BT Group uses Broadpeak’s Multicast ABR in their new multicast-assisted unicast delivery system to improve live video streaming quality, reliability, and lower content delivery costs.
BT Group and Broadpeak are working together on a new system for live video streaming – Multicast-Assisted Unicast Delivery (MAUD). Featuring Broadpeak’s nanoCDN multicast ABR (mABR), its goal is to support more reliable, efficient, sustainable live video streaming, while maintaining very high quality. A number of major broadcasters and content companies are expected to trial this new system in 2024.
Broadpeak develops CDN and video streaming solutions for content providers and pay-TV operators worldwide. BT Group supplies fixed and mobile telecommunications and related secure digital products, solutions and services in the UK, as well as managed telecommunications, security and network and IT infrastructure services to clients across 180 countries.
The Streaming Experience
“As more live events move partially or entirely online, we are already seeing a big increase in traffic. MAUD makes a marked difference in how live video is delivered over the internet. It will improve video streaming experiences for viewers, delivering a more reliable, consistent picture and will increase content delivery efficiency for broadcasters and video service providers,” said Howard Watson, chief security and networks officer at BT Group. “Because Broadpeak is a developer with a successful track record for multicast ABR innovation and deployments, it is significant for us to use their systems as part of the MAUD solution.”
As BT Group goes on to create the world’s first MAUD-enabled network, among the components Broadpeak is supplying is nanoCDN mABR, which is widely deployed around the world for video streaming.
The nanoCDN will integrate into BT Group’s consumer smart hub routers and use multicast capabilities to group individual streams together in the network core, before converting them back to unicast at the edge for consumption by player applications on end-user devices. With MAUD, video service providers can serve millions of viewers with a single stream, improving content delivery efficiency and reducing costs for broadcasters, CDNs and internet service providers.
A Step Further
MAUD’s specialised architecture takes mABR a step further by integrating directly with content provider player applications, which makes modifying customers’ apps unnecessary. Using up to 50 percent less bandwidth during peak events, MAUD reduces energy usage by reducing the number of caches that must be deployed. By efficiently delivering live video streaming, broadcasters and video service providers have the opportunity to deliver a higher quality of experience.
“We are pleased about supporting BT Group with the launch of such an impressive live video streaming initiative,” said Jacques Le Mancq, CEO of Broadpeak. “MAUD answers the critical requirements for enhanced video quality, simpler content delivery and increased sustainability, making it a new direction for broadcasters and video service providers.” broadpeak.tv
