AMSTERDAM—Irdeto and Ateme revealed the strategic integration of the former’s TraceMark forensic watermarking solution within the latter’s end-to-end video delivery ecosystem during recently concluded IBC2025 convention.

The integration enables content owners, broadcasters and streaming service providers to seamlessly activate content protection directly within their entire headend workflows, embedding unique and imperceptible watermarks in real time across the content lifecycle, the companies said.

The move enables operators to embed Irdeto’s TraceMark forensic watermarking directly into the content within their secure headend, moving beyond component-specific deployment, they said.

TraceMark’s blind detection capabilities eliminate the need for complex interfaces with Irdeto’s forensics system, ensuring straightforward and minimally impactful integration into any workflow. Embedding the technology into Ateme’s expanding portfolio covering transcoding, packaging and CDN, equips users with a streamlined path to adopting proven server-side watermarking.

This deterrent against content theft operates without disrupting existing workflows, guaranteeing that all distributed content—from source to screen—is invisibly watermarked, providing an essential and comprehensive layer of security, the said.

“Ateme’s end-to-end solutions are increasingly adopted across the industry for their quality and efficiency, and this integration makes it easier than ever for their customers to protect valuable content,” said Andrew Bunten, chief operating officer of Video Entertainment at Irdeto.

“By simplifying and expanding the watermarking process across the entire Ateme ecosystem, we’re creating new opportunities for content owners to secure their assets and for Ateme to deliver even greater value.”

The pre-integration of TraceMark into Ateme’s solutions offers a key differentiator where critical protection is already seamlessly available and deeply integrated, the companies said.

“At Ateme, we are committed to delivering solutions that not only meet but anticipate the evolving needs of our customers,” said Remi Beaudouin, chief of strategy of Ateme. “By integrating Irdeto’s TraceMark watermarking not just within our encoders, but across our broader end-to-end video delivery platform, we are giving our customers an effortless way to enhance their content security, without adding operational complexity.”

More information is available on the Irdeto and Ateme websites.

PARIS—Ateme has announced that it is deploying its Titan video processing and compression solution with NVIDIA Holoscan for Media, an AI-enabled, software-defined platform for live media. 

The collaboration between Ateme and NVIDIA aims to empower media, entertainment, and service providers by significantly reducing the cost of broadcasting and streaming content while driving the adoption of advanced IP-based workflows, the two companies reported. 

Through this collaboration, Ateme will leverage NVIDIA’s AI technologies to pioneer the next generation of video experiences by delivering an end-to-end, IP-based workflow that adheres to the SMPTE ST 2110 standard. This offers broadcasters, service providers and new media a more efficient, flexible, and cost-effective infrastructure for broadcasting and streaming operations, it explained. 

 "This collaboration is a significant milestone for us as we continue to innovate and provide our customers with cutting-edge solutions that enhance their operational efficiency and deliver superior viewing experiences,” said Mickael Raulet, CTO at Ateme. “We are excited to leverage NVIDIA’s  AI-driven technology to empower our customers to navigate the evolving media landscape with confidence."

Key Benefits of the Integration of Titan with NVIDIA Holoscan for Media include:

• Cost Reduction: The integration allows broadcasters, streaming service providers and new media to substantially reduce operational costs through optimized resource utilization and enhanced workflow efficiency.
• Advanced IP Workflow: With full support for SMPTE ST 2110, the integration provides a seamless, all-IP infrastructure, enabling a smooth transition for media companies towards future-proof, IP-based operations.
• Next-Generation Video Experiences: Leveraging the power of NVIDIA’s AI technologies, Ateme paves the way for broadcasters, service providers and new media to offer immersive, high-quality video experiences, helping set new standards in content delivery and audience engagement.

SANTA CLARA, Calif.—Agora today unveiled its Adaptive Video Optimization (AVO) technology that uses machine learning to adjust parameters dynamically at every step from capture to playback for the delivery of an enhanced live video streaming experience.

AVO, which includes support for the AV1 video codec, uses a series of advanced machine learning algorithms to address common issues, such as unstable network conditions, packet loss and limited bandwidth, and their impact on streaming video like freezes, stutters, dropped connections and grainy images, the company said.

By optimizing video quality in real time based on network conditions, device capabilities and available bandwidth, AVO ensures the highest video quality possible, it said.

"Reliable and high-quality live streaming is essential in today’s video-dominated media landscape," stated Tony Zhao, CEO and co-founder of Agora. "Our Adaptive Video Optimization technology enables smooth delivery of every call and livestream—despite network variability, user’s location or device. These improvements increase engagement and empower Agora’s customers to provide the highest-quality live video user experience.”

Machine learning is used to ensure video streaming is optimized from pre-processing, encoding, and transmission to decoding and post-processing, the company said.

AVO supports advanced video codecs like AV1 and VP9 and dynamically switches to the codec most suitable for an exceptional video experience despite device limitations or streaming constraints. By employing advanced techniques and compression methods, the technology adapts, configuring parameters dynamically to ensure crisp visuals, efficient bandwidth use and a consistent, high-quality experience, it said.

More information is available on the company’s website. 

