A recent survey on the most popular streaming devices revealed internet-connected TVs are the most popular streaming devices in American homes.

What’s more insightful is that nearly a third of these households access streaming video with 4K Ultra High Definition (UHD) Smart TVs, a market that saw a 12% increase in purchase from 2019 to 2020.

The 4K market is forecasted to continue its growth through 2025 as these more desirable TVs drop in price and consumers come to enjoy added benefits like Dolby Digital sound alongside higher resolutions. But TVs are not the only devices in which consumers expect 4K viewing experiences; smartphone, gaming console, and computer manufacturers are all ramping up their technology to take advantage of this emerging trend.

If you are offering video products and services, it is important to understand how the growing 4K market affects you, where the 4K market is moving, which devices to prepare for, and the best ways to allow your users to enjoy high quality 4K content on your streaming platform.

The 4K market is forecasted to grow to a 213.93 billion dollar market by 2026 as more consumers come to expect a highly defined pixel experience in the comfort of their homes as well as on their personal devices. In addition to customer demand, the decline in manufacturing costs has driven many players into the market, making the landscape extremely competitive and fragmented.

While TVs dominate the US market with nearly 31% of the share, mobile devices, Amazon, Roku, Apple TV devices, and gaming consoles also make up a considerable portion of streaming device market share, all of which have 4K capabilities.

Entertainment and media are the primary holders of viewing for the 4K market, but consumers are also showing strong preferences for 4K across gaming.

Microsoft and Sony, respective makers of the Xbox and Playstation consoles, have also released 4K enabled devices to provide more immersive gaming experiences, meaning consumers young and old will be enjoying 4K quality viewing experiences if they are playing these games on 4K screens.

These viewing capabilities are only available if gaming manufacturers utilize the technology, and some gaming services have taken it upon themselves to apply the 4K bitrate to their games, like Fallout 4 (2015), God of War (2018), Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019), and Assassin's Creed Valhalla (2020).

4K Market Share: Which Devices Should I Prepare for?

Regardless of all the advances 4K technology is making, it is still only available to devices tailored to 4K streaming.

From low-cost devices from Walmart (yes, really), Amazon, and Roku, to Nvidia and Apple on the higher end, there’s something for every type of budget.

Mobile devices are plentiful in 4K technology as well. Sony, for example, has made many of its Xperia phones capable of 4K resolution. And it is not only cell phones --computers and TV sets are available that offer 4k for a variety of devices and budgets..

There is a multitude of computer monitors available with 4K capability from ASUS, BenQ, LG, Dell, and Acer. While some of the offerings may be on the pricey side, with time they will shift towards a cheaper market price. For now, it is possible to get a 4K monitor in the $150 range, with the most common pricepoint hovering in the $300 to $500 range.

The market is welcoming these changes, and brands like Microsoft and PlayStation are getting involved too. 

Playstation introduced their new PlayStation 5 with 4K technology, but their PS4 promotes 4K as well.

Microsoft's Xbox consoles Xbox Series X and Series S both hold the standard of high-quality 4K streaming.

The most effective ways to stream high-quality content in 4K all depend on the original size of the rendered files. If the file was rendered with a low frame rate then you would have to upload it with a matching bitrate.

Naturally, every streaming platform you can upload to doesn't always have the functions required to keep the quality content you upload, especially with 4K, but there are the standard settings.

The standard bitrate for platforms like YouTube vary based on resolution. While there is no set bitrate limit required for uploads, there are two important numbers you will want to focus on - target bitrate and maximum bitrate. It’s best to think of the maximum bitrate as the ceiling for your video file and the target bitrate as the average maintained throughout the video.

Various streaming platforms have mixed preferences on settings, so the best way to optimize your video quality is to set the rate to correlate with your video's frame rate. 

For 4K SDR (Standard Dynamic Range), this can be between 35-45 Mbps for frame rates between 24-30fps and 53-68 Mbps for frame rates between 48-60fps. For 4K HDR (High Dynamic Range), this can be between 44-56 Mbps for frame rates between 24-30fps and 66-85 Mbps for frame rates between 48-60fps.

Now that will be how your maximum bitrate turns out, your target bitrate for a 4K video should be set to up to 90% of the maximum bitrate. That will not always lower your content's quality.

