Akamai's accelerated ingest capabilities are designed to minimize the amount of time live video streams take to reach the Akamai CDN from their origination point. This faster transport is enabled through a combination of user datagram protocol (UDP) based delivery and dynamic encoder to entry-point mapping (DEEM), which is designed to provide improved throughput and automatically optimize entry-points based on current Internet conditions. Accelerated ingest is intended to help ensure the highest possible quality viewing experiences with fast start-up times, limited buffering and consistent video performance.
Accelerated ingest is among several enhancements to Akamai's Media Services Live delivery solutions that are designed to reduce latency in live-streamed events. The company is showing live OTT workflows from acquisition to end-user viewing devices.
Akamai is also showing predictive delivery capabilities intended to improve viewing experiences through instant start-up of high-bitrate video with no buffering. Available as a white-labeled application or as part of a suite of modular, client-side SDKs, the technology is designed to allow on-demand content to be pre-positioned and stored on mobile and in-home devices rather than the radio access network and Internet. New content can be propagated based upon end-user preferences and scheduled for delivery within parameters such as WiFi-only or during known off-peak hours.
Akamai's booth also features a physical "walk through" of 4K OTT workflows. Demonstrations focus on acquisition and ingest, cloud-based processing and delivery, monitoring and reporting, and playback.