Start a Internet TV Station: Learn How to Start a Online Networks and

Complete with the Big Boys

© Copyright 2019

TvStartup Inc.
+1 (817) 765-0482 (USA)
www.tvstartup.com

Introduction:
Internet TV is a term that is ever evolving. It use to mean just a website that had video, and
today this term has expanded to include TV apps on iPhones, Androids, Roku's, Amazon Firetv,
Apple TV, Smart TV's and more etc... as well as the standard website. With the explosion of
internet TV it is an important concept to understand as it is leveling the playing field with large
corporations and giving small business and production companies a voice and chance to
compete with the big conglomerates. Just to give you an idea of how powerful and quickly
Internet TV is growing a study done by Consumer Technology Association says as of 2017
Streaming services have caught up with paid TV services. Meaning more people watch Intenret
TV than they do Satellite and Cable TV combined. You can see the article here:

https://www.cta.tech/News/Blog/Articles/2017/March/Streaming-Services-Have-Caught-Up-
to-Paid-TV-Subsc.aspx

This book is written for the smaller business in mind those that are trying to break into the
market on smaller budgets than large corporation and many of the techniques I discuss have
this in mind. This book will save you thousands and thousand of dollars in mistakes and keep
you from getting scammed from “want a be” web developers and consultants that really know
nothing but how to take your money. When It comes to internet TV it is really a specialized
field and many that claim to know it really have no idea what it takes to make a successful
internet TV channel or platform.

About the Author:

I have been in the satellite, Internet, and cable TV business for over 14 years and seen many
developments over the last decade. I have helped develop and implement both subscription
based Internet TV platforms and Advertiser supported platforms. My company builds and
deploys Online TV networks on ROKU, Amazon FIRETV, Apple TV, Android TV, iPhone,
Android mobile, and on Smart TV's such as SAMSUNG and LG.

My background is also international as I have worked with many companies in the USA,
Africa, Europe, and Asia.

I also wrote the first book on the subject in 2007 (Start a TV Station:
Learn How to Start Satellite, Cable, Analog and Digital Broadcast TV Channel, and Internet
TV) with a rendition in 2012 sold on Amazon and many popular platforms for many years.
Now over 12 years laterafter my first book, I have completely rewrote from scratch to match
our evolving times.

At any time you would like to begin your internet TV journey. You may create an account
by going to www.tvstartup.com/act-creation and purchasing your control panel
(explained in this book)

Table of Contents

Core Concepts of a TV Channel – pg 3

HD vs SD video

HD vs UHD

What is 4k?

Types of TV channels pg 9

Internet TV

Bit Rates/Web Optimizing your Videos

HLS

Best Bitrate Practices (Selecting Your Channel Profile) pg 18

Buffering

Choosing a bitrate for your channel profile

Platforms vs Apps

Monetizing Internet TV pg 21

Video Playout

Monetizing Internet TV

YouTube Monetization

Video Playout

Video Codec's pg 26
Difference in a video Codec and a video container
Video Encoding - pg 27
Character Generation (CG)

Overview of how a Internet TV channel Works/Putting it All Together

How do I get started ?

Are there any Equipment Costs for Internet TV?

Conclusion

Goal - The goal of this book is to give you the reader a foundation understanding of Internet
TV. If you plan to use a service such as our, by no means is all of this information necessary for
you to understand and know. However if you want to build your own system, or decide on
which Internet TV company to choose (hopefully you choose us) you will be more equipped to
accomplish your goals. If at any time you are ready to get started and you want to use our
services, the first step is to purchase your control panel and we will setup your account.

Core Concepts of a TV Channel

Lets get right down to business to discuss what actually a TV channel is. First and foremost a
TV channel is a means in which to “DISTRIBUTE” video to an audience. Everyone has their
own ideas when they dream of starting a TV channel but its fundamental core concept is a
means in which to distribute their videos or express their TV productions to an audience (or
other licensed content). Your channel or Network is an expression of your ideas on how to
produce or present your content or others video content.

With this in mind lets break down the key components of a TV channel:

1. Video Content - Without video content obviously you have no TV channel. Two types of
content;

a. Production - This is obviously the most well known. Producing your own video
content you want to distribute is a common practice for most TV channels.

b. Licensing - That is distributing or licensing other companies/individuals content.

Most TV channels are a combination of both a and b.

2. Distribution - What is the means of the channel reaching your audience. In today's world
there are so many more choices than we had just even a decade ago. We have internet, satellite,
broadcast, and cable. Each with its own advantages and disadvantages. Although in the Western
world Satellite TV has already began to fade out tremendously.

