The Forecast for 2016 Is Mostly Cloudy With a Chance of Streaming
2015年即将结束, 两大趋势使流媒体行业越来越接近以云为中心的交付模式:第一, the acceleration of cord cutting as audiences shift to over-the-top (OTT) viewing, 和, 第二个, the need to provide a more “channelized” OTT environment. 后者既与在线直播内容有关，也与点播媒体消费有关，而点播媒体消费一直是迄今为止OTT产品的主流.
We’ve seen hints of these trends everywhere, from 流媒体/Unisphere调查和随后的分析，将基于硬件的媒体编码器和转码器整合到基于云的视频服务产品中.
For instance, in the analysis I did for a recent 流媒体/Unisphere survey, sponsored by Level 3, it became clear that live-linear OTT is rapidly becoming a necessity 如果OTT提供商希望从传统的有线电视和卫星服务那里抢走观众的话, let alone compete against other OTT service offerings.
“同时提供视频点播和实时线性频道对于OTT提供商吸引新客户和获得市场份额至关重要,我在《百家乐软件app最新版下载》报告中写道.”“针对现有的OTT提供商, offering a VOD service may not be enough to maintain, 更不用说生长了, 市场份额.”
而不是等到 2016 流媒体 Industry 原始资料 在快速发展的云获取和交付领域做一个天气预报, 我们将向读者简要介绍我们在今天日益多云的天气预报中看到的趋势.
Together these trends mark a sea change in the way content is acquired, 加工过的, 和 delivered to both niche 和 mainstream audiences. 在本文中, we highlight trends in advanced acquisition, 内容准备, 广告插入, 以及多平台交付.
先进的收购
Whether it’s live-linear content or file-based assets, some acquisition—or contribution, as it’s called in broadcast— workflows have shifted to favor cloud-based processes.
其中一个最大的原因是采集设备的变化，从相机到编码器. 这些天, with a growing number of cameras offering direct IP streaming, “获取”的工作更多地落在媒体服务器上，而不是传统的编码器上. 仍然, when it comes to broadcast production, the overall number of IP cameras is very small compared to traditional cameras, 即使是IP摄像机，如果它们是多摄像机设置的一部分，也可以转换回串行数字(SDI)或HDMI.
编码器本身, 虽然, 已经到了一个临界点, if recent encoder company acquisitions are any indication. 来自大玩家(元素), Envivio) to smaller niche encoders, 这几轮收购表明，将这些编码器整合到基于云的整体收购战略中是一种趋势.
Even in an industry firmly entrenched in H.264编码与传输, this move toward cloud-based acquisition—using the encoder as a dedicated, 如果不贵的话, 终端直接绑定到基于云的媒体服务——为使用其他编解码器打开了大门, 包括H.265/ HEVC 和 other proprietary solutions as an acquisition-only format.
电影《百家乐软件app最新版下载》英文名 led the charge for HEVC to be used as an acquisition/contribution format, 和 that position probably did not hurt the company’s own finances. 今天，市场上只有少数基于字段的HEVC编码器-包括VITEC的MGW Ace, 我们将在本期的回顾中讨论这个问题，但即使是专有的和非标准的编解码器也可以用来简化整个工作流程中最粗的管道.
换句话说, if there’s a way to shave 50 percent or more off the front-end, 高分辨率, high-frame rate acquisition of content from a remote location to the media server, 我们应该. The format or codec used in the acquisition process doesn’t matter to the end viewer, 只要媒体服务器可以解码，就可以将其设置为转码或翻译, 或两个, 和 then package it up for end-user delivery.
内容准备
We see this set of trends falling into two categories: transcoding 和 repackaging, as well as online content editing.
如上所述，有一种趋势是考虑采用非基于标准的编解码器. But once the content reaches the media server, 基于云的交付解决方案需要准备以基于标准的形式交付的内容.
In some instances, if a st和ards-based codec such as H.264 is used, 和 the content is encoded at the same resolution (e.g., 1920x1080, 1280x720, etc) as the intended end-user delivery resolution, the only thing needed would be to lower the bitrate. 这叫做翻译. 在其他情况下，将整个视频从一种编解码器更改为另一种编解码器需要转码. Cloud-based 内容准备 can be optimized for either, 考虑到Amazon Web Services或Microsoft Azure实例中的压缩问题可以投入大量的处理能力.
除了代码转换
基于云的内容准备工作流中的附加处理能力允许在视觉上优化内容本身，从而更容易或更高质量地交付. As Andy Beach pointed out in his recent article, “Video Optimization 和 Your Business,” 关注优化有两个主要原因:改善用户体验和节省交付本身的成本.
“By lowering the bitrate of the video streams, a company improves the key metrics of end user experience—faster stream start, 更少的重新缓冲事件, 和 higher-quality video available on the user’s current b和width,比奇写道. “通过降低比特率, 一家公司[还]能够显著降低内容提供商和顶级服务提供商的交付(CDN)成本，并降低总体存储成本.”
这种优化的最大问题是需要直接集成到编码器中, as one of the solutions Beach covered allows, or to include specialized hardware within the cloud-based workflow, meaning a need to replicate that hardware to every data center used within the cloud. In the case of live linear acquisition, 这意味着每个数据中心的每个通道都有专门的硬件，这些通道构成了您的公司用来实现其业务目标的特定云交付服务.
在线编辑
While not as mature as cloud-based delivery, 甚至是高级收购, the use of online editing tools deserves as least an honorable mention as a trend. 像Aframe这样的公司继续扩展他们基于云的视频编辑套件 Adobe continues to plug away at the Adobe Anywhere concept of virtualized video editing.
“Adobe Anywhere可以在标准网络上运行，不需要专有硬件。” 该公司表示, 它的协作能力直接嵌入到Adobe Premiere Pro CC和Prelude CC的特定版本中, so team members don’t have to learn new video tools.”
以Adobe Anywhere为例, the first moves are being made in the enterprise, 使用用于安全目的的管理工具，但利用企业云存储作为在编辑过程中使用的箱子和媒体资产的主要存储库. 仍然, 网络趋势, 协作编辑工作流程是毋庸置疑的，应该在2016年及以后重塑传统邮局的概念.
广告插入
在流媒体行业17年的历史中，广告一直是内容交付的一种常见付费方式.
最初的赞助和预卷广告现在已经演变成一些非常复杂的插页式广告插入工作流程, mimicking traditional broadcast advertising patterns. 在某些情况下, 用于实时线性OTT的基于云的广告解决方案甚至可以跟踪传统广播的广播和商业中断标志, 和 use those markers to dynamically insert ads fine-tuned to a specific audience.
这样做, 虽然, 广告插入的一个主要方面必须改变:依赖客户端广告插入(CSAI)动态广告.
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