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124 STREAMING MEDIA INDUSTRY SOURCEBOOK 2018
high-performance transmission of audio, video, and
data between Adobe Flash Platform technologies, including Adobe Flash Player and Adobe AIR. RTMP is
now available as an open specification to create products and technology that enable delivery of video, audio, and data in the open AMF, SWF, FLV, and F4V formats compatible with Adobe Flash Player.”
Why it matters. RTMP forms the basis for many low-latency origin streams used for key live-streaming
services. The specification is available for download,
but Adobe notes that it covers “the RTMP protocol only”
and doesn’t include “information or license around any
other Flash Media Server technology.”
MPEG- 2 Transport Streams (M2TS)
Percentage vote: 100%
Definition. An MPEG- 2 Transport Stream (M2TS) is
a standard containerized and packetized format to
store audio, video, program, and system information
(and to transmit via the PSIP protocol) in error-prone
environments. M2TS has widespread use in broadcast
systems (DVB, ATSC) and even in some physical discs
(Blu-Ray). ITU-T R H.222 provides for both transport
and program streams.
Why it matters. From a streaming perspective, the
M2TS container format is the basis of Apple HTTP Live
Streaming (HLS), which has become a de facto standard for delivery of HTTP-based streams. An M2TS
must be multiplexed, meaning that small portions of
audio and video files are sent at the same time, then
de-multiplexed (demuxed) and played back in an order determined by a playlist or manifest file.
Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)
Percentage vote: 86%
Definition. Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) is the
formatting code used to create web pages, but recent
advances, such as the HTML5 standard, also allow for
integrated video and audio tags, as well as drawing and
interactive elements as part of the Canvas substandard.
Why it matters. The use of audio and video tags within
HTML eliminates the need for web browsers to allow
plug-in video players. This not only makes the browser itself more secure, but potentially allows for optimized resource allocation during an end-user viewing
experience, since some plug-in player manufacturers,
as Steve Jobs famously stated, “should focus more on
creating great HTML5 tools for the future, and less on
criticizing Apple for leaving the past behind.”
Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)
Percentage vote: 86%
Definition. Hypertext Transfer Protocol is the protocol
used to distribute web page content. Some streaming media productions are also sent to end-users via
HTTP, such as the recently ratified DASH (Dynamic
Adaptive Streaming via HTTP).
Why it matters. HTTP is the core transport protocol for
web pages, using specific ports ( 80 and 8080) to deliver
a wide variety of content to web browsers. These ports
are open on all routers, unlike the specialized ports of
particular streaming technologies or even the ports
for multicast and RTP/RTSP streaming standards.
Streaming delivered via HTTP is protected in Europe
from Deep Packet Inspection (DPI), but in the U.S., the
ability of network administrators to use DPI to “sniff
out” video sent via HTTP has given rise to the Net Neutrality debates.
H.264 (aka AVC, MPEG- 4 Part 10)
Percentage vote: 86%
Definition. A video compression codec known by various names (Advanced Video Coding or AVC, H.264,
or MPEG- 4 Part 10) that can be used for both low-latency solutions such as videoconferencing and very
high resolution/longer latency solutions like Blu-ray
discs, HDTV, and on-demand streaming content.
Why it matters. Having a single video codec, adopted
by a wide number of companies across a matrix of low-versus-high latency and low-versus-high resolution use
cases, allowed the industry to focus efforts on enhancing delivery methodologies. The current landscape,
where competing codecs—such as H.265 (HEVC), VPx,
and AV1—are all vying for attention, reminds the industry why sometimes an internationally ratified standard
makes more sense than competing ad hoc solutions.
Real-Time Transport Protocol/
Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTP/RTSP)
Percentage vote: 71%
Definition. Real-Time Transport Protocol is an internet
protocol that defines the transmission of real-time data,
such as audio and video. RTP provides mechanisms for
the sending (server) and receiving (client) applications
to support streaming of any kind of data. Real-Time
Streaming Protocol (RTSP) is a standardized method of
transferring audio, video, and other time-based media (such as timed-text or closed-caption titles) over
internet-technology-based networks.
