The first blog in this series on Limelight Realtime Streaming was an introduction to the truly live streaming solution. This blog will focus on the possibilities interactive live online video experience open up. I’ll start by exploring some of the use cases that depend on sub-second latency, and then cover the various capabilities of the interactive services.
A one-minute delay may not matter to viewers who are watching a live pay per view concert. However certain business use cases demand the lowest possible latency, such as:
When fans watch a live online stream of a sporting event on their smartphone, the last thing they want is to get a chat message from a friend watching the same event on TV saying, “goal!!!” before they’ve seen it for themselves. For sports broadcasters, delivering low-latency online streams increases viewer engagement and grows total viewership.
For online casinos, the interactivity capability and the ability to stream in realtime means all players instantly get to see the turn of the cards simultaneously, allowing them to place their bets more quickly and increasing the number of hands that can be played. In addition, when live in-event online sports betting provides realtime streaming, players can place bets up until the last possible second, increasing the number of wagers.
Sub-second latency allows online play and commentary along with live in-arena audiences. Adding live chat, polling and surveys makes the viewer experience more exciting and increases the total audience and improves audience engagement.
Realtime interactive data can be integrated with live video, opening up new possibilities for how viewers can interact with the broadcaster and each other. For example, sports fans can receive realtime statistics about the match or their favorite players and even vote for the player of the match, wager on who will score the next goal, or choose which camera angle they would like to view, right from their computer or mobile device. Gamers can have an integrated chat channel with their video. Fans of eSports can participate in event commentary along with the live in-arena audience. Limelight Realtime Streaming opens up new business opportunities in sports, gaming, auctions, and more by making live viewing a more interactive social experience. Broadcasters now have additional opportunities to monetize their live video content by offering value-added experiences that are not possible with traditional broadcast.
In a demonstration of Realtime Streaming capabilities that we showed at the IBC 2018 event, we used video footage of an auto race where video cameras were placed in race cars, aimed out the front window and also in the interior pointed at the drivers. Four camera shots were presented showing two cars forward looking views as well as the interior camera shots of the drivers of both cars. This capability allows viewers to select the cameras they want to view, and be able to switch between cameras anytime they want, as well as select a single camera and make its view full screen. Other features shown:
Stay tuned until the next post in this series which will cover the technical features of Limelight Realtime Streaming that make it a complete solution. In the meantime, to learn more about Limelight Realtime Streaming, go here.
