CatonNet Video Platform (CVP) multipathing
Category IP Broadcast Solutions
High quality video content can now be streamed over long distances – even between continents – using IP over data circuits and the internet. Whether it is a point to point transmission or it goes via one or a number of intermediate streaming servers, as in a CDN, there will be a number of routers along the path, each joined by a connecting circuit of its own characteristics, including different amounts of available bandwidth which can be allocated to the stream.
Circuits are established using the shortest path first principle. This should result in the lowest end-to-end latency, but it may be that one or more links in the chain will be bandwidth-constrained. It does not matter if your transmitting device and receiving device are set up for high quality signals at 20Mb/s if some remote part of the circuit is bandwidth-limited to 10Mb/s. You will only be able to get 10Mb/s end to end.
As the name suggests, this remarkable innovation provides realtime connectivity over multiple paths from the transmitting terminal to the receiver, guaranteeing bandwidth and exponentially increasing resilience. Transparent to the user, the transmitting device adds extra flags into the header of each packet which determines which sub-path it will take and how the data is divided across those paths.
The transmitter is equipped with historical data as well as empirical evidence from the connections, allowing it to create an optimum delivery path using the best of the bandwidth available. It can combine delivery paths using any class of connectivity, from dedicated internet access (DIA) circuits to 5G.
The intelligence in the multipathing software ensures this stable signal is dynamically achieved with the minimum of latency, thanks to Caton’s unique forward error correction capabilities. The result transforms the operational costs and required resources for live stream delivery.
