Linear Playout Manifests for Synchronized VOD-as-Live Streaming
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing OTT linear station playout systems face challenges in efficiently streaming VOD assets as live events, particularly in managing latency, synchronization, and seamless integration of secondary content like advertisements, while maintaining synchronized playback across devices.
Innovation Solution
A system architecture that encodes VOD content using variable bitrate algorithms and multiple encoding profiles, combines segments into a single file, and generates live manifests with byte-range references and cue points for synchronized playback, allowing for dynamic ad insertion and efficient distribution across channels.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If VOD content is streamed as live events with real-time manifest updates, then synchronization across devices is improved, but latency and processing complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary encoding of VOD content into multiple bitrate versions and pre-segments the content before live streaming. Manifests are pre-generated with segment information, allowing clients to immediately start playback without waiting for real-time encoding and manifest generation, thus reducing latency while maintaining synchronization.
Solution Approach 2:
The VOD content is divided into multiple segments that can be independently encoded and delivered. This segmentation allows the system to prepare segments in advance, update manifests incrementally, and enable clients to download segments as they become available, reducing overall latency while maintaining synchronized playback across devices.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple encoding profiles are used for adaptive bitrate delivery, then quality of service is improved, but processing time and computational resources increase
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple encoding profiles are applied during the preliminary encoding phase before live streaming. All bitrate versions are pre-encoded and stored, eliminating the need for real-time transcoding during live events. This allows the system to provide adaptive bitrate delivery based on client conditions without incurring processing delays during the actual streaming event.
Solution Approach 2:
The content is segmented and each segment is encoded into multiple bitrate versions in advance. During live streaming, the manifest contains references to these pre-encoded segments, allowing the client to select the appropriate bitrate based on their network conditions without requiring real-time encoding processing.
3Adaptability or versatility
If secondary content is dynamically inserted into the stream, then content flexibility and revenue opportunities are improved, but synchronization and stream integrity become more difficult to maintain
Solution Approach 1:
The main content is divided into segments with defined boundaries and timing information. Secondary content is inserted at segment boundaries or between segments, with the manifest updated to reflect the new structure. This segmentation approach maintains stream integrity by ensuring that insertions occur at predictable points and that timing information remains consistent throughout the stream.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically updates manifests to reflect secondary content insertions while maintaining the overall stream structure. The manifest contains flexible timing information that can accommodate variable-length secondary content without disrupting the synchronization of the main content, allowing the stream to adapt to different content insertion scenarios while maintaining integrity.
Data Source
AI summary
Linear playout provides media content according to a schedule. Live events and video on demand (VOD) assets may be provided as part of linear playout. The linear playout process may be optimized to improve quality of experience for users and decrease the costs in providing such content.