This course helps those new to streaming media get familiar with the relevant terms, concepts, and technologies. The session begins with a definition of terms like codecs, container formats, and adaptive bitrate streaming, as well as encoding concepts like bitrate control (VBR, CBR) and frame types (I, B, and P). Then it details the key H.264 encoding parameters that impact quality and compatibility. Next up is adaptive streaming, including a review of available ABR technologies like HLS and DASH, how to formulate an encoding ladder, and how to use multiple DRMs to protect premium content. Then we'll review the technical requirements for ABR delivery to computers, smartphones and tablets, OTT devices, and smart TVs, and finish with a quick look at advanced codecs like HEVC, VP9, AV1, VVC, and LCEVC. You walk away knowing the technical requirements for delivering to all key platforms and an understanding of how to do so.

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As the COVID-19 pandemic is keeping people home from work, using remote cloud-based applications makes more sense than ever. This workshop will cover a range of SaaS products that promise to provide efficient, affordable alternatives at various points in the streaming video workflow. For each tool, we’ll provide a step-by-step demonstration followed by an in-depth discussion of features, functionality, and pros and cons. This workshop is designed for attendees of all levels of technical expertise who are interested in finding out the latest cloud-based options.

Hear Nadine's "10 Reasons You Want to Spend Three Hours With Me."

This session helps encoding professionals get up-to-speed on crucial encoding-related issues, technologies, and techniques. Topics include:

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One of the most widely used tools for video encoding and deployment processes is FFmpeg, an open-source command line utility that can read and write just about any video, audio, or subtitle codec with just about any format, container, or protocol. Starting with core command-line parameters, you’ll learn how to read video files and output in various bitrates, codecs, and containers. The workshop then moves into more intermediate-level commands with map parameters and video filters. We also look at streaming VOD as Live with RTMP distribution to social media and custom ingest destinations. (Not sure whether you should attend this introduction to FFmpeg or the more advanced workshop on Friday? Click here for a quick quiz on your FFmpeg knowledge.)

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If you’re already familiar with the basics of FFmpeg operation, you’re ready to tackle more ambitious tasks with one of the most powerful compositing tools available. In this workshop, we explore composition of two video sources with text labels and placement, setting up multiple processes to output multiple bitrates for adaptive delivery, using the “tee muxer” to distribute one encoding process to several outputs, and accessing connected hardware (e.g. webcams, A/V capture devices) and networked hardware (e.g. IP cameras) as inputs to FFmpeg processes. Additionally, a diagnostic test will be made available for attendees of this advanced workshop. (Not sure whether you should take this advanced workshop or the introductory workshop on Wednesday?  Click here for a quick quiz on your FFmpeg knowledge.)

Hear what Robert has to say about the workshop.

Globoplay platform changes the way that millions of Brazilians are watching soap operas, series and TV Shows in Brazil, leveraging a new type of business and digital distribution for Globo.

Technology Project Coordinator Jonas Ribeiro opens the Content Delivery Summit with an holistic look at how this major broadcaster has adapted to deliver an OTT offering to millions of brazilians. This will help us create a complete picture of the Content Delivery ecosystem as a foundation for the day's discussions.

Building off of the keynote, this session will focus on the real-world availability of the fundamental infrastructure services that underpin all CDN operations, as well as the complexities to consider when deploying POPs around the world.

A discussion about carrier connectivity and IP network availability for CDN services in the U.S. and across the globe, this session will explore the current international transit and peering market and look at optimal paths for varying scales of CDN deployment—including in-housing and out-sourcing bandwidth services.

Silicon is a key element of any distributed compute strategy. In the CDN market, the option to offload "heavy math" to graphics processing units and field-programmable gate arrays is central to achieving low power requirements and higher density. This panel will explore the emerging options and the applications they can address in the CDN, from video encoding to edge AI and VR.

The non-fixed (mobile and wireless) telecoms market is driving some significant strides in innovation in the service layer. We talk to three sector experts about these emerging technologies, how they work, and how they will drive new offerings for the CDN to provide to the consumer.

