1 Univision Enters the Streaming Wars With "PrendeTV"

Univision, the largest Spanish-language broadcaster in the U.S., announced the launch of "PrendeTV," a free, ad-supported streaming service. The service will feature both live, linear channels and on-demand content, sources tell Axios. 

2 Nielsen Debuts TVOD Measurement Service

Nielsen is launching a Theatrical Video On-Demand (TVOD) measurement service for movie releases that are directly available to consumers to rent or purchase streaming and MVPD platforms

3 Bandsintown Launches Monthly Subscription Service, Giving Fans 25 Exclusive Concerts a Month

Called Bandsintown Plus, the $10 monthly service pays for 25 shows a month, according to the company. The first show kicks off this month, with artists scheduled through January and February.

4 Asia's Online Video Market Passes $30 Billion as Paying Subscriptions Grow

Asia’s online video market surpassed $30 billion for the first time in 2020, according to new research. For the first time too, subscription income overtook advertising revenue across the region as a whole. 

5 Apple TV+ Website Gets First UI Update Since the Streaming Service Launched

The new TV+ website homepage features the same featured header that you see in the Apple TV app, along with sections for latest releases and genre categories. This makes it feel much more familiar for customers who are used to the native TV app experience.

6 AVOD Finds Supporting Data Among Younger Demo

While the subscription VOD market continues to grow exponentially, spearheaded by streaming giants, new data from research firm Team Whistle finds that 75% of younger consumers are spending increasingly more time with lesser-known free connected TV options, or AVOD.

Want to receive weekly insights across the digital video industry straight to your inbox? 

VideoFuel: Univision Enters Streaming Wars, Bandsintown Launches Subscription Service For Live Music And More

VideoFuel: The 5 Stories That Shaped The Streaming Industry This Year, And More

This Week in the Digital Video Industry: 1/2-1/8

1 Former Disney and Discovery Execs to Launch Struum, a 'ClassPass for Streaming Services'

Former Disney and Discovery execs are teaming up to launch a new streaming service called Struum, arriving in the spring, that aims to take the ClassPass model and apply it to the streaming landscape. That is, Struum’s plan is to aggregate content from smaller video-on-demand services, then provide that under its own subscription.

2 Audiences and Advertisers Embrace the Early Cable Aesthetic of PlutoTV, Other Free Streaming Platforms

For older television audiences raised on cable, ViacomCBS’ free ad-supported Pluto TV service might be a flashback to their youth. But Pluto TV execs chuckle as they share a very different reaction from the under-25 Netflix generation.

This represents a 65% increase from the end of 2020 and will primarily be driven by traditional broadcasters as they continue to pivot to streaming services to extend their reach and compete in global markets. 

4 Roku Confirms Quibi Deal, Taking Exclusive Global Rights To Dozens of Shows

In its biggest major original programming foray, Roku has bought exclusive global distribution rights to the portfolio of Quibi, the recently shuttered mobile-only streaming venture fronted by Jeffrey Katzenberg.

5 Vevo Looks to Expand Its TV Screen Footprint With New Comcast Deal

Best known for the music video channels it operates on YouTube, Vevo has been among the digital video publishers pushing to secure its place on people’s TV screens. 

VideoFuel: ClassPass for Streaming Services, Roku Confirms Quibi Deal, And More

Recent surveys suggest that by 2021, mobile video streaming traffic will reach 42,734 petabytes per month. Globally, internet video traffic is forecasted to reach 282.3 exabytes per month by 2022.

These demands put a strain on internet service providers and those who have metered internet connections, which is still common in many parts of the world.

If you want to provide streamable content for your viewers, it's vital to choose the right streaming protocol and meet end-user demand for high-quality streaming. Choose the wrong solution, and viewers may face laggy, low-quality streams, poor audio, and constant buffering, a recipe for churn and abandonment. Unless intentional, you also want to prevent the ability for copies to be made and stored.  

Some of the most popular solutions are HLS, DASH, MPEG-TS Linear, and RTMP. We're here to help you understand what they are, how they work, and which best suits your needs.

HLS stands for HTTP Live Streaming. It is a streaming media protocol created by Apple that has been available since 2009 to solve the streaming media issues that had plagued the first and second generations of iPhones.

In many respects, HLS could be seen as replacing Quicktime, Apple's previous streaming solution. Quicktime was a useful streaming system in some respects, but it used nonstandard ports, so many firewalls were configured to block it, making it unreliable for mainstream use.

