How to achieve broadcast-grade quality in PPV streaming at scale?

Elevating Live Streaming to Broadcast Quality: A Bianor and JW Player Case Study

Introduction

In the ever-evolving realm of digital streaming, delivering pay-per-view (PPV) content that matches the caliber of traditional broadcast has remained a formidable challenge. Bianor, a leading software service company, stands at the forefront of this challenge, striving to provide millions of global fans with a seamless, high-quality live-streaming experience. This case study aims to succinctly convey the technical prowess and successful strategies employed by Bianor, in partnership with JW Player, to deliver exceptional PPV live-streaming services.

Together, we will dive into how Bianor, in collaboration with JW Player (JWP), successfully achieves broadcast-grade quality in PPV streaming at scale.

The Challenge

The PPV streaming landscape is complex, mainly when providing a broadcast-grade consumer experience at scale without delay. The goal is to course content and replicate the real-life experience of watching a live broadcast.

The Solution

Our quest for optimal technology led us to JW Platform, a robust partner supporting all our infrastructure needs. JW Platform is pivotal in delivering a top-tier web experience, integrating seamlessly with payment systems, entitlements, and more.

JW Player’s Role

JW Player plays an instrumental role in this ecosystem, offering:

• World’s Fastest HTML5 Player: Ensuring broad reach, enhanced engagement, and effective monetization.
• Customizable Experience: Tailoring the video player to create fully branded experiences.
• Broadcast Quality Stability: Ensuring consistent, high-quality HLS DASH-compliant video playback.
• Complete API Control: Offering comprehensive control over every aspect of the video experience.

Our Approach to Scalability

Achieving broadcast quality at scale necessitates a multi-faceted approach:

Infrastructure Scalability

Utilizing multi-datacenter and multi-CDN deployment, auto-scaling resources, and full stack redundancy.

Backend Scalability

Implementing horizontal scaling with load balancing and clustered caching, coupled with the flexibility of vertical scaling.

Streaming Infrastructure

Employing multiple CDNs with dynamic switching and auto-scaling streaming servers to efficiently manage load.

Caching Strategies

Key to our approach is multi-level caching, including:

• CDN caching;
• Application sharding and microcracking;
• Shared backend caching;
• Client-side caching.

Secure Video Streaming

In the digital age, content security is not just a feature – it’s a necessity, especially for pay-per-view events where exclusivity and revenue protection are paramount. Bianor takes this aspect seriously, employing state-of-the-art Digital Rights Management (DRM) to safeguard video streams.

Bianor’s streaming solution supports a variety of DRM schemas, ensuring compatibility and security across different devices and platforms. These include:

FairPlay

Used primarily in Apple environments, FairPlay is a DRM technology developed by Apple Inc. It’s widely used for streaming content on iOS devices, Apple TV, and Safari on macOS.

PlayReady

Developed by Microsoft, PlayReady is a versatile DRM solution that supports a wide range of business models, including rental, subscription, and electronic sell-through, and is widely used on Windows devices and some smart TVs.

Widevine

Google’s Widevine technology provides multiplatform DRM and supports a range of standards. It’s vital for streaming on Android devices and Chrome browsers and is also used on many smart TVs.

The Result

Our collaboration has led to the seamless streaming of some of the most significant live PPV boxing events, handling peak loads with minimal latency (<5sec), and offloading 95% of traffic to CDNs. Our infrastructure has successfully managed 1,200+ live PPV events annually, with 16K+ requests per second at peak times.

Conclusion

Our journey with JW Player illustrates that achieving broadcast-grade quality in PPV streaming at scale is a goal and a reality. With robust platforms, effective caching, redundancy, auto-scaling, and strategic CDN use, we ensure a smooth and flawless digital adventure for every viewer. At Bianor, we are committed to assisting at every stage of the content distribution life cycle, partnering with JWP to build or customize OTT services to meet specific needs.