3. Signal Delivery - This is one that is not well known but is a key point in your TV channel.
How will you get your video content, or signal to the delivery platform. That is how will you
get your content from your studio to the Distribution platform for delivery to your audience. In
satellite and cable TV there can be some challenges to this depending on where you are in the
world and what satellite you are trying to reach, however in the online TV field this is much
easier. We will discuss this later when we discuss “CDN's” and “Encoding”. However for the
most part signal delivery is only applicable to Satellite and Cable TV.

Continuing in our discussion there are some simple facts you need to know about TV channels.
When most people think of a TV channel they think of a channel with a TV schedule. Lets take
the “Discovery Channel” This is a channel that has one show after another with a schedule for
what will come on next or at a certain time. This is called a “traditional” TV channel, or more
specifically a “Linear” channel. Linear meaning it plays in a straight line, one show after the
next, and the viewer can only watch what is being played. However a new way to watch video
has emerged and is very important to understand the power of it and that is “VOD” also known
as “Video On Demand”. Companies have made large businesses out of capitalizing on this
concept. Companies like Netflix, HBO NOW, HULU are just a few examples of companies
that have made it big using VOD. VOD just simply means the video is there for your viewers
when ever they want to view it. No need to wait for a scheduled time for it to play.

TV Network vs TV Channel; Whats the difference? A television network is a

telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central
operation provides programming to many television stations or pay television providers. Until
the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a
small number of broadcast networks. Many early television networks (such as the BBC, NBC
or CBC) evolved from earlier radio networks.

In countries where most networks broadcast identical, centrally originated content to all of
their stations and where most individual television transmitters therefore operate only as large
"repeater stations", the terms "television network", "television channel" (a numeric identifier or
radio frequency) and "television station" have become mostly interchangeable in everyday
language, with professionals in television-related occupations continuing to make a
differentiation between them.

So in other words a real definition of a network is a company that produces content and
delivers it to its many affiliate broadcast stations. However today it has evolved to include
Online TV because now the internet has replaced the need for affiliate broadcasters through old
fashion antennas.

Okay I know what your thinking we still have not got in to the juicy part to talk about “How to
make a Internet TV network” but there are still some key concepts that you need to know.
What is the difference in 4k, HD, and SD

If you are thinking that you have to become a video expert to own and operate a Internet TV
station; You are wrong. However it does help tremendously if you can understand some of the
basics. So lets talk about how these differences in 4k, HD, and SD relate to internet TV.

HD vs SD video: If you already have a firm grip on HD and SD then you can skip this section.
Let us start with HD vs SD. Obviously no one really sells a SD TV set any more. Today's HD,
is really UHD (4k) but this will still illustrate some differences between a SD picture and a HD
pic.

Following these paragraphs, two images will show up, one below the other. If you pasted a 5″
by 5″ square cardboard hole on the screen of a 24-inch monitors/TVs, this is the difference you
would see between an SD set and an HD set. In detail, here’s what you need to know about
these images:
1. The first video is a standard definition video. It has 352 lines and it’s in widescreen
format, made to fit the aspect ratio of old televisions (4:3 aspect ratio). It was very
probably captured from a high-definition source and resized to standard definition so the
video file wouldn’t be so large. The compression algorithm used is XviD, and the file
(42 minutes of video) weighs in at 350 MB. The ratio of 4:3 means that it looks more
like a square. If you notice SD videos have the shape of a square and HD is more of a
rectangle (you will remember your old TV's were squares and not rectangular).
2. The second video is what they call 720p (non-interlaced 720 lines of resolution). It was
very likely captured directly from a digital source into a file, then re-compressed into
h.264 — a more advanced codec than XviD which, if used here, would make the file two
to three times larger. This is the stereotypical HD broadcast, and it weighs at 1.1 GB
(bigger file carrying more data to describe the picture). HD is a 16:9 format and is in the
shape of a rectangular.
3. The first video image was re-sized to match the resolution of the second one, because
this is the process your TV would use to show you standard definition. They were
subsequently cropped to fit the interesting area because they were huge shots and this
Web page isn’t as wide.
4. In case you care to know, these are still shots from the Dexter intro.
Here it is in uncompressed PNG form so you can see the quality difference:
Do you see the difference?
Points to notice:
1. Eyebrows. The SD shot shows a shape only. The HD one shows the shape of each hair.
2. Chin and facial hair. It’s a blur in the SD shot. Each hair is clearly visible in the HD one.
3. Forehead. Do the wrinkles disappear in the SD shot?
4. Eyes. They look blurred in the SD shot. They look sharp as razors in the HD one.
You can find the other ninety-nine differences on your own.
Please note that even though the HD broadcast was already recompressed a second time, the
quality is still great.

