Velocix, a leading Digital Asset Delivery Network, has announced that it now supports Adobe Flash Media Server 3 across its network, meaning that it can offer more efficient global delivery of live and on-demand video.
Yesterday I spoke with John Dillon, Chief Marketing Officer at Velocix, about some of the issues surrounding delivery of high quality video over the Internet, and how his company is working to improve the situation.
Internet not designed for Video
One of the key issues surrounding rich multimedia delivery over the Net is that the infrastructure was never designed to handle such huge file sizes.
Most of the Web is still made up from fairly static pages containing text and images, which doesn't place a real strain on the servers and networks which have to deliver it to Internet users.
Video, on the other hand -- particularly live streaming video being pushed out to thousands of users simultaneously -- is another matter.
ISP Incentives and Net Neutrality
ISPs are in a difficult position. While broadband prices continue to fall, the bandwidth demands placed upon their networks is increasing.
John believes that this economy cannot be sustained. ISPs are an essential part of the chain -- if they fail or deliver a poor service then broadcasters can't get their content to endusers. Instead, Velocix is looking at ways of working with ISPs to give them a share of revenue generated from content sent over their networks.
Phill Robinson, CEO of Velocix, wrote an open letter to the Times about this problem.
Adobe Flash Media Server 3
John explained that Adobe has made significant performance improvements in the latest version of their Flash Media Server, meaning that streaming live and on demand events is now easier and more reliable.
Previously, two or three servers may have been required to handle the video output. Now, the process can often be handled by one.
Flash Media Server 3 supports the H.264 video standard. Video compression is such that a full 1080p can be streamed to broadband with a consistent 1.5Mbps download speed. 480p can be successful streamed over a 750Kbps connection.
The system also supports the RTMPe and SWF Verification real-time encryption protocol.
How Velocix works
Content owners who want Velocix to distribute their pre-recorded video simply need to upload it to one of Velocix's servers. It's then propagated to other servers around the globe, meaning that when a user requests a download, it can be picked up from the closest available server, improving performance.
Handling a live event requires a few additional steps to set up the live feed, but it's still streamed from a Velocix server close to the viewer.
Significantly, Velocix are the first company to handle real-time live streaming of video via a temporary P2P network. At present, P2P content delivery requires the files to be stored on the local computer's hard drive, but Velocix's solution creates a one-off P2P network as more people stream the content, which then disappears once the webcast is over.
Clients
Velocix works with many clients, including AC Milan, Babelgum, Bollywood.TV and MediaCorps.
They also handled the livestreaming of the Singapore equivalent of Pop Idol, offering up to seven video feeds for viewers to choose from.
Velocix continues to develop strong relationships with a number of large ISPs, as well as continuing to develop their partnership with Adobe.
Conclusions
As I wrote in my Tech Digest column yesterday (partly inspired by this interview), there are two main issues surrounding delivery of multimedia on the Web. One is how efficiently it can be encoded and distributed in the first place, and the other is providing incentives for the ISPs who are so essential to delivering it.
Velocix is working to address both of these issues.
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