Latency biggest issue for video developers, says survey

Latency is the most significant issue faced by over half – 54% – of video developers, followed by getting playback on all devices, cited by 41%, according to the latest report commissioned by video technology outfit Bitmovin.

The findings are consistent with last year’s Bitmovin report, which recorded responses of 55% and 50% respectively.

Over half – 53% – of all respondents to Bitmovin’s survey said they expect to achieve live streaming latency of less than five seconds. Some 30%  had the less achievable goal, in the short-term, of hitting under one second. Almost two thirds – 61.7% – plan to start using low latency live streaming technology such as CMAF before the end of 2020.

Bitmovin found that H.264/AVC is still by far the most widely used video codec, used by 91% of all survey respondents. Meanwhile, usage of H.265/HEVC has increased slightly from 42% to 43%.

VP9 appears to be stalling, meanwhile. It is currently being used by 11% of respondents, with only 12% planning to implement it in the next 12 months.

Planned usage of AV1 is set to triple, on the other hand, with 7% of respondents having started to work with it and 20% expecting to start using it in the coming year.

Bitmovin believes that AV1 looks well placed to overtake VP9 as the leading open-source solution and begin to compete with H.265/ HEVC, fuelled by roll-outs by major device manufacturers, browser vendors and content distributors including Cisco, Mozilla, and YouTube.

Bitmovin’s survey also found that 24%of video professionals expect to start using AI/ machine learning as part of video workflow solutions before the end of this year, with 32% planning to do so in 2020. Collectively, this means that 56% plan to use AI/ML within the next two years.

“The Bitmovin Video Developer Report is an inside look at the technology adoption plans of companies that are collectively delivering video to huge global audiences. We’re excited to share the results with the community of video developers,” said Stefan Lederer, CEO at Bitmovin.

“The findings show a shift toward new breed technologies such as AV1 and artificial intelligence. We’re also seeing the industry continue to face huge issues with latency and ensuring playback on all devices.”