Jul 16, 2020 14:00:00

Amazon releases live streaming function ``Amazon Interactive Video Service'', enabling direct delivery of videos to websites and applications

Amazon has released '

Amazon Interactive Video Service (IVS), ' which allows you to implement live streaming functions in websites and smartphone applications. By using IVS, you can directly distribute videos on websites and apps that you have developed, without using streaming platforms such as Twitch or YouTube Live.

Amazon Interactive Video Service
https://aws.amazon.com/jp/ivs/

Amazon Interactive Video Service – Add Live Video to Your Apps and Websites | AWS News Blog

https://aws.amazon.com/jp/blogs/aws/amazon-interactive-video-service-add-live-video-to-your-apps-and-websites/

IVS manages streaming in units called 'channels', and you can directly implement live streaming on websites, iOS, and Android applications using a software development kit (SDK) . IVS is characterized by a low delay of 2-3 seconds at the time of delivery, and the fact that time recorded metadata can be added to the video to be delivered, and product information is displayed on the streaming screen when a new product is announced. It will be possible to implement flexible live streaming, such as displaying, or displaying a 'Buy Now' button that allows you to purchase the product being introduced from the screen.

You can get started with IVS by searching for 'Amazon Interactive Video Service' in the AWS Management Console.

At the time of writing, IVS does not support the Asia Pacific (Tokyo) region and you must select one of the Europe (Ireland), US East (N. Virginia), or US West (Oregon) regions.

When you select a region, the IVS console screen is displayed. Click 'Create channel'.

Set the channel. There are two types of channels, 'Standard' and 'Basic'. Standard allows maximum full HD and basic allows maximum SD image quality. There are two types of video latency settings, 'ultra low latency' and 'standard latency', and 'ultra low latency' is suitable if you want to interact with the viewer in real time. When you have completed the settings, click “Create Channel”.

When you create a channel, the RTMP URL for 'Stream settings' and the URL for 'Playback settings' are displayed.

With streaming software such as OBS and XSplit Broadcaster , you can deliver the video by specifying the URL for stream setting as the delivery destination.

Martin Beeby , AWS Principal Advocate, has published an example of using XSplit Broadcaster for live streaming. When delivering with XSplit Broadcaster, 'Custom RTMP' is set as the delivery destination.

Beeby set up the distribution of XSplit Broadcaster like the image. For the RTMP URL, enter the stream setting URL displayed on the IVS management screen.

When the distribution starts...

You can see that the video is being delivered to the IVS console screen.

The IVS development team has launched a

sample project to verify IVS on CodePen , and it is possible to test the distribution by specifying the URL for playback setting in the 'playbackUrl' variable in JavaScript.

By using the metadata and SDK, interactive communication such as conducting surveys for viewers is also possible.

IVS is priced on a pay-as-you-go basis based on the total time of video input and the total time of video delivered to viewers, and the price varies depending on the channel type layer delivery time. For example, if you enter a standard channel type created in the North America region for 2 hours of 1080p video and deliver it in SD image quality for 100 people, HD image quality for 50 people, and full HD image quality for 50 people. The charges are calculated as follows:

・Expense for inputting video: 2 dollars (about 215 yen) x 2 hours = 4 dollars (about 430 yen)
・Expense for SD image quality distribution: 0.0375 dollars (about 4 yen) × 2 hours × 100 people = 7.5 dollars (about 800 yen)
・Delivery of HD image quality: $0.075 (about 8 yen) x 2 hours x 50 people = $7.5 (about 800 yen)
・Full HD image quality distribution cost: $0.15 (about 16 yen) x 2 hours x 50 people = $15 (about 1600 yen)

・Total: 4 dollars (about 430 yen) + 7.5 dollars (about 800 yen) + 7.5 dollars (about 800 yen) + 15 dollars (about 1600 yen) = 34 dollars (about 3630 yen)

You can check the detailed usage fee below.

Amazon Interactive Video Service Pricing
https://aws.amazon.com/jp/ivs/pricing/