The SRT application of the Appear X streaming processing platform has been awarded the 2023 Best Program Award by TVB Europe.

Keywords: SRT Appear Hardware Acceleration

The X transmission streaming processing platform from Appear, which offers hardware-accelerated SRT video transmission, has been awarded the 2023 Best Program Award by TVB Europe and received the Sustainable Excellence Product Award at NAB 2023.

SRT is currently the most widely used transmission protocol.

The limitations of producing live events during the pandemic quickly changed the way broadcasters operate, leading to the rise of remote production and decentralized workflows. The demand for these new workflows accelerated the transition to IP and resulted in an increasing reliance on new technologies and methods for producing and transmitting live video content. During this period, one of the most utilized technologies by broadcasters was Secure Reliable Transport (SRT), an open-source video transport protocol developed by Haivision.

In 2022, Haivision conducted a survey of over 650 broadcasters and video streaming professionals in its annual Broadcast IP Transformation Report. The results of the sLinedIn poll indicated that 63% of broadcasters are now using SRT to transmit content, up from 53% in 2021. This marks the first time SRT has surpassed RTMP (60%) to become the most commonly used protocol. Additionally, the internet has now become the primary method for broadcasters to transmit live video, with 79% of Haivision survey respondents stating it is their preferred method. Furthermore, 49% of Appear survey respondents indicated that internet usage will see the highest growth in 2023. This is closely tied to the development of SRT, as the industry continues to seek reliable and secure methods for transmitting live video over the public internet.

Hardware-accelerated SRT

Historically, SRT solutions in the industry have always been provided through servers. This method of SRT transport is effective when covering live events with a mobile channel or a limited number of cameras. However, due to cost savings on the public internet and the simplicity of SRT operations, the potential use cases for the SRT protocol have expanded. Appear has found that media and entertainment companies require SRT support in robust, high-density, flexible carrier-grade solutions that can interoperate with existing broadcast workflows.

To facilitate these advanced use cases, Appear has developed a hardware-accelerated SRT solution for the X platform.

Appear's hardware-accelerated SRT enables cost-effective internet connectivity, significantly reducing operational costs. Before needing to add more servers, the current SRT gateways can only support a limited number of cameras with HEVC. In contrast, a single SRT-enabled Appear X platform unit can support up to 22 UHD camera inputs.

In terms of distribution, we are already familiar with the "Long-tail" effect: 90% of viewers are dedicated to less than 10% of channels. Low-rated niche long-tail channels have lower startup time requirements than premium channels, yet traditionally incur the same total costs as premium channels. Appear's SRT solution now offers a new high-capacity, cost-effective option for channel transmission over the public internet at the lowest cost, enabling operators to confidently replace expensive satellite links and dedicated fiber circuits.

In addition, SRT enables operators to reduce the transportation budget for migrating studio functions, such as media asset management, to the cloud. In a single 2RU chassis, Appear's X20 platform serves as an SRT gateway, capable of handling up to 1536 connections (12 cards x 128 connections per card) and up to 72Gb of SRT traffic, saving space and power at a lower cost. SRT also allows organizations to change the economics of migrating to the cloud.