The world is getting an unwelcome stress test of its video-delivery infrastructure. Hopefully, electronic-communications policymakers are taking careful notes as the world struggles to stop the virus spread and keep communications channels open for critical information and much-needed home education and entertainment.

When the crisis clears, we should be a lot smarter about how our video distribution system performs under a prolonged crisis and whether policy or industry adjustments are warranted.

Over the last 20 years, large amounts of spectrum use has been transferred to wireless services. This has helped accommodate the spike in unidirectional data traffic as video has become a champion bandwidth power-eater. Here’s what we’ve learned so far about wired and wireless internet status during the COVID-19 crisis:

• Concern runs high that the dramatic increase in video streaming traffic may overload the internet in certain places. Video streaming providers such as Netflix and YouTube, as well as gaming suppliers Microsoft and Sony, announced they are making some provisions for lowering bandwidth requirements with low-resolution streaming during the crisis. Of course, most employ Adaptable Bit Rate (ABR) technology to automatically adjust resolution when networks get jammed, so this seems to be a sort of back-stop measure.
• The crisis is fueling more than just record-level entertainment streaming. E-learning programs are being rolled out for entire school systems. In the business world, companies are conducting meetings over videoconferencing, and webinars are substituting for conferences and trade shows.
• The internet’s unicast capabilities are allowing for much-needed remote access between healthcare providers and non-critical patients in a worldwide telemedicine experiment.

Prioritizing video internet use during this emergency may force lower-priority applications (entertainment, for example) to pull back. What we knew before the crisis is that solely depending on unicast distribution (whether wired or wireless) is inefficient. We also knew that broadcast distribution is inherently more efficient, but many terrestrial broadcasters are operating with older systems that need updating to make the most efficient use of assigned spectrum. Fortunately, new digital TV systems such as ATSC 3.0 and DVB-T2 with HEVC video coding are now delivering more spectrally-efficient digital terrestrial TV (DTT) systems. Because TV broadcasters recognize that they must be hybrid service providers, the two systems combine (to different degrees) internet components with broadcast transmissions.

All of this is highlighted even more when you consider that official recommendations for avoiding internet congestion from the EBU to public service media organizations included “encouraging audiences to consume their offerings over broadcast rather than broadband, and on fixed broadband rather than mobile, where possible.”

This moment like no other moment should force the question: Is it reasonable—or wise—to expect all video content to be unicasted? To some, efficient use of resources might be considered a noble gesture, but not imperative. That sentiment seems foolish if our data delivery systems are overwhelmed and a worldwide economic recession (or worse) puts capital expenditures for laying fiber, installing scores of microcells and placing thousands of low-earth orbit internet satellites on the “to do much later” list.

Of course, TV broadcasters will take an economic hit just like every other business, but the capital outlay for upgrading DTT systems will be significantly less than for the aforementioned communications-infrastructure projects. That’s no guarantee that the DTT system upgrades will occur, but if they do, video distribution will be done more efficiently. Consider how a hybrid broadcast linear and internet delivery system could enhance remote-learning partnerships launched between U.S. public TV broadcasters and local education systems during the COVID-19 crisis.

Apart from the need for efficiency, this moment like no other crystalizes the importance of local news, information and service. Consider the patchwork of orders/decrees/guidance from individual cities, counties, parishes and states in the U.S. Reliable reporting from trusted local news outlets with direct access to local officials is more critical than ever.

However our video communications infrastructure holds up at this time, there will come a day when governments, policymakers, industry leaders, educators and healthcare providers will issue report cards on how well these distribution networks served us. Any post-crisis prescriptive measures might want to start with more efficient use of our distribution resources.

Myra Moore is the founder of DTC Consulting. This post originally appeared on the DTC blog.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.—Nobody likes buffering, but a recent report from Akamai puts a dollars and cents figure on just how much people dislike it. A key finding in Akamai’s “Understanding the Value of Consistency in OTT Video Delivery” report indicates that a single instance of video rebuffering can cost up to $85,000 in lost revenue.

That $85,000 figure comes from a look at the volume of video traffic for a major U.S. network between June 2017 and June 2018, totaling 370 million video plays. Through Akamai’s Media Analytics tool, it was determined that each instance of rebuffering results in 1% abandonment rate. Averaging the play duration, Akamai determined that one rebuffer translates into 497,417 hours lost, or 10.7 million ad impressions. At a CPM of $8, a rebuffer lose $85,500.

The link between rebuffering and viewer engagement make its avoidance a top priority for most service providers. According to one senior manager at a major broadcaster interviewed for the report, customer engagement drops significantly the more they see the “spinning wheel.” The manager said the goal is to keep the amount of rebuffering below 0.5%, which results in 90% of sessions being completed. When that numbers rise from 0.5-1% that number drops to 80%, and when it is more than 1% the rate drops to 50%.

The root of rebuffering can come from a number of different places. ISP, CDNs, the end user device or browser, Wi-Fi configurations, available bandwidth, network traffic and even the content can impact rebuffering.

Video providers are also noticing that their audiences are getting better at spotting drops in quality and are able to express them over platforms like Twitter. “We have a particularly tuned in audience, who debate with our engineering staff. You have no choice but to engage,” said one CEO of a video aggregator.

The report is a combination of research data and interviews with senior executives from video distributors. Access the full report on akamai.com.