Maximum speed and reliability with capital letters in video transport with Akamai

For the first time in Europe, Akamai shows its new Broadcast Operations Control Center (BOCC).

Although speed is key in video transport, as Ian Munford, Director of Product Marketing and Enablement for the EMEA Region of Akamai, recognized Panorama Audiovisual at IBC 2016, the difference comes from the reliability of the processes. It is precisely at this point where the Akamai platform plays its best asset.

As Munford noted, "Akamai's ingest acceleration technology is designed to dramatically improve the performance and robustness of live streams between encoders and ingest points. At the same time, it helps mitigate the complexities of ingesting content over the open Internet."

To ensure the permanent connection to the Akamai platform that is critical for uninterrupted video delivery, Akamai is using an advanced encoding of entry point mapping (called Dynamic Encode to Entry-point Mapping -DEEM-). Thanks to the scalability of the Akamai platform, entry points can be located close to the encoders in order to minimize traffic problems. DEEM also incorporates multiple levels of resilience to help ensure that viewers never see a drop in quality even during times of traffic degradation.

At IBC we can see a demonstration of 4K signal distribution at negligible latencies thanks to the use of its Media Acceleration technology for direct and on-demand streaming.

One of the aspects that Munford highlights as distinctive about Akamai is the intensive use of telemetry that instantly tracks all live signal traffic, notifying any anomaly.

Akamai has tools for comprehensive analysis of online video quality and audience behavior, allowing you to monitor online events and share information about the distribution of online multimedia content.

Broadcast Operations Control Center

For the first time in Europe, Akamai shows its new Broadcast Operations Control Center (BOCC). This control center for broadcast environments demonstrates in Amsterdam the supervision of the entire 4K workflow from capture to broadcast.

Designed to help ensure the reliability of OTT services, it combines the ease of specialized technical personnel with monitoring tools, quality control and other metrics that ensure good service. Akamai offers a 24/7 service ensuring the operation and delivery of live, linear and on-demand video.

This service is supervised by a team of between a dozen and fifty professionals (in the case of large events) who operate in overlapping shifts to ensure seamless transitions while monitoring all performance aspects marked by the client.

The experts working on the BOOC have a comprehensive view of customer workflows through a set of specific tools designed based on Akamai's popular media analytics. Powerful live streaming telemetry and beacon from the encoder to the end user provides real-time visibility into the status of different video streams and network conditions.

This center has been designed by Akamai's director of media operations, Matt Azzarto, a veteran engineer with extensive broadcast experience who has managed to bring together the best practices of online video transmission, network operations and television into a central structure to monitor and support critical video in OTT service environments.

El BOCC viene a complementar los Network Operations Command Centers (NOCC) y Security Operations Centers (SOC) de Akamai.