A presentation by a lead engineer for a major OTT sports platform who works with many of the world’s CDNs, this session looks at the engineering of a distribution workflow that minimizes encoding while leveraging packaging strategies to maximize device reach through CDNs. 

In this session we talk to three of the largest global CDNs about their strategies, successes, and challenges in meeting the ever-growing demand for high-quality video. This will be one of the most "holistic" CDN sessions of the day, and very pertinent to our co-located Streaming Media East audience.

In what is essentially a real-world case study, this session will be a deep dive into a major social networking platform's CDN requirements and how the team ensures it works smoothly and delivers the wide range of content used by more than 600 million people to help businesses stay connected!

A deep dive into complexity theory and the optimization of the speed of computing in parallel over large distributed networks, this session will be of considerable value to CDN operators who are making decisions about the loading of resources across their networks.

Multi-CDN has been a "thing" for a number of years, latency remains a buzzword, and buffering is the enemy of us all (especially if we have kids)! We talk to a group of experts who are focused specifically on ensuring that publishers, CDNs, and telcos can provide the best quality of service to the consumer.

Edge compute use cases today are based on either real-time, latency-sensitive, and high-bandwidth processing of data, and/or enablement of enterprise customer use cases currently constrained by network availability and bandwidth at far-reaching locations. When edge compute is combined with 5G access and SD-WAN connections to upstream clouds as a secure, managed service via an abstraction layer, it opens up new value-added market opportunities, and enables the creation of an “intelligent edge.” Taking an operator's perspective, this talk will cover the challenges, opportunities and market/technology gaps in realizing edge compute and reflect on representative industry use cases driving near-term benefits.

With a presentation from one of the most scaled-up and distributed edge compute networks, this session will provide a forward-looking view on their strategy and the types of services and applications they will be incorporating into their edge compute proposition.

Content Delivery Summit chair Dom Robinson will convene the speakers from the Future Briefings for a Q&A session, encouraging the audience to put their questions to the panel (and to the floor) and explore not only the points made in the previous three sessions, but to see what these leading industry minds think is around the corner for the sector.

The Content Delivery Summit chair and moderators join for a recap of the day's key takeaways and analysis of the top opportunities and challenges facing the content delivery space. They will also take questions from the floor to ensure that all delegates have had a chance to raise any topics of interest. At the end of panel, we'll transition to an open discussion and encourage virtual networking among attendees.

2020 is the year AV1 is supposed to “happen,” with the first hardware-enabled devices due out in the marketplace during Q2 and Q3. That said, several members of the Alliance for Open Media have been distributing AV1 encoded videos for months, including YouTube, Vimeo, Netflix, (and reportedly but not publicly, Facebook) while AOM member Bitmovin supports AV1 in its cloud encoder. In this panel discussion, those encoding AV1 will share their AV1-related experiences, including how long it takes to encode AV1, how much quality savings it delivers, and how they plan to roll AV1 out to their installed bases.

Low latency was one of the hottest topics of 2019, with Apple launching LL-HLS and standards coalescing around low-latency DASH and CMAF. This year we're seeing those technologies in action. On the acquisition side, SRT and WebRTC continue to grow in popularity, and each has its pros and cons. Panelists will discuss the entire universe of low-latency solutions, help you determine your own latency needs, and discuss their experiences as early adopters.

Choosing the number of streams in an adaptive group and configuring them is usually a subjective, touchy-feely exercise, with no sure-fire way to gauge the effectiveness and efficiency of the streams. However, by measuring stream quality via metrics such as VMAF, SSIMplus, and others, you can precisely assess the quality delivered by each stream and its relevance to the adaptive group. This presentation identifies several key objective quality metrics, teaching how to apply them using commercial and open source tools and how to use them to fine-tune your adaptive bitrate ladders and encoding settings.

