Azure Media Services
Author: Ronald Fung
Creation Date: 26 May 2023
Next Modified Date: 26 May 2024
A. Introduction
Azure Media Services is a cloud-based platform that enables you to build solutions that achieve broadcast-quality video streaming, enhance accessibility and distribution, analyze content, and much more. Whether you’re an app developer, a call center, a government agency, or an entertainment company, Media Services helps you create apps that deliver media experiences of outstanding quality to large audiences on today’s most popular mobile devices and browsers.
What can I do with Media Services?
Media Services lets you build a variety of media workflows in the cloud. Some examples of what you can do with Media Services include:
Deliver videos in various formats so they can be played on a wide variety of browsers and devices. For both on-demand and live streaming delivery to various clients (mobile devices, TV, PC, and so on), the video and audio content needs to be encoded and packaged appropriately.
Stream live sporting events to a large audience, like soccer, baseball, college and high school sports, and more.
Broadcast public meetings and events, like town halls, city council meetings, and legislative bodies.
Analyze recorded videos or audio content. For example, to achieve higher customer satisfaction, organizations can extract speech-to-text and build search indexes and dashboards. Then, they can extract intelligence around common complaints, sources of complaints, and other relevant data.
Create a subscription video service and stream DRM protected content when a customer (for example, a movie studio) needs to restrict the access and use of proprietary copyrighted work.
Deliver offline content for playback on airplanes, trains, and automobiles. A customer might need to download content onto their phone or tablet for playback when they anticipate to be disconnected from the network.
Enable Azure CDN to achieve large scaling to better handle instantaneous high loads (for example, the start of a product launch event).
B. How is it used at Seagen
As a biopharma research company, Seagen can use Azure Media Services to manage and deliver media content related to its research activities. Azure Media Services provides a range of services and APIs that enable organizations to manage and deliver media content at scale.
Here are some ways Seagen could use Azure Media Services:
Video streaming: Seagen can use Azure Media Services to stream video content related to its research activities. The platform includes support for live and on-demand streaming, as well as adaptive streaming for different devices and network conditions.
Video indexing and search: Seagen can use Azure Media Services to index and search video content, which can help in locating specific research-related information in video content.
Video encoding and transcoding: Seagen can use Azure Media Services to encode and transcode video content into different formats and resolutions. This can help in delivering video content to different devices and network conditions.
Video analytics: Seagen can use Azure Media Services to analyze video content to gain insights into viewer engagement, video quality, and other metrics related to video content.
Content protection: Seagen can use Azure Media Services to protect its video content from piracy and unauthorized access. The platform includes support for digital rights management (DRM) and other content protection technologies.
Overall, Azure Media Services provides a powerful platform for managing and delivering media content. Its ability to stream video content, index and search video content, encode and transcode video content, provide video analytics, and protect video content makes it a valuable tool for organizations looking to manage and deliver media content at scale.
C. Features
Azure Media Services is a cloud-based platform that enables organizations to manage and deliver media content at scale. Here are some of the key features of Azure Media Services:
Video streaming: Azure Media Services provides support for live and on-demand streaming of video content. It includes support for adaptive streaming, which ensures that video content is delivered in the best possible quality based on the viewer’s device and network conditions.
Video indexing and search: Azure Media Services provides support for indexing and searching video content, which makes it easy to locate specific content within a video.
Video encoding and transcoding: Azure Media Services enables organizations to encode and transcode video content into different formats and resolutions. This ensures that video content is compatible with different devices and network conditions.
Video analytics: Azure Media Services provides support for video analytics, which enables organizations to gain insights into viewer engagement, video quality, and other metrics related to video content.
Content protection: Azure Media Services provides support for digital rights management (DRM) and other content protection technologies, which ensures that video content is protected from piracy and unauthorized access.
Live events: Azure Media Services provides support for live events, which enables organizations to broadcast live events to a global audience.
Media workflows: Azure Media Services provides support for media workflows, which enables organizations to automate the process of uploading, encoding, and delivering media content.
Overall, Azure Media Services provides a comprehensive set of features for managing and delivering media content. Its ability to stream video content, index and search video content, encode and transcode video content, provide video analytics, protect video content, support live events, and automate media workflows makes it a valuable tool for organizations looking to manage and deliver media content at scale.
D. Where Implemented
E. How it is tested
Testing Azure Media Services involves several steps that include:
Creating a testing environment: The first step is to create a testing environment that is separate from the production environment. This ensures that any issues or bugs discovered during testing do not affect the live system.
Creating test cases: The next step is to create test cases that cover all the functionalities of Azure Media Services. Test cases should include positive and negative scenarios, edge cases, and stress tests.
Running tests: Once the test cases are created, the next step is to run the tests. This involves executing the test cases and recording the results.
Debugging and fixing issues: If any issues or bugs are discovered during testing, they must be debugged and fixed before proceeding with further testing.
Repeat testing: After fixing the issues, the tests must be run again to ensure that the fixes have been successful and there are no further issues.
Integration testing: Once Azure Media Services has been tested, it must be integrated with other systems and applications to ensure that it works seamlessly with other components.
User acceptance testing: Finally, Azure Media Services must undergo user acceptance testing to ensure that it meets the requirements of the end-users.
Overall, testing Azure Media Services involves a comprehensive testing approach that covers all the functionalities of the solution and ensures that it meets the requirements of the end-users. Testing should include both functional and non-functional testing, such as performance testing, security testing, and scalability testing. It is also important to test the integration of Azure Media Services with other systems and applications to ensure that it works seamlessly with other components.
F. 2023 Roadmap
????
G. 2024 Roadmap
????
H. Known Issues
Like all software products, Azure Media Services may have some known issues. Here are some of the known issues for Azure Media Services:
Video playback issues: Azure Media Services may have issues with video playback, which can impact the user experience and make it difficult to view video content.
Streaming issues: Azure Media Services may have issues with streaming video content, which can lead to buffering or stuttering during playback.
Encoding issues: Azure Media Services may have issues with encoding video content, which can lead to incorrect or poor quality video output.
Transcoding issues: Azure Media Services may have issues with transcoding video content into different formats, which can lead to compatibility issues with different devices and network conditions.
Performance issues: Azure Media Services may experience performance issues, especially when used in applications with high traffic volume or complex media workflows.
Cost management issues: Organizations must carefully manage the costs associated with Azure Media Services, as costs can quickly add up when using media services at scale.
Overall, while Azure Media Services is a powerful solution for managing and delivering media content, users must be aware of these known issues and take steps to mitigate their impact. This may include addressing video playback and streaming issues, improving encoding and transcoding accuracy, addressing performance issues, and carefully managing costs.
[x] Reviewed by Enterprise Architecture
[x] Reviewed by Application Development
[x] Reviewed by Data Architecture