Bitmovin Video warns about widespread latency and fragmentation issues across codecs, formats and devices

The 'Video Developer Report', prepared by Bitmovin, analyzes the state of coding based on the opinions of 456 video developers among broadcasters, publishers, OTT streaming services, online video platforms and social media platforms from 67 countries.

Bitmovin, a company focused on online video technology, publishes the report annually Video Developer Report, which reveals a snapshot of the major trends and issues in video technology. The study is based on the opinions from 456 video developers between broadcasters, publishers, OTT streaming services, online video platforms and social media platforms from 67 countries.

Stefan Lederer, CEO of Bitmovin, emphasizes that "the online video industry is booming, with new services launching every day. The Video Developer Report reveals how developers are building services, their plans for the future and the main problems they face. As this is the second edition of the report, we can see how these trends evolve. We found the insights extremely valuable and we are delighted to be able to share them with video developers around the world."

Latency

Latency and device playback are major technology concerns. Latency is the biggest problem experienced today today with video technology, according to more than half of respondents globally (55 percent) and nearly three-quarters based in Latin America (74 percent). Delivery delays can be a particular problem for online streaming compared to traditional broadcasters, especially for live sporting events.

The next most common problem is ensure playback on all devices, señalado como un dolor de cabeza por la mitad (50 por ciento) de los encuestados globales, casi exactamente el mismo porcentaje (49 por ciento) que en la encuesta de Bitmovin del año pasado.

Un futuro multicodec

El 92% de los encuestados en el estudio emplea el H.264/AVC domina el uso actual en codificación de vídeo. La adopción de H.265/HEVC se ha expandido rápidamente, hasta casi la mitad de los encuestados (42 por ciento), en comparación con menos de un tercio (28 por ciento) en 2017.

More than a third of respondents (36 percent) plan to deploy H.265/HEVC in the next twelve months. This represents a 40% decrease from the 2017 survey, reflecting a trend toward using a wider range of next-generation codecs in the future.

For his part, the AV1 has gained significant momentum, with almost a third (29 percent) of respondents planning to use the codec in the next year. This is more than double the planned usage rate (14 percent) seen in the 2017 Bitmovin Video Developer Report. 15 percent plan to use VP9, ​​down 18 percent from 2017.

Continuous fragmentation

HLS and MPEG-DASH remain the most popular streaming options, used by 82% and 61% respectively. However, there is also considerable fragmentation, with RTMP used by a third (33 percent) and Smooth Streaming (27 percent) and Progressive Streaming (23 percent) each used by around a quarter. MPEG-CMAF usage has nearly doubled since last year (from 6 to 10 percent) and nearly a quarter (23 percent) plan to implement the format in the next 12 months.

HTML5 through the browser is by far the most widely used format for video and audio delivery, y el 87 por ciento de los encuestados lo utilizan hoy en día. Actualmente, Apple iOS es la plataforma nativa con mayor soporte, con un 62 por ciento frente al 60 por ciento para Android a nivel mundial. La tendencia es consistente en la mayoría de las regiones del mundo, con un 65 por ciento (frente al 63 por ciento) respectivamente en APAC, 64 por ciento (frente al 59 por ciento) en Norteamérica, 63 por ciento (frente al 59 por ciento) en EMEA y 63 por ciento (frente al 63 por ciento) en LATAM.

En cuanto al soporte para dispositivos de televisión de consumo, Chromecast es el líder actual, con el apoyo del 42 por ciento de los encuestados, en comparación con el 36 por ciento de Apple TV, el 34 por ciento de Android TV y el 23 por ciento de Roku. Es probable que Android TV vea el mayor impulso en los próximos 12 meses, con el 17 por ciento de los desarrolladores que planean mudarse para añadir soporte, en comparación con el 16 por ciento para Apple TV, el 11 por ciento para Chromecast y el 10 por ciento para Roku.

DRM

He uso de DRM está aumentando rápidamente. More than one in three (36 percent) respondents said they are not using any DRM or content protection systems, peaking at 40 percent of respondents in EMEA.

This represents a rapid uptake since Bitmovin's 2017 survey, in which two-thirds of global respondents (65 percent) said they were not using DRM at all. This could reflect a shift of premium content from traditional cable and satellite services to OTT/online delivery.