The main benefit of HLS is how well it is supported. The protocol works well on desktops (Windows, Mac OS, and Linux), browsers (Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge), connected TV, and mobile devices. 

Also, it is rarely blocked by firewalls or routers since it uses HTTP and HTTPS for communication. HLS breaks up a large video file or ongoing stream into many 'chunks' (segments) and can provide multiple versions of the stream at different bitrates (ABR - Adaptive Bitrate), making it possible to adapt to changing network conditions dynamically. 

This means if the servers are under heavy load or the user client goes from a higher bandwidth connection to a lower one, or vice versa, the stream can continue uninterrupted. 

HLS prioritizes quality over low latency. The trade-off is that there's a lot of latency (6+ seconds), making it challenging for live streams where there may be extensive social media interaction. This may be less of a concern for corporate training, town halls, or a sales/marketing presentation. 

Apple has updated the HLS protocol to create 'low latency HLS', which somewhat improves the latency to be on par with broadcast television.

DASH stands for Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP. DASH was developed by  MPEG  (Moving Pictures Expert Group), the preeminent international authority for media compression.  

The protocol is a newer standard and is open-source. Just as with HLS, content is sent in small segments and supports adaptive streaming. It is the only streaming solution certified by ISO (International Organization for Standardization). 

DASH is codec-agnostic, which allows flexibility in the choice of codec for playback of streams. DASH Supports h.264/MPEG-4 Part 10, h.265, VP9, and AV1 codecs. Because DASH is open-source, there is more significant input into the standard than other options.  

DASH supports Encrypted Media Extensions (EME) and Media Source Extension (MSE). EME and MSE are standards-based APIs for creating DRM schemes within the browser.

Like HLS,  DASH breaks up a large video file or ongoing stream into many 'chunks,' and can provide multiple versions of the stream at different bitrates and dynamically adapt to changing network conditions.

MP4, or MPEG-4, is a video container format that has been popular for offline use for many years, but the codec by itself doesn't lend itself to HTTP streaming. Most modern browsers can understand H265/AAC files that are packed as MP4s, but all that happens when a file is requested and sent is that the browser sends a request to the server, which reads the file from the disc and sends it out. There's none of the support for changing bandwidth conditions or fixing lag-related issues that other protocols offer.

MP4 has some benefits in that it's widely supported and easy to use, but it doesn't work well for live streams. Fortunately, it can be used as a starting point for other formats streaming protocols such as DASH and MPEG-TS Linear.

MPEG-TS is a digital container format that allows for the transmission of audio and video. The format supports error correction and synchronization, which can offer a good viewer experience even on unreliable connections. Each stream is divided into sections no bigger than 188 bytes. The small packet size allows streams to be interleaved with minimal latency, reducing audio delay and other lag-related issues.

MPEG-TS is popular for video conferencing and live streams, where it's essential to avoid latency. MPEG-TS Linear is so-called because the stream uses a rolling offset, which means the user can skip through a portion of the stream (usually around 30 minutes) but cannot rewind further than that.

This design is an interesting balance between saving resources for the streamer while still offering a good experience for the viewer.

RTMP is one of the older streaming formats and is still in use today. It started life as the foundation of Adobe Flash, resulting in its mass adoption. Even now, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitch can work with RTMP, but it has fallen out of favor because of technical challenges with some modern devices.

RTMP is suitable for reliable and reasonably low latency stream delivery and is fast enough to stream live sporting events. It is mainly used with dedicated streaming servers, which can ensure excellent delivery speed. 

This, combined with its widespread support on desktop devices, means that there are people who still choose to use it. The lack of adaptive bitrate support and the fact it uses TCP rather than HTTP, creating firewall issues, means the other protocols listed here are better for mobile devices.

HLS vs DASH vs MP4 vs MPEG-TS Linear vs RTMP

HLS
Widely adopted
Good for mobile devices and connected TVs 
Uses HTTP and HTTPS, so no firewall issues
Adapts to network degradation


DASH
Open-source; great input from industry 
Uses HTTP and HTTPS, so no firewall issues
Adapts to network degradation


MP4
Widely supported
High compression reduces bandwidth requirements


MPEG-TS
Small packet size means very low latency
Adaptive bitrate
Users can rewind portions of the stream


RTMP
Supported by many popular social media platforms
Moderately low latency

MP4
Audio may drift out of sync from video
The container itself cannot support adaptive bitrates

MPEG-TS
Rolling offset means the user can only rewind a limited portion of the video

RTMP
Uses TCP rather than HTTP, which can cause firewall issues
No adaptive bitrate
Does not support HEVC/h.265 encoded streams
Has fallen out of favor with major CDNs

Which Streaming Protocol Should You Choose?

