Bitmovin Releases API to Simplify Video Development and Delivery
Attempting to take the complexity out of video workflows, Austrian video infrastructure company Bitmovin is releasing an API today that integrates all parts of the video workflow from development to delivery. The API connects to storage providers and content delivery networks (CDNs), provides performance analytics, and works with live, on-demand, 360, and virtual reality video.
The API's offerings start when an adaptive DASH or HLS video is created. Customers can store it with supported systems, such as AWS S3, FTP, and Aspera, then stream it to CDNs that include Akamai, Level3, and CloudFront, which handle end-viewer delivery. The analytics component tracks user behavior no matter how they view the video. The API also supports digital rights management, ad network integrations, subtitles, and closed captions.
The problem Bitmovin hopes to solve is patchwork video infrastructures that get created as companies add new solutions from different providers. Patchwork systems are difficult to scale, offer limited quality, and make development difficult. Moving to an all-in-one solution could help companies jumpstart their online video efforts. Customers can use the API for a full-service solution for only for the components they select.
“We saw how API-based infrastructure services are disrupting different industries, such as Stripe is doing for payment or Twilio for communication, and now it's time for the online media industry to get disrupted by a fully video-focused API," says Stefan Lederer, CEO of Bitmovin. “As we like to solve hard problem, our API includes support for the hardest challenges in video today, such as fast cloud encoding, fast loading HTML5-based playback, end-to-end DRM protection, 4K HEVC live encoding, ads in all variations, and much more that we can enable with our flexible infrastructure layer”
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