4K is designed to be the highest quality possible, so long as you edit your content with the proper settings and preparations.

When it comes to the bandwidth, it depends entirely on the pixel breadth of your device. 

The most efficient way to view 4K is through a 3840 x 2160p screen as it was specifically made to view all the pixels of a 4K stream. That means at least a 65" screen, which may not be realistic for every consumer.

This does not mean 4K is off the table, the quality will just adjust to the screen of the device it is viewed on.

Streaming with the optimal resolution is a combination of your high-quality footage and an editing software's rendering. If you stream in 4K and render it properly with the H.264 format, quality will convert with the device it is viewed on.

You can't, however, force 4K on a device with 480p when it should be viewed at 2160p.

Part of the solution is adaptive bitrate streaming, creating smoother stream performance while optimizing the bitrate. This does not affect the device in any form as it is designed to be consistent with the quality of the device and high-quality 4K video.

As the name suggests, it is adaptive to your content, based on the profile ladder used, as well as the  end user’s bandwidth and devices. With this form in practice, 4K has a promising future with continuous innovations enforcing positive change, streaming will become more concrete.

The challenge with 4K is the limits on devices that are capable of streaming with 4K resolution. This is being addressed with new products aimed at high-quality streaming and it’s only a matter of time before more consumers get their hands on them.

For video streaming providers, trying to make sense of all the video file formats, codecs, and bitrates can be confusing. This is why Zype built a platform that allows publishers to optimize their video library no matter what device, or bitrate, they are capable of using. Our VOD encoding product takes your existing digital video content and translates it into a variety of formats and quality levels that allows users to enjoy your content anywhere— in their living room streaming from a set-top box or on the go using their mobile device on a cellular network.

If you are looking to remodel the way you stream your content with better 4K implementations then check out Zype's Solutions. We have several services that can enhance your content and introduce you to unique methods of optimizing your content for more of your clients to see. 

4K Bitrate Video: The Outlook for 2021 And Beyond

Streaming technology is continuously innovating. Here's the outlook for 4K bitrate video in 2021.

Video accounted for over 60% of downstream web traffic in 2019. ISPs have seen downstream video traffic grow, since March 2020, by double digits.  Cisco predicts that video data will hit 82% of internet traffic by 2023. 

Bandwidth is growing globally – particularly with the arrival of mobile 5G – and streaming demand is keeping pace. Television and film are becoming stream-first forms of entertainment. Cord shaving and satellite-dish ditching for FAST (Free Ad-supported Streaming TV) and subscription video services have accelerated over the past year with no dissipation in the foreseeable future. How can content providers guarantee the best user experience irrespective of which CTV (Connected TV), STB (Set-top Box), or mobile device consumers have at their disposal?  

The solution is simple and affordable: adaptive bitrate streaming (ABR). Read on to learn more about harnessing the power of ABR.

Adaptive bitrate streaming (ABR) is a method of streaming video over HTTP.  The source content is encoded at multiple bitrates (renditions), which are small segments or chunks of the overall video content.  Segment size can vary anywhere from 2-10 seconds.  The streaming client is alerted to the available renditions by a manifest file - .m3u8 playlist for HLS and MPD (Media Presentation Description) for DASH.  The client requests a segment rendition based on the available bandwidth of the end-user device on a scaling ladder, starting with the lowest bitrate.  As bandwidth increases, a higher bitrate segment will be requested, and conversely, as bandwidth decreases, a lower bitrate segment will be requested.  To the end-user, content plays back smoothly without interruption, and bitrate changes may even go unnoticed. 

Progressive video streaming preceded ABR and is essentially a one-size-fits-all form of internet video delivery. It uses HTTP-based technology via servers to push downloads (i.e., streams) to devices – without optimizing the stream for client capability and bandwidth. The client makes an HTTP request, and an HTTP response comes back from the server.  Playback starts only after several seconds of content is stored in the playback buffer.  Content continues to be fetched by the client as bandwidth allows, and smooth, uninterrupted playback is dependent on bandwidth, allowing buffer to outpace playback.  The end-user could only fast forward through the previously fetched content.

Progressive streaming ignored user bandwidth, processing power, frame rate, and resolution. There is only one version of the video file, at whatever quality it is encoded in.  That video file is simply scaled (stretched or squeezed) to fit the output display. For example, if a video is 1280 x 720, it will be stretched to fill a 1920 x 1080 raster.

