Leading cloud provider, Amazon Web Services (AWS), recently announced the arrival of the Amazon Interactive Video Service. Amazon IVS is a fully-managed solution supporting interactive, live video streams for web and mobile applications.
The Amazon IVS system uses the same technology powering Twitch, giving customers access to live content with minimal latency. Customers can configure and stream their video through their mobile or web application, with scalable systems. With the SDK and APIs for Amazon IVS, clients can build fully-interactive live streams. This includes adding things like live virtual chat spaces, polls, and votes into the system.
There aren’t any additional charges or upfront commitments necessary for using Amazon IVS, and customers only pay for the video they input, and the content delivered to users.
Adapting to a New Video-First Landscape
According to Amazon, online audiences are increasingly moving to web and mobile applications for live video experiences. They want seamless experiences with high resolution and no buffering. Creating the right infrastructure to keep pace with current demands is difficult and expensive. It takes customers months to build interactive applications that can handle the processing and distribution of video conferences. Even then, there’s still work to do on building transcoders for streaming to various devices.
Unfortunately, traditional video streaming requires video production in various resolutions, and that video needs to split into segments for delivery. This means that viewers often experience significant latency, making it harder for content creators to interact live with audiences. The Amazon IVS removes the complexity and cost associated with interactive streams.
With Amazon IVS, customers can focus on developing the most engaging experiences for their viewers. This fully-managed service supports high-quality streaming around the world with latency that’s lower than ever. Customers just need to send their video through the IVS using streaming software to begin. The technology then ingests, transcodes, and optimises that video, so it’s ready for delivery across the AWS global infrastructure.
Content developers and creators can use the Amazon IVS SDK to give audience a more convenient and consistent streaming experience. Added polls and surveys automatically sync into the live video too. Amazon IVS gives customers access to everything they need to create a powerful streaming experience in their own platform or environment.
An Exciting New Opportunity in Video
Martin Hess, GM for Amazon IVS, says that any developer can use Amazon IVS to build a powerful interactive streaming experience, without managing the underlying infrastructure. Handling live video streams becomes simpler and more effective.
According to Senior Development Manager of Amazon Live, John Katsavrias, Amazon IVS enabled the team to quickly unlock the ability of creators to livestream, so that they can produce the kind of content that really inspires and supports customers. Already, companies like Blackboard, which servers millions of users around the world, are seeing the benefits. Blackboard is advancing e-learning with Amazon IVS by creating more interactive experiences for all users.
Elsewhere, companies like 17Live see advantages too. The interactive live video app contains entertainers across the globe with their fans. Integrating the Amazon IVS offering helped the company to support entertainers in engaging larger audiences with more unique experiences. The end-to-end support and service from Amazon IVS helped 17Live to expand complex challenges with quality of service, and scaling.
DeNA’s Pococha is another solution benefitting from IVS. The Japanese live streaming company said that Amazon IVS provides them with the leading-edge live video technology they need. At the same time, the technology maintains high availability for video networks, while reducing the operational burden of managing complicated landscapes.
Focus on Creating Great Content
With Amazon IVS taking the stress and confusion out of managing live streaming and interactive experiences, companies can refocus their efforts in the new environment. Rather than having to worry about back-end management and maintenance, businesses and creators can concentrate on delivering the best experiences to viewers.
The Amazon IVS APIs and management console for streaming solutions are already available in East and West United States regions. It’s also possible to find this technology in Europe (Ireland) regions. The video ingestion and delivery functionality is available in locations around the globe. This allows for a separate and reliable network of managed infrastructure specially optimised to suit the needs of live video.
