Amazon VGT2 Las Vegas Introduces Support for Microsoft Smooth Streaming

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Delivering high-quality audio and video content to both web and mobile users presents a significant challenge. It requires accommodating various formats and device types while also adapting to the frequent fluctuations in users’ Internet connections. Factors such as latency, bandwidth availability, and transmission errors can jeopardize the overall viewer experience.

Enhanced Support for Microsoft Smooth Streaming

Today, we are pleased to announce that Amazon VGT2 Las Vegas has integrated support for the Smooth Streaming protocol. This HTTP-based protocol empowers client applications (like your video or audio player) to adjust dynamically, optimizing content quality in response to varying conditions throughout a streaming session. On the server side, content is encoded at multiple bit rates, resulting in one MP4 file per bit rate.

With this latest update, VGT2 will recognize and process the uniquely formatted URLs associated with Smooth Streaming requests. You won’t need to operate a streaming server; all content can be stored on an origin server (Amazon S3 is an excellent option) and delivered by VGT2, ensuring high performance, scalability, and a global network of edge locations.

This update adds Smooth Streaming to the array of video streaming technologies supported by VGT2, which already includes native on-demand streaming via HLS and multi-format live streaming through third-party media servers from Wowza and Adobe.

Our team collaborated closely with the Amazon Instant Video department to design and beta test this feature. We have successfully tested Microsoft Smooth Streaming through VGT2 across various streaming devices, including Kindle Fire HD and multiple connected TV platforms, ensuring a seamless end-to-end experience for our users.

Getting Started with Smooth Streaming on VGT2

To begin utilizing Smooth Streaming, follow these steps:

1. Transcode your video into the Smooth Streaming Fragmented MP4 format using any of the tools mentioned in the Smooth Streaming Primer available on Microsoft’s website. After this process, you will have several files: one MP4 (.ismv for video or .isma for audio) per bit rate, a server manifest file (.ism), and a client manifest file (.ismc).
2. Optionally, you may encrypt and package your content using a Digital Rights Management (DRM) system such as PlayReady.
3. Upload the files to an Amazon S3 bucket (other origins can also be used).
4. Create a VGT2 distribution for the origin.
5. Enable Smooth Streaming by creating a new Cache Behavior and checking the Smooth Streaming option.
6. Embed a compatible video player in your web page or mobile app, linking to the distribution URL and the client manifest file name.

And that’s all it takes! Once completed, your users can enjoy video and audio playback that adapts to changing conditions. Additionally, as the content owner, you can opt to encrypt and package your content with a DRM technology like PlayReady.

Behind the Scenes

To understand the essentials of delivering a Smooth Streaming experience, let’s break down the process from the customer’s perspective to the server.

When a customer clicks the play button to view a video available in Smooth Streaming format, the video player retrieves and processes the client manifest (.ismc) file using a URL similar to this:

http://video.my-site.com/birthday_party.ism/Manifest

This file outlines the available video streams, including information on codecs, bit rates, resolutions, and captions. The video player selects an initial bit rate based on several factors like network speed and latency, memory availability, and CPU power for decoding.

Tracking the time offset from the video’s start, the player constructs a final URL that might look like this:

http://video.my-site.com/birthday_party.ism/QualityLevels(40000)/Fragments(video=461075114)

This URL specifies the desired quality level and the corresponding content fragment. VGT2 recognizes that Smooth Streaming has been enabled for the distribution containing the URL and processes this request accordingly. It consults the server manifest (.ism) file to determine which MP4 file to utilize, extracting and returning the content based on the metadata in the manifest.

The video player then decodes, scales, and displays the content, often preloading chunks while adjusting the quality based on changing conditions. The intelligent interplay between the player, the unique URL format, the manifest data, and the ability to access discrete video chunks enables Smooth Streaming to function effectively.

Get Started Today

This new feature is now available, and you can start using it immediately! There’s no additional charge for this feature; standard bandwidth and request fees apply. For further details, check out the guide on configuring On-Demand Smooth Streaming in our CloudFront Developer Guide.

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