August 2017 - Streaming Video Blog

Why Practice Makes Perfect for Live Video Productions

Written by Stacy Nawrocki in Tips & Tutorials on 29 August 2017

Why Practice Makes Perfect for Live Video Productions

An expert in North Korea agreed to an on-camera interview with the BBC in March but a few seconds in, everything went pear-shaped.

First the man’s young daughter walked in and he gently tried to coax her out during the interview. Then his eight-month-old son strolled in on a squeaky walker. Finally, the man’s wife frantically tried to herd both children out of the room.

The clip went viral, to the point where Robert E. Kelly, the so-called “BBC Dad,” felt compelled to give a press conference explaining himself.

Most glitches during a live stream don’t rise to that level of comedic gold, with a lot of them related to delivery issues that could be corrected for through scaling as mentioned in this Scaling Video Delivery to Reach Massive Audiences white paper. Very often, though, unexpected problems during live streams leave the impression that the presentation is unprofessional. But presenters can salvage such moments by taking some cues from the world of improv comedy.

Multi-Tiered Distribution for ECDN

Written by Anthony Romero in Product Updates on 24 August 2017

Multi-Tiered Distribution for ECDN

Interested in delivering internal video to large, potentially massive audiences? Are you running into delivery issues not at the service level, but due to congestion caused at the ISP level?

IBM’s ECDN was created to address this need. However, large network setups have still seen congestion issues from their video applications due to multiple video distribution servers pulling videos into the enterprise network through a central ISP connection. To address the challenge resulted from hub-and-spoke network architectures IBM Watson Media has introduced a multi-tiered distribution approach for ECDN. This creates a distribution hierarchy to further resolve congestion issues for some setups. In situations like a hub-and-spoke network, where there are central hubs that are gone through for Internet access, users might go through a regional server instead to remove strain that might originally have been placed on the hub.

Read on to learn more about this approach and the hub-and-spoke network setups that will benefit from it.

Video Platform Management: Setting Organizations for Account Access

Written by Anthony Romero in Product Updates on 22 August 2017

Video is shaping the way organizations do business, both internally and with customers. When surveying over 1,500 executives, Wainhouse Research discovered that over 81% describe online video as an effective tool for communicating work-related information. At the same time, dramatic shifts are happening within marketing toward video applications. In fact, by 2014, 93% of marketing professionals were using video content for online marketing.

This creates a situation where video is widely used amongst employees, but also used to drive and engage prospects. IBM created services to address both of these needs, although they exist in separate products. This added additional work and extra coordination from those who might work cross functionality for their companies video needs. To address this, IBM has introduced an organization feature for video platform management. This allows administrators to access both accounts, video streaming and enterprise video streaming, and also quickly switch between them if they need to shift from an internal to external activity. In addition, the organization feature launches with an expansion to the login process through the introduction of SSO (Single Sign-on) administration access. This allows individuals to login and begin managing their accounts using the same login credentials they use for other applications at their job. Ultimately, these changes simplify managing a company’s streaming activities, while also giving an easier, safer way to access

IBM ECDN with Multicast is Expanding Enterprise Video Delivery Options

Written by Anthony Romero in Product Updates on 17 August 2017

Live streamed video is increasingly popular and useful for enterprises, but it is bandwidth-intensive. As a result, IT executives face the challenge of serving live video feeds to an increasing number of concurrent viewers without causing a network slowdown or outage.

For almost 20 years, many large enterprises, as well as cable and telecom providers, have solved this challenge by using IP multicast because it’s optimal for delivering live video or linear TV to large audiences. While IP unicast sends separate streams to each viewer, IP multicast distributes a single stream of IP packets and it serves all viewers who request the video, regardless of the number of viewers. Bandwidth consumption is minimized at the internet connection point and on the local network.

New options have become available in IP multicast that makes it even more compelling for organizations with an IP multicast-enabled network—or those that could benefit from one. Read on to learn about them, and also be sure to check out our multicast datasheet on this topic as well.

Deliver Internal Video Without Bottlenecks: Know What Your Network Requires

Written by Anthony Romero in Tips & Tutorials on 16 August 2017

Internal video delivery

It’s challenging for enterprises to deliver internal video because streaming video consumes so much bandwidth. For instance, if a 100-person company site has a 100 megabit-per-second internet connection, and just 34 people watch a live stream of CEO town hall at their desktops at the same time, they can cause a network outage.

Three main approaches solve the problem. One is unicast delivery, where a single video stream is sent from the source to an onsite unicast server, which caches the content and distributes it to hundreds or even thousands of viewers while minimizing the impact on the internet connection and network.

A second approach is multicast delivery, where a single stream from the video source is received by a specially-configured router, which addresses the video packets so that they simultaneously serve multiple viewers at a site. Cable and telecom companies use multicasting because of its bandwidth efficiency.

