Why Content Delivery Networks Need More Capacity

We’re in the midst of an enormous media shift. For those of us who grew up in the era of broadcast domination, this amounts to a revolution in technology. Nobody worries too much anymore about how to adjust the rabbit ears for best reception. Instead, they worry about 3G and 4G coverage so they can get their videos on the go. Cable and satellite TV, the successors to over the air delivery, now have to worry about the Internet as the connection of choice for both audio and video. If over-the-air delivery is waning, then what is taking its place? It’s the CDN or Content Delivery Network.

What’s a CDN and how does it relate to the Internet? A content delivery network works with the Internet, not as a replacement. The public does not connect directly to a CDN. These are privately run networks designed to provide high bandwidth combined with low latency, jitter and packet loss. They are designed for capacity and quality to support content producers and distributors. Thus, the name Content Delivery Network. They are designed to deliver content, most often in IP video format, from point to point or point to multipoint.

What CDNs do in take a load off the Internet and ensure quality of transmission for most of the distance traversed. Say a customer wants access to an HD video download or stream. You can try to jam that through the Internet and take your chances with traffic congestion and other quality degradations. Or, the provider can send the program over a CDN directly to the Internet Service Provider. The ISP, say a cable company, then gives access to the CDN delivered content to their customer. In this case, it could be through the Cable broadband service or the content could be used to feed a separate cable channel.

Sure, content can still be degraded between the ISP head end and the customer, but at least the service providers have control of that portion of the network. They can choose how to manage the bandwidth shared by their customers to ensure satisfactory video quality.

The media shift now in progress is gravitating toward most consumers getting their video services via cable or satellite rather than through over the air broadcast channels. That’s why you haven’t heard much screaming over the replacement of analog transmission by digital. It's not that those converter boxes are so wonderful. It's that the satellite and cable set top boxes that feed TV sets are capable of providing a variety of compatible analog, digital, SD and HD television signals. Old TVs as well as new are supported.

Digital HDTV was just one phase of the transformation. What’s happening now is that more and more set top boxes and television receivers themselves come with Ethernet ports for IP content. Plug these ports into an Internet router and the TV set becomes capable of displaying video content that never leaves the Net. Netflix is an example of a content provider that uses the Internet. So is YouTube. Even the broadcast networks are providing archives of already aired shows on their Internet sites.

This move from airwaves to broadband will likely result in more and more spectrum repurposed to wireless Internet service. At the same time, IP video content will increase and require a robust delivery mechanism. This is why CDNs are growing and will continue to for the foreseeable future. Level 3, one of the world’s largest IP backbones for content delivery, recently added 1.65 Tbps of global capacity and added Toronto, Montreal, Brussels, Munich and Hamburg to its CDN. Video content delivery is now worldwide.

Is your organization in the business of producing, distributing or delivering content to service providers or end users? If so, you have an opportunity to compare IP video transport services for regional, national or international connections. There is no charge for this complementary pricing and consulting service for serious business and organizational applications.

1.5 and 3.0 Gbps Uncompressed HD Video Transport

It’s been over a year since analog television broadcasting with its SD video signals went off the air. What 4:3 sets are still in use are relics of an obsolete technology. They’re hanging on for the time being, thanks to Cable and Satellite receivers that feed their RF inputs. But look closer and you can see that HD channels are multiplying and SD channels are being abandoned by viewers with flat-screen HD TVs. What’s coming up fast is IPTV in high definition. Next year it will be 3D with and without glasses.

For broadcasters, show distributors and content providers, yesterday’s video transport techniques are just as obsolete as those old tube sets. What’s needed now is high definition digital transmission. The highest quality requires uncompressed transport, which, unfortunately, consumes bandwidth at a prodigious rate. No problem. Level 3 Vyvx service is set up to meet the need. Now, level 3 is offering uncompressed high definition video transport services between Los Angeles, Washington D.C. and New York City at 1.5 and 3.0 Gigabits per second.

Live video feeds are delivered in their native, pristine form by sending them with zero compression. Think of it as one very long connection between the studio and the control room. Or, more likely, between the scene of an event and the network control center.

Level 3 has been a major player in video transport services worldwide. Their Emmy Award winning Vyvx resources include fiber connectivity to 125 cities in the United States and Europe. They have direct connectivity to most professional sports venues in the United States and Canada. They offer Managed Video Network Services (MVNS), teleports in Atlanta, Denver, L.A. and Berlin, standards conversion, encryption and HD encoding.

The heart of the system is Level 3’s IP/MPLS worldwide fiber network. MPLS or Multi-Protocol Label Switching networks offer high capacity bandwidth with quality of service controls, deterministic pre-allocated paths with rapid switching to redundant paths if needed. This makes for a highly reliable, secure and high performance core network ideal for high bandwidth data and video transmission.

This is really the leading edge of what will become a much more extensive high bandwidth video transport system. Level 3 has stated that other cities will be added to the 1.5 and 3.0 Gbps service as demand increases. Even as this happens, the demand for compressed HD and even SD video transport is increasing world wide. There is more video content, live feeds and specialized programming being produced every day. Every one of these sources needs high quality and highly reliable transport services.

Are you involved in video production, content distribution, high quality teleconferencing, video streaming or coverage of breaking news? If so, learn more about the range of options available to you for metropolitan and long haul video transport.