With streaming services seeming to multiply by the day—in addition to existing pay TV providers—consumers have more choice than ever. But having too many options can overwhelm viewers, leading to heightened market segmentation. How do content creators and video providers break through the din to deliver the content and user experience that consumers want? Using data from Altman Vilandrie & Company’s 10th annual consumer video survey, industry experts will outline the type of content viewers want to watch and how that content can be delivered and marketed in order to maximize adoption.

Ideally, content publishers and OTT platforms want to buy one solution for their streaming delivery workflow. But each technology is very specific, which means you need to mix and match multiple applications and services to meet your specific needs. What are best practices for multiple vendor integrations? What’s the best approach to data storage? And what happens when two media companies merge and have to integrate their existing systems into one?

Leading technology and service providers share their insights into the crucial challenges facing the streaming industry and how best to solve them. No sales pitches—just real talk about what works and what doesn’t.

CDNs, content distributors, ISPs, and device manufacturers have long worked to improve and optimize video delivery across a rapidly expanding device landscape. What can be done to manage the unprecedented pressure on the delivery system? Join a lively discussion about the near future of formats, protocols, players, codecs, and throttling.

As people are isolated in their homes due to COVID-19, true connectivity is more important than ever, and passive viewing of live streams itself isn't enough. Chris Allen, Technical co-founder and CEO of Red5 Pro will discuss the trends they are seeing in live real-time video streaming and the impact interactivity is having on the end-user experience. He will also dive into a few different use cases and talk about Red5 Pro's approach to providing sub-500 ms latency to millions of concurrent viewers using their WebRTC-based, cross-cloud distribution system.

Now more than ever, you need to fine-tune your streaming workflow to deliver a better experience and improve your bottom line. In this conversation with Tulix, we’ll look at the most important items in the streaming workflow, challenges companies have when moving to OTT, opportunities to improve and simplify monetization, and how to leverage social media to reach more viewers

Adaptable hardware is revolutionizing live streaming video workflows, and in this discussion we’ll look at how Xilinx is spearheading that transformation, as well as how machine learning and AI are impacting streaming video, the impact of emerging standards on the future of the industry, and how COVID-19 has changed the streaming video landscape.

Online learning has been growing exponentially, but the COVID-19 pandemic turned it into the only way for teachers and students to connect, and universities are already expressing doubt about whether they can reconvene in person in the fall. This panel explores how K-12 and higher learning institutions are using educational video platforms, live streaming, video conferencing tools, and learning management systems to meet the challenges posed by the crisis, as well as how video will continue to support evolving educational strategies even when students are back at their desks.

While social distancing measures have put concerts, sporting events, and other large-scale gatherings on hold, new forms of live streaming have taken off. At-home production has truly become at-home production, and the range of services and gear available is both dazzling and confusing. Our panel of experts will discuss the latest options for successful live streaming, for both traditional live events and the smaller—but no less mission-critical—productions that are keeping viewers entertained, educated, and informed during the “new normal.”

How reliable is your live streaming production workflow? Learn how to use and configure the essential components of a live streaming system, including cameras, H.264 encoders/streamers, video switchers, video signal conversion, recorders, and more. You will also learn how to best deploy live event streams to your audience based on business requirements: Do you use free social media outlets, work with a premium third-party streaming service, or build your own live streaming infrastructure? Learn how to approach different live scenarios with the right gear to fit your budget.

PLEASE NOTE:Unfortunately, due to a change in panelist availability, we are postponing today's final panel discussion, Lessons Learned from the Covid-19 Crisis. In order to bring you the highest-quality panel, we will reschedule for a later date to be determined. We apologize for any inconvenience.

As the coronavirus pandemic has spread across the world, streaming has taken center stage for entertainment, news, remote working, and online learning. In the middle of it all, major new OTT services like Peacock, Quibi, and HBO Max are launching, and streaming video on social platforms has skyrocketed. How have all the players in the ecosystem responded to this unprecedented demand for streaming video? We’ll look at everything from infrastructure and workflows to business models and social media strategies to share what the industry has learned and how it prepares us for the new reality, one in which streaming video is more important than ever before.