Your choice of protocol will depend on what the stream is for. Here are some questions to ask to help you determine the best option(s) for you:

Will the stream live inside of your direct-to-consumer apps, or will it be distributed to a third-party distributor such as virtual multichannel video programming distributors (vMPVDs) or free ad-supported TV service (FASTS)? 

How many people will be watching it, and where are they located? 

These questions will help you make a fair comparison between, say, HLS or DASH streaming.

For encoding live performances, consider HLS or DASH streaming thanks to their adaptive bitrate, high quality, easy firewall traversal, and device support. HLS has the most widespread device support, however.

RTMP is an excellent choice for streams on social media, including Facebook and platforms such as Twitch, and Playout makes it easy to get started with RTMP linear streaming.

If you're unsure how to configure streams or manage these different protocols, Zype’s selection of streaming and content delivery suites could help you. We offer an extensive network of CDNs to ensure smooth video delivery to viewers worldwide and transcoding support to provide content using different formats for live streaming, VOD, and downloadable videos.

Zype makes it easy for you to provide your visitors with reliable, high-quality, and low-latency streams. All you have to do is choose the formats and let our software do the work. If you'd like to see our tools in action, contact us to request a demo today.

HLS vs DASH vs MP4 vs MPEG-TS Linear vs RTMP for Streaming

Learn the difference between HLS, DASH,  RTMP, MP4, and MPEG-TS Linear for streaming. Learn the best protocol for your streaming needs

This Week in the Digital Video Industry: 12/11-12/18

1 The 5 Stories That Shaped the Streaming Industry This Year

There will surely be more big streaming platforms launched down the line, but 2020 will be remembered as the year the battleground was set.

2 TikTok Gets a Smart TV App Thanks to Samsung

TikTok, the video sharing social network, is partnering with Samsung to launch a smart TV streaming app in Europe.

3 Apple TV App is Coming to Google's Android TV

The new app will first appear on Google's latest Chromecast with Google TV streaming stick "early next year" before heading to other Android TV devices "in the future." 

4 Comcast's FreeWheel Boosts Programmatic with Beeswax Buy

Beeswax offers programmatic advertising capabilities through its Bidder-as-a-Service customizable bidding stack, which will fit alongside FreeWheel’s existing technologies for supply-side and demand-side clients.

5 Twitter Shuts Down Live Streaming App Periscope 

Twitter said in a statement that it's sunsetting Periscope because the app has seen user declines for a while and the cost to maintain it is no longer justifiable. Most of the core capabilities of Periscope have been built into Twitter at this point, anyway.

6 Global SVOD Subscriptions Hit New Record, With 770 Million Across 21 Top Services

Until early 2020, it looked like the SVOD growth curve was heading toward a plateau, but the annual growth rate has actually been accelerating during the past 12 months. Netflix remains the clear leader, but its share of subscriptions has been falling steadily as new entrants arrive.

2020 was a year of unprecedented change and challenge. At Zype, we found ourselves in a unique position. As the world went virtual, millions of people and businesses turned to video. This year, especially, brought forth our mission to connect the world's streaming video and viewers. In the most critical of times, our team worked extremely hard to make our video infrastructure more connected, more powerful, and more secure for our customers. 

Here are our top 10 product updates and milestone from 2020:

#1 Launched Our New Brand and Updated Dashboard Features

In July, we introduced our new brand  to better represent our mission and an updated Dashboard to match. This update included the addition of a "Favorite" feature that allows customers to save frequently used pages so they can access them directly from the navigation menu when needed.

#2 Reached 15 Billion Video API Calls per month and 10 Million Playout Requests Per Hour

We reached record milestones in both Video API Calls and Playout Requests Per Hour, and with this increased volume of traffic, we maintained our high standard of excellence, offering the fastest stream start times and best user experience possible.

In 2020, we expanded our connectors suite to include over 50 video distribution, payment processing, advertising, and marketing connectors and integrations. We added many new distribution connectors this year including: The Roku Channel, Google Ad Manager MRSS, Samsung TV Plus, Pluto TV, RTMP, HLS, and MRSS, as well as new social connectors: Youtube Live, Facebook Live, Twitch, and Periscope. 