Total Solar Eclipse 2017: Watch NASA’s Live Stream

Written by Stacy Nawrocki in Customer Stories on 16 August 2017

On August 21, a total solar eclipse will take place in the U.S. for the first time since 1979.

“It began with no ado,” wrote Annie Dillard of the event 38 years ago. “It was odd that such a well-advertised public event should have no starting gun, no overture, no introductory speaker. I should have known right then that I was out of my depth.”

Viewers of this year’s eclipse can expect the same wonder that Dillard describes in her now-famous essay, but those who tune into NASA’s 2017 live broadcast will hear commentary, too.

The eclipse has captured the world’s attention, but it’s not the only event NASA will live stream this year. Online video plays an important, dual role for the space organization. Its regular live broadcasts, using CDNs and services like IBM’s video streaming, are a way to communicate with the public whose tax dollars support its missions, while video is also an indispensable internal tool for research and development.

Setting Up a Live Stream Event

Written by Stacy Nawrocki in Tips & Tutorials on 15 August 2017

When Taylor Swift launched her Wonderstruck fragrance at Macy’s in Midtown Manhattan, she was accompanied by hundreds of excited fans and dozens of media outlets. Also present was video production company Suite Spot, working in the background to make sure the event’s video live stream went off without a hitch.

Suite Spot regularly produces major events like this: filled with high-profile people, large viewing audiences and heavy logistical burdens on the people behind the scenes. While the events themselves can be formidable undertakings, the exposure and excitement generated by a live stream can be a major asset for any company.

Adam Drescher, Suite Spot’s cofounder and partner, explains how he and his team make preparations for success—before, day-of, and after the event takes place—and speaks specifically to the nuances of running live streams at a large scale. Armed with his suggestions, anyone can successfully execute their own live stream for a primetime audience.

Also, if you are looking for tips in bitesize form, be sure to check out our 5 Pro Tips for Live Video Production guide as well.

What the Big Game Might Have Looked Like with Watson

Written by Laney Lewis in AI Video Technology on 10 August 2017

While the audience for the biggest football event of the year—111 million strong—was on par with previous broadcasts, the game itself posted its lowest ratings in the past three years. Coming off of a less-than-stellar regular season, which saw a 9 percent drop in ratings, it’s safe to say that viewers felt something was lacking.

One factor that might account for this dip is a lack of personalized content and opportunities for interactivity. Everyone saw the same game in the same way, and while that may have been the standard up until now, artificial intelligence is raising the bar.

IBM Watson is no stranger to the sports world. Just this year Watson did sports highlights analysis and assembled highlight reels for the Master’s Tournament. It also predicted match outcomes during Wimbledon. And had Watson had a hand in the biggest football game of the year, FOX may have been able to deliver a more engaging broadcast for viewers—and even been alerted to lulls in audience attention to counteract them in real time. Artificial intelligence has the power to change the live broadcasting game. Here’s a closer look at what the NFL’s big game might have looked like with Watson in play.

Related to these AI advancements, be sure to read our Outsmart your Video Competition with Watson white paper on how Watson will be used to unlock deep insights from untapped video content you’re generating.

Video Promotion Strategy to Get More Views

Written by Anthony Romero in Tips & Tutorials on 8 August 2017

Producing video content? Looking to increase your view counts when a new video is published? This article discusses a video promotion strategy that includes 7 different methods to increase viewership. These range from how your content is shared to syndication efforts to bolster the number of viewable locations.

If you already have a video promotion strategy in place and are looking for more advice, also be sure to check out our 9 Mistakes to Avoid in Your Video Marketing Strategy webinar. This will give some additional advice, and pitfalls to avoid, as part of your video marketing strategy.

Please note, this article approaches this topic from a syndication angle. This means getting your content published and discoverable in places that will result in more views. It assumes that your content is already widely accessible regardless of the viewer’s device or connection speed. If you aren’t using IBM’s video streaming services and you aren’t sure if your content is, please read our How Adaptive Streaming Solves Viewer Bandwidth Issues white paper.

Post Acquisition & Merger Integration Plans Need Video

Written by Stacy Nawrocki in Video Trends & Studies on 3 August 2017

When mergers and acquisitions are months, even years in the planning, organizations have time to communicate the impact of the change to all employees. Often, however, the change happens fast, leaving little room for creating a communications plan.

But high-impact communication is necessary, and typical avenues such as email newsletters and all-hands meetings might not draw the attention of a workforce that needs extra reassurance and knowledge about the new entity. Such cases require a more compelling presentation format, which is where streaming video can make a difference. Read on to learn more about why your post acquisition and merger integration plans need to incorporate video, while also learning how the company AngioDynamics succeeds with this approach. If you are looking for advice on executing an internal video strategy for this, be sure to watch our archived webinar on Video Best Practices for Your Internal Communication Strategy.