How ABR Streaming Solved Progressive Streaming Issues

Adaptive bitrate streaming solved all of these progressive streaming issues. It transcodes video content into different streams. Content providers encode multiple versions of the same video at different bitrates and resolutions, each optimized for other devices’ needs. 

Device players automatically adapt to the current operational conditions with respect to the end-user network speed and display capability. This all happens in real-time, facilitating the optimal end-user experience. 

ABR allows content providers to deliver a better Quality of Experience, which naturally leads to a more satisfied audience for their service. It is ABR that allows live television programming to be streamed concurrently to large-screen televisions and mobile phones – with, hopefully, minimal issues. 

The Difference between Adaptive Bitrate and Multi-Bitrate Streaming

Multi-bitrate video streaming is another standard method of streaming. It allows video distributors to create multiple versions of a video stream tailored to different devices, similar to adaptive bitrate videos. However, multi-bitrate streaming does not respond to a user’s changing playback environment. 

Multi-bitrate puts the onus on consumers to manually select which of the streaming options is the highest or most efficient that their devices can handle. This means the player will continue to attempt to play the file, even though conditions may not be the most ideal for that selection.

The process of ABR streaming begins with the transcoding of an original stream.

Transcoding is a critical step in delivering content that can adapt to fit the screen sizes and internet speed of viewers.  This is a multistep process that begins with a compressed and encoded video file. The first step is to decompress and decode the video file. The next is to manipulate the video file. There are two subcategories of transcoding.

Transrating: The transcoding process by which the bitrate is manipulated without changing the video format. Transrating might also alter a video’s frame rate or resolution. 

Transizing: Altering the resolution or video frame to fit different types of screens. 

The final step is to re-encode and re-compress the new version of the video file created from transrating and transizing. This can be a lossy process that minimally degrades the video quality.  This new file becomes part of a streaming profile.  

Streaming profiles are organized into a profile ladder – ranging from the lowest quality to the highest quality. Many broadcasters use a standardized ladder system – Apple and Netflix proposed several popular ones. These profiles represent the entire array of adaptive bitrate streams that will be served to viewers. 

The power of ABR is to adapt based on multiple playback environment variables. At this point in the process, however, we merely have profiles for a multi-rate stream. 

The streaming profiles are broken down into two- to 10-second video chunks – often referred to as packages. 

The chunks are labeled and organized in a manifest. The player uses the manifest to determine how the video is to be downloaded and rendered.

When streaming commences, the user device provides information to the server about its bitrate, screen resolution, hardware capabilities, player type, and other information. The media server then begins delivering the highest quality video stream the device is capable of displaying. 

What makes ABR powerful is that the device and server continue to communicate. As the server delivers more packages to the device, the device provides updated information about its state. Perhaps the bandwidth suddenly switched from LTE to 5G, for example. The server will see this and seamlessly deliver a profile with a higher bitrate still optimized for the exact screen resolution. 

It is the constant feedback and on-the-fly adapting that lets you deliver high-quality ABR video to numerous device types at the same time. 

Why ABR Streaming and ABR Encoding Provide the Best UX 

ABR streaming and encoding are no longer the exceptions with the online viewing experience – they are expected. 

The advantages of ABR streaming are innumerable, but its power comes from what your customers will soon take for granted: 

Better viewing experience on mobile and connected TV devices

The ABR advantage is that the user experience is so fluid and painless, your subscribers won’t notice the technology at all. 

Your streaming business depends on a satisfactory user experience. You can’t afford to alienate viewers with buffering, low-quality video, slow loading, and bad latency – not when they have innumerable streaming options available to them. 

Adaptive bitrate streaming is inherently technical, but it’s easily implemented with the right tools. 

Zype offers companies and content creators a full-stack suite of video editing and streaming software, including world-class ABR encoding and streaming capabilities. 

Why Adaptive Bitrate Streaming & ABR Encoding Provide the Best UX

How can content providers guarantee the best user experience irrespective of which CTV (Connected TV), STB (Set-top Box), or mobile device consumers have at their disposal? The solution is simple and affordable: adaptive bitrate streaming (ABR).

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