#4 EU Playout Distribution and Improved Stream Quality

We released a Playout service enhancement that allows customers to create Playout channels that originate from the European Union. This means that audiences in the EU will enjoy fast stream start times, and publishers will have a regional data lake for data compliance and segmentation purposes. 

We also optimized playout channel delivery 4-second HLS segmenting to reduce latency on syndicated HLS channels and increase compatibility with additional downstream syndication partners. 

We added domain-level protection on embeds with the web player referrer protection feature by allowing customers to prevent their players from serving content when embedded on unauthorized websites. 

We also shipped an update to protect paywalled videos against password sharing using login limits, which allow customers to specify a maximum number of simultaneous logins available to any individual viewer account. 

We enhanced stream hours analytics with granular time interval views, allowing teams to view stream hour data in as small as 15-minute increments to pinpoint when viewers are streaming most. This new reporting capability allows insights on the breakdown of viewer consumption by time slice, to help identify peak periods and make content and user experience decisions.

We rolled out an enhancement to our Stripe connector that allows customers to offer subscription pauses to their viewers, increasing retention and staving off unnecessary cancellations. 

#8 Playlist Curation Made Easy with Include & Exclude Category Tags  

We released an update to help teams create more granular, personalized curation systems by leveraging our include and exclude rules. These category tags save time by automating content curation.

We added redemption code paywalls to our embeddables to allows customers to embed a video on their site with “redemption code required” enabled, without the need to embed a separate redemption code widget. Viewers can access the redeem flow and enter the code entirely from the video player - and are never redirected to an alternative widget or page - all as part of the typical authentication flow. 

#10 Enhanced Flexibility to Customize In-Player Messaging 

We’ve enhanced our player messaging support with additional custom options, allowing you to update default player error messages. These new customization options help ensure your player messages are in line with your product messaging and allows for better control over communication with your viewers. Learn more about player and video embed customization here.

There are many exciting innovations on the map for 2021 and we can't wait to share them. Stay tuned for what's ahead!

2020 Highlights: Zypes Top 10 Product Updates and Milestones

Zypes Top 10 Product Updates and Milestones

This Week in the Digital Video Industry: 12/5-12/11

1 Disney Unveils Star, Its New International Streaming Service

Star, Disney's international answer to Hulu, will roll out in certain European countries, Canada, and New Zealand beginning on February 23rd, the company announced.

2 ViacomCBS Migrating Entire Broadcast Footprint to Amazon's AWS Cloud

The companies touted the partnership as among biggest cloud-based initiatives in the media and entertainment industry to date.

3 Digital Video and CTV Will Be The Top Format Priorities for Ad Industry in 2021

That's a big shift from last year's findings, when mobile took the top spot. Mobile didn't even break the top three this year—social media was third, with 47% of respondents naming it a top priority.

4 Redbox Launches Free On Demand Streaming Service

Redbox has launched Free On Demand, an ad-supported streaming destination promising hundreds of titles arriving weekly that are “curated to the tastes of Redbox audiences.”

5 Nielsen Plans to Combine Traditional and Digital TV Ratings

Nielsen is updating its TV ratings to reflect a world which audiences are watching TV both live and on-demand, across a variety of different streaming services and devices.

VideoFuel: Disney Unveils International Streaming Service, ViacomCBS Migrates to AWS, And More

[zype-shortcode][getform][newsletter-signup][/zype-shortcode]

Global Site CTA

Digital Video Infrastructure: The Complete Guide

Products

Services

Solutions

Featured Content

Resources

Featured Content

Developers

HLS vs DASH vs MP4 vs MPEG-TS Linear vs RTMP for Streaming

THE ZYPE BLOG

Categories

VideoFuel: Univision Enters Streaming Wars, Bandsintown Launches Subscription Service For Live Music And More

VideoFuel: ClassPass for Streaming Services, Roku Confirms Quibi Deal, And More

HLS vs DASH vs MP4 vs MPEG-TS Linear vs RTMP for Streaming

VideoFuel: The 5 Stories That Shaped The Streaming Industry This Year, And More

2020 Highlights: Zypes Top 10 Product Updates and Milestones

VideoFuel: Disney Unveils International Streaming Service, ViacomCBS Migrates to AWS, And More

PRODUCTS

SIGN UP FOR NEWSLETTER

SERVICES

DEVELOPER HUB

COMPANY

RESOURCES