delivery to various devices and platforms, maintaining high-quality streaming with minimal latency.
3. High-Density Live Streaming. Combined with NETINT’s Quadra Video Server, Norsk excels in high-density live streaming scenarios. This technology stack can enable a platform supporting thousands of concurrent live streams to achieve significant cost savings and improved performance.
4. Compliance Recording. Norsk’s media store feature enables long-term recording and retrieval of live streams, which is ideal for compliance recording. Organizations can store and access vast amounts of video data efficiently, ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements.
5. Live-to-VOD Workflows. Norsk simplifies creating on-demand content from live streams, automating the conversion and storage of live events. This ensures the quick availability of VOD assets, enhancing the overall viewer experience.

The combination of Norsk and NETINT’s Quadra Video Server offers a powerful solution for video streaming engineers. By leveraging VPUs for high-density encoding and Norsk for simplified workflow management, engineers can achieve significant cost savings, improved performance, and enhanced scalability with a previously impossible time to market. This synergy enables high-quality, reliable streaming services to meet the demands of video consumption from today’s always-on users.

Practical Use Cases of Norsk and NETINT Quadra Video Server

High-Density Live Streaming

The combination of Norsk and the Quadra Video Server excels in scenarios requiring high-density live streaming. For example, an e-sports tournament with thousands of simultaneous live streams can benefit from this technology stack’s efficiency and cost savings. By leveraging VPUs for encoding and Norsk for workflow management, platforms can ensure smooth performance and high-quality streaming.

Compliance Recording

Norsk’s media store feature is ideal for compliance recording, enabling organizations to efficiently store and retrieve vast amounts of video data. This capability is particularly useful for industries that require detailed record-keeping, such as finance and healthcare. Norsk simplifies compliance management by automating the recording process and providing easy access to stored data.

Live-to-VOD Workflows

Norsk streamlines the conversion of live streams to VOD assets, making it easy to create on-demand content. This automation benefits educational institutions that record live lectures for later viewing. By reducing the time and effort required to process live streams, Norsk ensures that VOD content is promptly available for students, enhancing their learning experience.

A significant advancement in video-streaming technology.

Integrating NETINT’s Quadra Video Server and Norsk media processing framework represents a significant advancement in video-streaming technology. By offering specialized video processing capabilities and simplified workflow management, these technologies enable video streaming engineers to deliver high-quality, reliable services efficiently and cost-effectively. As the demand for high-quality video content continues to grow, adopting these advanced solutions will be crucial for staying competitive in the evolving landscape of video streaming.

Mark Donnigan

is a veteran of the video ecosystem, working with disruptive innovation companies like NETINT to increase video codec standards and streaming video technology adoption. In addition to working at the forefront of building one of the world's first T-VOD services and driving early HEVC and AV1 adoption, Mark contributed actively to the development and growth of the digital locker initiative, Ultraviolet, breaking device-based content walled gardens, allowing consumers to enjoy video on any device, any time, and in any location. As a technologist and ecosystem developer, Mark's work building cloud-deployed and hyper-scale WebRTC, live, metaverse, and cloud gaming applications gives him a unique view of the OTT and video streaming landscape.

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