VisualOn – Enhancing viewer experience and streamlining operations: how VisualOn Native+ Players help service providers deliver high-quality streaming efficiently
As streaming video continues to surpass broadcast and cable TV to become the mainstream media choice, OTT service providers are facing an increasingly competitive landscape. To succeed, providing an exceptional user experience is crucial for retaining customers and reducing churn. The media player on the wide range of client devices plays a pivotal role in ensuring a seamless, high-quality experience. However, service providers face several challenges when it comes to media players:
- Addressing the device, format, content and service fragmentation issues.
- Supporting effective monetization.
- Securely protecting contents.
- Reducing latency for live and interactive programs.
- Improving user experience KPIs, such as startup time, buffering ratio, failure to start, etc.
The common approach: native players
Many service providers initially opt for “free”, “ready-to-deploy” native player solutions, such as ExoPlayer for Android and AVPlayer for iOS. These players are pre-integrated with the underlying operating systems, support essential platform-specific functionalities, and offer a quick start for streaming services.
However, the total cost of ownership of using native players may not be as low as it seems. Service providers often need to maintain a highly skilled internal development team to:
- Customize the native players for the specific needs of the service.
- Debug and fix bugs, test and qualify releases in a timely manner.
- Keeping up with the rapid technology advancement and changing market landscape.
- Integrate and support 3rd party technology.
This results in a continuous investment of time and resources, making it challenging for service providers to transition away from their internal native players. Changing players can be risky, often leading to initial stability issues that disrupt the service.
VisualOn Native+ Players: future-proof solutions for today’s video streaming
VisualOn’s Native+ Players, ExoPlayer+ for Android and AVPlayer+ for iOS, are designed to address these challenges. These players are built to relieve OTT service providers from the complexity of maintaining native players, allowing them to focus on their core business objectives.
Native+ Players are fully API-compliant extensions of the native ExoPlayer and AVPlayer, combining the benefits of native technology with the added advantages of professional support, advanced features, and future-proof capabilities.
Key benefits of VisualOn Native+ Players:
- Seamless transition: For service providers already using native players, Native+ Players provide an effortless transition, ensuring no disruption to service or user experience.
- Professional support with SLA: Service providers receive guaranteed Service Level Agreements (SLA), including timely bug fixes, fully-qualified releases, upgrades, and ongoing support for new devices and platforms.
- Advanced features:
- Low Latency (CMAF): Optimized for ultra-low latency streaming for live events and interactive content.
- Enhanced Playback: Features like 360° video, synchronized multiview, i-Frame playback, and WebVTT thumbnail scrubbing enhance user engagement.
- Built-in Support: Pre-integrated support for 3rd-party ad insertion, analytics, and DRM, saving time and resources on integration.
- Integration with VisualOn products: VisualOn’s User Experience Analytics helps optimize service workflows by providing real-time performance insights. Additionally, VisualOn Remote Lab enables remote testing, debugging, and collaboration.
- Custom development: Service providers can leverage custom development to future-proof their streaming services, shorten time-to-market, and have more control over their product roadmap, ensuring they stay ahead of the curve in technology.
VisualOn’s Native+ Players free service providers from the burden of maintaining complex media players, empowering them to focus on their core strengths and grow their business.
Customer success story: transformative streaming solutions in action
One real-world example of VisualOn’s impact is its decade-long partnership with Norlys, Denmark’s largest energy and telecommunications provider. Over the years, VisualOn has collaborated with Norlys to deliver a suite of advanced, multi-platform streaming solutions tailored to Norlys’ expanding needs. Together, they implemented cutting-edge multi-DRM support to ensure content security and seamless, cross-platform access and integrated Samsung Smart TV support, widening Norlys’ reach across Denmark.
Through VisualOn’s Analytics Server, Norlys benefits from real-time performance insights essential for maintaining and enhancing Quality of Experience (QoE). Leveraging these insights, Norlys can proactively optimize key streaming metrics, such as rapid startup times, reduced buffering, and consistent video quality across mobile devices and smart TVs alike. This partnership has empowered Norlys to exceed viewer expectations, ensuring the high level of reliability and satisfaction crucial to staying competitive in the OTT landscape. Norlys’ success exemplifies VisualOn’s capacity to deliver scalable, high-impact solutions that elevate the user experience and provide ongoing tools for optimization and growth.
The future of high-quality, cost-efficient streaming
VisualOn’s Native+ Players are more than just media players—they represent a comprehensive solution for service providers aiming to enhance their streaming capabilities and deliver an exceptional viewer experience. By leveraging innovative technology, operational efficiency, and future-proof features, VisualOn empowers providers to maintain high-quality streaming while reducing operational costs.
As the streaming industry continues to evolve, VisualOn remains committed to helping service providers succeed now and adapt to the future, ensuring that they stay ahead in an increasingly competitive market.
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