The buzz in the video streaming circles these days is that 2020 being an Olympic Year, this global event, by itself, can elevate the demand for video -- and sports video -- delivery a few notches higher up the development ladder. 

There are other opportunities elsewhere, as well. Consumers are getting inundated with more and more offers almost all the time. Reportedly, Disney has over 10 million subscribers already post the launch of the Disney+ OTT video streaming service. There is Apple TV+ available. Launches such as AT&T HBO MAX are on their way. The fact that OTT can scale for an enormous number of viewers is getting proven time after time.

Various technological improvements over the last few years have been responsible for the development of the video streaming options mentioned above, and more. 

Let us take a look at what we can expect from 2020, and beyond, in the realm of video delivery evolutions.

5G For The Purpose Of Media Delivery

Just last year, in 2019, we witnessed the rapid progress in the 5G technology with the initial, and examples of the largest deployments in the U.S., U.K., China, Japan, and Korea. More deployments of 5G are planned this year. 

What are some of the main benefits of 5G?

• Availability of higher bitrate
• Lower Latency

Higher bitrate for lowest of latency: The consumption of video is rising every second, and viewers are seeking content of a high quality. More and more Ultra High Definition (UHD) device adoption is being witnessed, to match the burgeoning demand for more UHD content. The UX (User Experience) can improve manifold once end devices get absolutely ready for 5G. The 5G technology evolutions get driven by such demands, and the key to it all is a higher bitrate, that offers better QoE (Quality of Experience) -- and the resource optimization and cost savings that can make it possible. 

Higher bitrate means the lowest of latency. Along with consumer devices leveraging higher computing capabilities, almost every screen can present excellent viewing experiences. 

Higher bitrates can improve the total quality of the viewing experience by bringing an appreciable reduction in rebuffering. Delivering HDR, UHD, and 4K content – that require high bandwidth – is thus rendered easier. This is not all. 5G can make the delivery of high-bandwidth content such as

• VR
• AR
• Immersive applications
• Personalized broadcasts

possible. 

Artificial Intelligence Permeating The Workflow

OTT content will carry on getting enhanced by AI, or Artificial Intelligence, and ML, or Machine Learning. Machine Learning was first found being used in the compression core for the purpose of encoding that was content-aware. Currently, the best format for video is getting determined prior to the starting of the encoding, with the help of AI processing. This would be translating to OTT content of a much-enhanced quality. 

AI based processing has begun to include dynamic framerate configurations. It can optimize the way you utilize compression engines – on the basis of the content – to take the quality of your content a notch higher. 

Delivery assisted by AI is a major step forward, too. The delivery chain is beginning to turn to data in order to be able to render dynamically. Adapting to the conditions of the network in an instant, it is also seamless when it comes to consumption. 

Artificial Intelligence, as we can see, enables workflows to adapt better to the global environment. This can be extremely beneficial for the ones who want to keep pace with such rapid development in the video streaming environment.

Real Time Live Streaming At Scale

The audience is being quick to take note when the quality of live video streaming is differing from a traditional broadcast. This is particularly noticeable while live, premium sports events are on. The video streaming industry has been intent on resolving this issue since the last couple of years. 

With the use of content-aware encoding techniques, the bitrate for live streaming can be reduced by up to 50%, with the help of standards and solutions that are well-documented. Solutions for live streaming of low latency are also available. 

To have a perfect live streaming workflow even as thousands of subscribers are viewing the matter simultaneously can be looked upon as the biggest video streaming challenge of 2020. If live OTT streaming has to get converted into the first choice from being simply a pleasant, add-on feature, this will have to be a must. 

Hybrid Delivery

Though the technologies of video streaming have reached the same quality level that a traditional broadcast has, many markets and situations are still likely to use broadcast for years; do you know why?

The reason is that broadcast networks are settled in their place, they work, and can be quite effective. 

What broadcast has to think about and find a solution to now is how it can make the experience better engaging -- in the case of the sports market, especially; since there are OTT sports applications that are quite efficient, and OTT players have been challenging the traditional methods with these apps. It can be very important for pay-TV operators who offer broadcasting services to shut the gap between pure OTT apps, by finding some means to enhance the services by. 

The answer to this situation could be a Hybrid Delivery – a combination of OTT, and broadcast. This move can both simplify and enable mosaic, multi-stream, and multi-game applications. Solutions that have emerged in the year 2019 – such as Android TV getting support for DVB stack on top of ATSC 3.0 / OTT, DVB-I – can make hybrid services possible in 2020, and onwards. 

8K Streaming Of Content

The 2020 summer games in Japan are on their way, and it seems this year is about to witness real-world 8K video streaming. 8K content is expected to be available to a limited audience on the 8K TV app store of Samsung. 8K video streaming would be challenging the capabilities of packaging, encoding, as well as origin servers to deliver 8K service on high speed, absolutely new networks such as 5G, fiber, and DOCSIS 3.1.

Are you wondering when 8K can get mainstream? It might take a few years, still. 

However, there could be several network operators, service providers, and content providers ready to start preparing to stay ahead, and ready for the networks, and services of the future.

Want your company to be prepared, too, for bringing in, and reaping the results of improvement? 

We are here for you at Ascentspark Software, if you wish to discuss your ideas associated with video streaming, clear your doubts, or just avail a free consultation to find out more regarding video streaming, or the development of video streaming platforms.

You can also come to us for completely customized solutions related to video streaming, delivery, distribution, and monetization matters.