Content delivery network and cloud services provider Akamai Technologies has announced it has introduced new media acceleration capabilities to enhance viewing experiences for over-the-top (OTT) video users and speed up software downloads.
Media Acceleration marks an important milestone in the development of Akamai’s content delivery capabilities in moving to a consumer-centric approach to online video and software distribution.
The new offering lets OTT operators take advantage of more methodical communication between consumer devices and the Akamai network to deliver video that is better suited for the device capabilities, network type and conditions of specific end users.
As a part of its UDP-based delivery optimisations that are created to maximise video throughput on an international scale, Akamai is leveraging transpiring standards, including Quick UDP Internet Connections, to help propel customer adoption of Media Acceleration.
Scott Brown, vice president of product management and media at Akami, said traditional TV distribution has fundamental commercial and operational characteristics that are very different from internet video distribution today.
“Akamai has developed Media Acceleration to function as a vehicle through which we can introduce innovations that address the quality and scale challenges of OTT, while also facilitating sustainable economic models that can help enable the growth of video distribution over the internet,” he said.
The new technology will be available to Akamai customers as a feature of the company’s Adaptive Media Delivery and Download Delivery products.
Akamai plans to demonstrate its Media Acceleration capabilities during the 2017 NAB Show next month in Las Vegas.
