CASTLABS - Executive Predictions for 2018

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castLabs pioneers software and cloud services for digital video markets, delivering billions of DRM licenses worldwide, handling multi-format video processing including embedded session-based watermarking, and offering fully-featured multi-screen player SDKs for online and offline viewing.

2018 is set to be an exciting year for streaming media, driven by applied intelligence and the increased adoption of high quality content formats. Convergence is another hot topic for the coming year.

Developments we’re hoping to see include:

  • Machine learning and AI taking centre stage. Advertising, content insights, recommendation engines, and content delivery will all become intelligent. Data exchange is key, and video delivery infrastructure components will need to provide integrations with external services to tap into AI.
  • CMAF and WAVE will gain additional momentum with a caveat - broad deployment will remain hindered by device fragmentation.
  • UHD with HDR and NG Audio. Critical mass of end devices likely to be reached this year. Format fragmentation will still be an issue, while content generation remains complex.
  • Increased traction of forensic watermarking, especially for UHD content.
  • Offline experiences to enable ubiquitous content consumption.
  • Improvements in VBR encoding techniques, some using machine learning, which will improve coding efficiency and extend the lifecycle of H264.

 

What we believe won’t happen in 2018:

  • Common Encryption format won’t be realized for existing devices, but convergence in newer devices seems possible.
  • Common Streaming Format won’t materialize. HLS and MPEG-DASH are both here to stay. CMAF however will enable DASH-HLS hybrid content.

Michael Stattmann  CEO | CASTLABS

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