DASHInterpret

DASHInterpret converts video-on-demand dynamic adaptive HTTP streams (MPEG-DASH) to Apple HTTP live stream (HLS), useful when you already have existing MPEG-DASH content and you need to serve it to existing Apple users who don’t want to use a third-party

There are several software out there (e.g. Wowza or Evostream) that takes in live streams in the form of RTSP, RTMP, MPEG-TS, FLV, etc… and they produce many other formats out of that single input. They come in the form of a server (service) listening to ports or connecting to other remote streaming servers. Their purpose is to simply bridge the gap between different streaming format as they serve multiple streaming format output from a single input. These servers are mainly used in 3 use cases, but majority of usage is in live streaming.

Use Cases:

  • Takes a live stream (e.g. RTMP, RTSP, MPEG-TS…) as an input, and outputs another live stream which could be the same format or a different format
  • Takes a live stream as an input, and outputs a recorded or video on demand stream (e.g. MP4, MPEG-DASH, HLS…) stored as files on disk
  • Takes a video on demand stream as an input, and outputs either a live stream or another video on demand stream.

DASHInterpret is not one of these software, although what it solves is similar, it leans more to the video on demand space. It is not a server running on the background listening to ports or making connections and all those networking stuff. It is simply a utility that reads in a video on demand MPEG-DASH and converts it to another video on demand format. The software is portable in that you can move around computers and use it without doing any setup, configuration or installation. Version 1.0.0 release currently supports conversion of DASH-IF compliant Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over Http (MPEG-DASH) content to Http Live Streaming (HLS).

So what is the advantage of using DASHInterpret? If you are only converting VODs, you will be able to do this a lot easier and quicker than any of these live streaming servers. Since DASHInterpret does not get its input from the network, it does not have to worry about the performance penalty of going through the network stack, it is also not limited to the meager 1000 Mbit speed of modern networks, rather, it operates on the speed of your hard disk I/O which is a minimum of 6000 Mbit for average computers. You also don’t need to spend a day or week to learn how to use it, 30 seconds is all you need to learn how to use it. You can take it anywhere and be able to use without configuring or some sorts of setup, you can even store it in a USB drive and run directly from there no problem.

Why convert only MPEG-DASH streams? Because MPEG-DASH is the current and next generation technology when it comes to adaptive bit rate streaming over http protocol. Streaming businesses will transition now or in the near future, and part of that transition are users who can’t transition or will not transition quickly. That’s where DASHInterpret will come in, the content provider will use it to translate its MPEG-DASH to the format familiar to the customer like HLS for Apple users. As of this writing, HLS is still the dominant http streaming technology in operation especially for the millions of Apple users.

Per-Title Encode Optimization

http://techblog.netflix.com/2015/12/per-title-encode-optimization.html

The Applicability of the Interoperable Master Format (IMF) to Broadcast Workflows

The broadcast industry is faced with new challenges related to advanced file-based workflows. The adoption of an increasing number of distribution channels and localized content versions points to several editorial versions and output versions being required. Furthermore, broadcasters are starting to produce UHD content, which raises even more questions in terms of file handling, workflow efficiency and compression technologies.

The Interoperable Master Format (IMF) has capabilities that might make it a suitable candidate to solve many of today’s challenges in the broadcasting industry. However, it doesn’t yet appear to be sufficient for broadcast applications.

This article suggests a way of adapting IMF to broadcasters’ requirements by giving an insight into possible extensions to the IMF structure. It will be of interest to broadcasters, distributers and producers who need an efficient master format capable of accommodating today’s workflow challenges.

The achievements, presented in this paper, are part of a collaborative master thesis, realized at the EBU and the RheinMain University of Applied Sciences, Germany.

By Melanie Matuschak

Is Virtual Reality Streaming Ready for Primetime?

Virtual Reality is poised to revolutionize many industries including live video streaming. Join us as we cover the techology and possibilities of it opening the door to new markets.

By Mark Alamares

HbbTV 2.0: Could This Standard Become the Future of Television?

The next version of HbbTV is bringing a much more powerful toolset with it, and has the potential to change the current worldwide television landscape.

By Nicolas Weil

Standards-Based, Premium Content for the Modern Web

These days, a person is just as likely to be watching a movie on their laptop, tablet, or mobile phone, as they are to be sitting in front of a television. Cable operators are eager to provide premium video content to these types of devices but there are high costs involved in supporting the wide array of devices owned by their customers.

A multitude of technological obstacles stand in the way of delivering a secure, high-quality, reliable viewing experience to the small-screen. This four-part blog series describes an open, standards-based approach to providing premium, adaptive bitrate, audio/video content in HTML and how open source software can assist in the evaluation and deployment of these technologies.

By Greg Rutz, Lead Architect, CableLabs

MPEG-DASH

An interesting article about MPEG-DASH.

Subtitles in an IP World

An end-to-end demonstration of EBU-TT-D subtitles being delivered via MPEG DASH and displayed by a client.

The Structure of an MPEG-DASH MPD

This article describes the most important pieces of the MPD, starting from the top level (Periods) and going to the bottom (Segments).

Interoperable Master Format (IMF) - Application 2 and Beyond


The State of MPEG-DASH 2015

An interesting article by Nicolas Weil, presenting the past, present, and future of MPEG-DASH.

How to Encode Multi-bitrate Videos in MPEG-DASH for MSE Based Media Players

An interesting article by Streamroot in 2 parts:
Part 1
Part 2