2017年媒体娱乐视频平台买家指南

In 2016, the state of media and entertainment video platforms could be summed up in four words: OTT or go home.

That philosophy has informed many of the options and features added into today’s offerings, and this Buyers’ Guide will cover several of the most innovative ones.

在我们进入最受欢迎的功能之前, though, 让我们来谈谈房间里的大象:Facebook Live.

早在2007年，当我准备 “流媒体的十年” article, the question was whether content publishers should abandon every on-demand platform except YouTube. 从那以后的9年里, though, YouTube’s dominance has not meant the death of innovation or other options.

今天看来也是如此. While live streaming production tends to go to the platform with the most eyeballs, there’s a sense that Facebook Live isn’t for every content owner. 具有讽刺意味的是, YouTube现在不得不争夺直播的眼球, not just with Facebook but with Twitch (Amazon’s e-sports and performing artist platform), Twitter, 以及一系列来自Adobe的白色标签解决方案, Brightcove, Kaltura, IBM (Ustream), 诸如此类.

我应该使用媒体和娱乐视频平台吗?

这个问题被广泛提出, especially as cloud-based storage of content and the use of HTTP-based delivery—from Apple’s HTTP 在线直播 (HLS) to the MPEG dynamic adaptive streaming via HTTP (DASH)—makes it easy to deliver to small audiences without the need for a specialized server environment.

但这并不是这些平台提供的全部. 最好的往往包括安全, delivery, 内容创作, and optimized transcoding for the scores of new smartphone and tablet devices hitting the market each month.

Aframe, a company that focuses on cloud-based acquisition and post-production workflows, sums up the differences between using a platform versus relying on tools that may serve a small audience. The company contrasts apps that do a small part of the total workflow with applications that reside on desktops versus servers and media-specific platforms to deliver the whole media experience.

“应用程序比应用程序小, 具体到个别任务,阿夫勒姆写道, adding that apps can be combined together or integrated with other apps to provide a larger solution.

“Apps can be part of the operating system or more specifically portable devices, e.g., 智能手机和平板电脑,阿夫勒姆说, “while applications are ‘standalone’ desktop software normally used on PCs or workstations.”

Platforms have embedded applications or apps that are used to provide access to the platform. 上行链路切片器就是一个例子, which sits on a PC desktop and supports the transcoding and uploading of content into the Verizon Digital Media Services platform.

“The decision on whether to select a lightweight app or more robust solution,阿夫勒姆写道, 等同于你正在处理的内容的数量, the security and capability you are looking for and the range of professional features.”

本买家指南的其余部分侧重于平台解决方案.

内容质量

One area where EMPs saw significant content publishing interest in 2016 was the delivery of 4K (Ultra HD) content. While the number of devices to consume 4K in a set-top or internet-streaming OTT is still limited, 4K设备的数量急剧增长. From the latest Android and iPhone offerings to sports cameras like the GoPro—as well as several 4K capable, 佳能提供的专用单反相机, Nikon, Panasonic, 4K在2016年成为主流.

Media and entertainment platforms have been answering this call, 超过了娱乐或教育视频平台, and several of the leading platforms are also offering high dynamic range (HDR) options, although most offer the additional color depth and expanded exposure latitude of HDR for their 1080p content platforms.

大部分的努力, 至少4K, 在视频点播(VOD)领域, since it’s both costly and technically challenging to deliver live Ultra HD content. 由于更高的消费者带宽(如.g., 5G data rates) and lower price of UHD-capable tablets and televisions converge, expect to see 4K live streaming broadcasts outpace traditional over-the-air (OTA) broadcasts, led in large part by the focus on content quality that EMPs are now emphasizing.

说到质量, 我们继续看到虚拟现实的进步, 尽管速度比1080p HDR或4K慢. 一些emp正专注于这个领域, others have demonstrated the ability to provide lower-resolution VR or 360° streaming, 还有一些公司选择采取观望态度. A large part of the uncertainty around 360° streaming is the limited availability of quality low-cost VR hardware.

如果VR对您的购买决定很重要，请加入我们流媒体东2017, where show header Dan Rayburn is preparing a hands-on pavilion showcasing VR.

“We are looking to add a big hands-on VR component to the show floor at the next 流媒体 East show in NYC, 定于5月16日至17日举行,雷伯恩说。. “我们正在寻找能够带来装备的公司, do demos, 展示VR技术的最新进展.”

内容创作

The niche of media and entertainment video platforms that offer 内容创作 tools was fairly narrow in 2015, 但在2015年扩张了. Gone are the days of just being able to trim the in and out points of a VOD asset and schedule it for playout in a linear fashion.

Now the table stakes for platforms looking to offer raw content storage (a significant money maker since storage is second only to bandwidth in terms of revenue for them) include a long list of 内容创作 and collaboration tools.