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 are excited 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, noted as a headache by half (50 percent) of global respondents, almost exactly the same percentage (49 percent) as in last year's Bitmovin survey.

A multicodec future

92% of those surveyed in the study use H.264/AVC, which dominates current use in video coding. H.265/HEVC adoption has expanded rapidly, to nearly half of respondents (42 percent), compared to less than a third (28 percent) in 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, and 87 percent of respondents use it today. Currently, Apple iOS is the most supported native platform, with 62 percent versus 60 percent for Android globally. The trend is consistent across most regions of the world, with 65 percent (vs. 63 percent) respectively in APAC, 64 percent (vs. 59 percent) in North America, 63 percent (vs. 59 percent) percent) in EMEA and 63 percent (vs. 63 percent) in LATAM.

When it comes to support for consumer TV devices, Chromecast is the current leader, with support from 42 percent of respondents, compared to 36 percent for Apple TV, 34 percent for Android TV, and 23 percent for Apple TV. cent from Roku. Android TV is likely to see the biggest push over the next 12 months, with 17 percent of developers planning to move to add support, compared to 16 percent for Apple TV, 11 percent for Chromecast and 10 percent for Roku.

DRM

He DRM usage is increasing rapidly. 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.

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