Wowza Streaming Engine is a software platform for end-to-end reception, transcoding, and streaming of live video across multiple channels. Using standard IT-based architectures to deploy media services in this way offers excellent provisioning speed and scalability. A major challenge is that software-based transcoding experiences CPU limitations when working with multiple sources at UHD 4K and 8K resolutions. By utilizing hardware and software accelerators for the latest video encoding techniques, such as HEVC, broadcasters can offload much of the computational load, enabling faster and more optimized performance from their transcoding, packaging, and streaming software.
Advantech helps address these challenges with its VEGA-331x video accelerator cards by providing the hardware acceleration required to efficiently scale video processing across a wide range of live UHD video applications. Each accelerator card is capable of professional-grade, real-time encoding of UHD video streams in an ultra-low-power, easy-to-integrate PCI Express form factor. Combined with Wowza Streaming Engine software, the VEGA-331x provides an easily deployable, accelerated OTT solution for AVC and HEVC channels.
The VEGA-331x product family comprises a range of capabilities and configurations to meet the needs of individual projects, from a single-channel UHD/4K live AVC/HEVC encoder in the VEGA-3311 to the high-density VEGA-3318, which can support eight channels of 4K encoding on a single card consuming only 65W. The range is based on the Socionext MB86M30 SoC, which supports many UHD, HD, and SD video formats and can compress video using HEVC or AVC codecs in real time, including 10-bit HDR-ready profiles and 4:2:2 contribution chroma subsampling.
With OTT service penetration rapidly increasing, and many content owners looking to monetize their content directly for viewers, some analysts believe OTT viewing will surpass standard streaming viewing by 2020. Coupled with the expectation of 4K and 8K content delivery, the pressure is on to find a cost-effective and efficient solution that can support all these additional demands. The increased demand for rapid deployment is leading many to consider commercial components, both hardware and software, to reduce risk and time to market.
Version 4.7.7 of Wowza Streaming Engine, which supports VEGA-331x boards, will be available very soon.
