BY KIERAN FARR
It is hard to ignore the power of video as the next wave of communication . By 2020 , online video will account for more than 80 % of all consumer Internet traffic . With 51 % of all video plays watched on mobile devices and 100 million hours of content consumed on Netflix daily , product development teams cannot afford to disregard the importance of online video in their strategies . Today , they need to ensure they offer a unified experience anywhere , anytime and on any platform .
Yet , adding video to a softwareas-a-service ( SaaS ) product or offering it alongside other forms of news reporting can be a real challenge because a lot of product teams do not have the video development resources to match those of Facebook or Netflix . In addition ,
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developers with deep knowledge in video are still rare . For all other developers , video is a whole new world that they seldom have time to dedicate to . Instead , they need to be able to improve products quickly — a challenge best solved with application programming interfaces ( APIs ) and component solutions .
The benefits of this approach are clear : component solutions allow for quick development and lightning fast proofs-of-concept ( POCs ) because they function like an assembly line with “ plug and play ” capability . Because of this , new technologies such as advanced codecs can be adopted quickly while using the SaaS model to reduce the overheads of maintenance and feature upgrades .
By using a video encoding API with the hands-on developer resources and support that come
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with it , developers can successfully achieve their goals at scale while still focusing on their core value proposition .
Out of the plethora of APIs available today , there are five main ones that suit SaaS platforms best : n Stream testing for DASH , HLS and progressive protocols : Video files can be tested simply by pasting the location of a manifest file and selecting the file type . Developers will see first-hand just how good videos look in any browser and on any device with no plug-ins , resulting in a super-fast start-up . n Stream testing for content protection : Developers can try out a protected digital rights management ( DRM ) stream and get immediate insights into which DRM system and codecs are supported by their browser , and will work best for their workflows .
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n Native player software development kit ( SDK ): The unified configuration , user interface ( UI ) and API gives developers a single point of control across all platforms , creating a consistent experience for users regardless of device type . n UI styling : A unified UI configuration ensures that a player will look the same , regardless of which device or platform it is rendered on . For instance , simple interactive colour controls can be changed along with code examples to take branding to the next level . n Ad scheduling : By integrating different advertising standards — namely VAST , VPAID , IMA and VMAP — into the player , revenue can be generated quickly through seamless ad insertion within platforms and apps .
API-based video component solutions are market-ready , simple
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and robust options for developers who want to power their apps and SaaS products with video , but do not have video development skills . This allows developers to seamlessly implement , test and launch services that consumers really want to use , with the added benefits of improved efficiencies and future-proofing services that deliver content anytime , anywhere .
Kieran Farr is VP marketing , Bitmovin .
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