IMAX - StreamAware
Category QC QA Monitoring
The number one video technology challenge for streaming businesses is cost control, and the biggest cost for delivering video is Content Delivery Network (CDN) distribution charges. Designed to significantly reduce live streaming distribution costs, StreamSmart On-Air delivers a 15%- 25% bandwidth savings, translating into millions of dollars in reduced distribution costs and a better end-user experience.
The IMAX approach to reducing live streaming distribution costs is entirely unique. StreamSmart On-Air employs IMAX ViewerScore (XVS™), a patented perceptual quality metric based on IMAX VisionScience™ that measures video quality in real-time based on human vision to ensure bitrate reductions only occur when they are visually imperceptible to viewers. StreamSmart On-Air, an API-based optimization software, leverages existing encoding and packaging workflows and uses an AI-driven approach to dynamically select optimal segments from ABR/HLS/standard streams and optimize bitrates in real time.
IMAX XVS is the only video quality metric that maps to the human visual system, making it the most accurate and complete measure of how humans perceive video quality. The Emmy Award-winning technology has a >90% correlation to Mean Opinion Score (MOS), verified across various video datasets. It sees quality differences that other metrics can’t and works for all types of content, including live, VOD, HDR, and 4K.
StreamSmart On-Air takes the source content, which is encoded to the top profile, using the provided encoder configuration. StreamSmart On-Air, in parallel, generates a set of alternate, lower bitrate profiles using Advanced Machine Learning. The software then analyzes and quantifies quality for every video segment from all the profiles and selects the lowest bitrate segments that maintain the same video quality, guaranteeing an optimal viewer experience while maximizing bitrate savings. It then sends an optimized manifest file to the Origin. Because the implementation is based on manifest manipulation, it is codec, encoder, and configuration agnostic.
Importantly, StreamSmart has a single-ended (no-reference) component to its quality measurement, which is AI-based and designed using perceptually motivated Deep Neural Networks. The goal of the no-reference metric is to predict a full reference quality score, without relying on a source file for comparison. IMAX built a database that has tens of millions of sources and designed a machine-learning approach that directly passes pixels to a deep-learning model. This, and the fact that it can run in real time at the speed of encoding and it's computationally efficient, makes it possible to use on live workflows, where latency is a consideration, and there is no source file to compare to quantify quality.
Streaming businesses are facing enormous challenges to increase profitability. Subscriber growth is slowing, and churn is increasing, both impacting bottom lines. The focus for streaming businesses right now is capturing new revenue opportunities while significantly cutting costs. IMAX StreamSmart On-Air, with IMAX ViewerScore (XVS), offers seamless integration with existing workflows and saves 15% - 25% on distribution costs without compromising video quality. Not a forklift upgrade, StreamSmart On-Air provides additive savings to existing workflows. StreamSmart On-Air’s pricing is tied to a fraction of the cost savings, ensuring a cost-effective, risk-free solution that guarantees positive ROI.
