How Content Delivery Networks Accelerate Dynamic Content?

Industry surveys show that if a page takes more than 3 seconds to load, over 50% of users will terminate the visit. From social media to online shopping, the content we consume on the internet is becoming increasingly personalized, interactive, and dynamic. In this blog post, we are going to talk about how content delivery networks accelerate dynamic content.

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Matrox White Paper: Insiders Guide to Validating Devices for SMPTE ST 2110 Infrastructures

Why Test ST 2110 Devices?

A SMPTE ST 2110-networked environment must deliver all of the benefits of an IP infrastructure – with the predictability of SDI – in order for it to be useful. This challenge can be met only when the infrastructure is well-managed and edge devices respect specifications. A rogue ST 2110 device may not deliver as expected, which would be bad enough. More importantly, it could adversely affect other functioning devices and lead to unpredictable general failure, which could be catastrophic.
With this in mind, the first step to take after acquiring a new ST 2110 device for a broadcast network is to make sure that it is a good “network citizen.” A good network citizen will not affect the network or disrupt operations when it is directly connected to an on-air production environment. The second step is to actually test the promised functionality and its compliance to SMPTE standards and industry norms. For example, a production environment that is architected around ST 2022-7 redundancy would be very poorly-served if devices do not actually support the ST 2022-7 specification properly – which could ultimately lead to disruptions.
It is important to understand that some devices might actually work well in a small synthetic setup, but fail when put into a real working environment. Due to a number of unaccounted variables, a simple pass-fail test may not be sufficient to make informed decisions on choice of equipment. For example, network packet timing is very different when several transmitters are sending to one receiver compared to a single transmitter sending to a receiver. The timing of a sender is also different if it sends a single ST 2110 flow vs. several flows. Another typical testing pitfall is the dependence on one kind of transmitter. A receiver might work great with a narrow gapped transmitter – like an SDIto-IP gateway – but not work well with a wide linear transmitter.
At first glance, issues like these may not appear to be a problem if the environment may only contain narrow gapped devices. However, knowing the functional boundaries of a working environment is critical to maintaining future expansion. Misinformed decisions taken today may limit future capability and possibilities, (e.g. supporting wide senders). To pre-empt this, it is advisable to build up a test suite that pushes the test boundaries for imperfect, but sufficiently good cases. It is only with these types of tests that informed decisions could be made, eventually leading to judicious ST 2110 device purchases, safe device firmware/software updates, and beneficial service agreements.

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Need for speed: protocols for low-latency broadcasting

Low broadcast latency has become a mandatory requirement in any tenders and competitions for building of head-end stations and CDNs. Previously, such criteria were applied only to sports broadcasting, but now operators require low latency from broadcast equipment suppliers for every sphere: broadcasting news, concerts, performances, interviews, talk shows, debates, e-sports and gambling.

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FileCatalyst Case Study: IO Interactive

IO Interactive is an independent video game developer based in Copenhagen, Denmark and the creative force behind some of the most talked-about multi-platform video games to emerge in the last decade. Starting with the groundbreaking and award-winning Hitman series, IO Interactive has since developed the cult classic “Freedom Fighters”, the controversial “Kane & Lynch” series and the adorable “Mini Ninjas”. Dedication to creating original IP and unforgettable characters and experiences are the hallmarks of IO Interactive.

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Next generation digital video transmission via Open IP

Karl So, Vice President, Product Marketing, Caton Technology

Video Transmission requires technology, not a lot of money and effort. This presentation explains how deep learning can predict packet loss during transmission. The transmission end can automatically detect and pre-reissue the "going to be lost" packet before the receiving end asks for it; this will greatly improve transmission reliability.

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Essential Measurements in the SMPTE ST 2110 Environment

As the broadcast industry is now replacing SDI with IP for critical live applications, new ways of measuring, monitoring and fault detection need to be explored. This presentation from Ievgen Kostiukevych (IP Media Architect, European Broadcasting Union) breaks down certain major technical aspects of SMPTE ST 2110 suite, like timestamping and packet delay variation. It also explains the challenges of building software-based SMPTE ST 2110 implementations. The talk will also cover the work of EBU members who are facing the challenges of moving to new IP-based facilities. [bc_video video_id="5770635869001" account_id="4229317768001" player_id="BkgkXSCcOM" embed="in-page" padding_top="56%" autoplay="autoplay" min_width="0px" max_width="640px" width="100%" height="100%"]

IABM Member Whitepaper – FileCatalyst – Accelerating File Transfers

As file sizes continue to grow, managing and delivering large files is becoming an important consideration for organizations of all sizes. Companies have abandoned the commonly used FTP/TCP protocol as a delivery method in favor of alternative file transfer solutions which provide acceleration, reliability, management, and security. Companies seeking file transfer acceleration are not limited to the high-tech sector. Organizations leveraging the benefits of acceleration are found in sectors such as media and entertainment, natural resources, supercomputing, legal, health, government, financial, manufacturing, and more. Companies using TCP-based file transfer protocols to transfer large data sets may experience slow file transfers, or even failed and/or corrupt file transfers. This failure rate can be detrimental to organizations moving large data sets on a regular basis. This wastes valuable time, especially if these transfers take hours across an otherwise healthy network. This white paper will address some of the issues organizations encounter when using TCP-based protocols. It will also outline some other common file sharing methods, and the issues inherent with each. It will then outline the FileCatalyst solutions, and how they overcome the issues surrounding slow file transfers. Finally, this paper will present a number of scenarios that showcase the advantages of...

Essential Measurements in the SMPTE ST 2110 Environment

As the broadcast industry is now replacing SDI with IP for critical live applications, new ways of measuring, monitoring and fault detection need to be explored. This presentation from Ievgen Kostiukevych (IP Media Architect, European Broadcasting Union) breaks down certain major technical aspects of SMPTE ST 2110 suite, like timestamping and packet delay variation. It also explains the challenges of building software-based SMPTE ST 2110 implementations. The talk also covers the work of EBU members who are facing the challenges of moving to new IP-based facilities.

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BaM™ Product Highlights: GatesAir

At the 2018 NAB Show in April, GatesAir introduced Intraplex IPConnect, a standalone hardware device with integrated award-winning IPConnect software for reliable, secure data transport. Previously available only as an option for IP Link audio codecs, the new device provides reliability and security for virtually types of IP data, including those from IP audio codecs, HD Radio streams and Web or SNMP-based remote-control applications. The device can be used as an IP Gateway or a LAN bridge to provide point-to-point and point-to-multipoint connections.

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