HD vs UHD (4k)
If you're only just getting used to the clarity and detail of HD then we've got bad news for you
because there's a new high resolution format in town. It's called 4K, and if you thought HD had
a lot of pixels, then you ain't seen nothing yet.
4K (or Ultra HD as it's also confusingly known) has enough pixels to fill four Full HD 1080p
screens. With four times the amount of pixels it's able to display four times the level of detail.
This is especially helpful on television's that are 50-inches and above.
The reason for this has to do with the amount of pixels a 4K TV contains. Whereas traditional
HD is limited to 1920 vertical columns and 1080 horizontal rows of pixels, Ultra HD has a total
resolution of 3840 pixels by 2160 – a slightly smaller resolution than the 4,096 x 2,160
resolution seen on cinema screens (that, for the record, is called Cinema 4K).

What is 4K?
Pure and simple, 4K means a clearer picture. It's more pixels (8,294,400 to be exact) on the
screen at once that creates images that are crisper and capable of showing more details than
standard HD.
What is the resolution of 4K?
4K resolution, at least the way most TVs define it, is 3840 x 2160 or 2160p. To put that in
perspective, a full HD 1080p image is only a 1920x1080 resolution. 4K screens have about 8
million pixels, which is around four times what your current 1080p set can display.
Think of your TV like a grid, with rows and columns. A full HD 1080p image is 1080 rows
high and 1920 columns wide. A 4K image approximately doubles the numbers in both
directions, yielding approximately four times as many pixels total. To put it another way, you
could fit every pixel from your 1080p set onto one quarter of a 4K screen.
Why is it called 4K?
Because the images are around 4,000 pixels wide. And before you ask, yes, the industry named
1080 resolution after image height, but named 4K after image width. For extra added fun, you
also might hear this resolution referred to as 2160p. Welcome to the future. It's confusing here.
Do all those extra pixels matter?
They matter very much. More pixels means more information. More information means
sharper pictures. Sharper pictures are more engaging. More engaging content is more fun.
So how does 4k relate to Internet TV?
First and foremost as you will learn more about “bandwidth” in this book, 4k takes 4 times the
amount of bandwidth to broadcast. A 1080 HD broadcast can get away with a minimum of 2.5
Mbps for a internet broadcast. However 4k you will at least need 8Mbps if not more. This
means that if your viewer does not have a connection speed fast enough then they will not be
able to view your content. When it comes to 4k and Internet TV its great to be aware of the
technology, but is it practical to use it for your Internet TV network? My answer would be “not
yet”. The only exception would be to use a 4k in a multi or adaptive bit rate environment
(discussed later).
Here's the bottom line: Even in today's marketplace (2019) 720 is the typical internet TV
broadcast. Even FB live does not allow higher than a 720 stream. Storing and broadcasting 4k
videos cost more. Why? Because the video size is much larger (Many GB) and the bandwithd it
takes to broadcast them is much higher. Another fact is that the average internet connection
speed in the USA is 19 Mpbs. Its much lower in other countries. Even when using multiple
bitrate (explained later) it doesn't make sense to make it a cost effective option for your viewrs.
At least – no yet. Things will change in time.

Types of TV Channels

Satellite TV - The most popular and most understood type of channel around the globe is the
traditional Satellite TV channel. A channel that is beamed down from space to millions of
dishes that are pointed in the direction of that particular satellite. Although we will not get into
satellite in this book I will list the advantages and disadvantages and give you some brief info
here. The main advantage to a Satellite channel is that it has an instant audience (if you pick the
right satellite). In other words millions of people will have access to your channel the minute
you begin your broadcast. That does not mean they will watch it if your programming is poor,
but at least they have access to it. The main disadvantage of satellite TV (from a startup's
perspective) channels is the cost to get started, and you are confined to a certain geographical
region. Outside of that region your channel can not be picked up because of the curvature of the
earth. I would have to say there are better more cost effective options than going the Satellite
TV route, however for those that want to reach an audience outside the USA, Canada or UK
then it can be a option.
Cable TV - Anyone reading this book is familiar with what cable TV is. Channels that comes
to your home through a cable - hence the term “cable TV”.

Broadcast TV - Although we will not discuss this in this book, this is still a viable option for
those in third world countries that depend on a traditional “over the air” broadcast. The
advantages is that anyone with an antenna can pick up your channel. The disadvantages is that
you can only broadcast as far as your towers and transmitters allow. Meaning that you have to
have repeater towers to repeat your signal to reach further and further into your targeted
geographical region. The startup expense can be much more and the geographical region
limited to your budget. In today’s Western world it is not a viable because you would be
competing with Cable, Satellite and Internet TV channels that are now dominating North
American and the UK.

Internet TV - By far my favorite type of TV channel and the subject of this book. We will
discuss this in depth in this book so that you can realize the full potential. Internet TV is not
restricted by a geographical area. Let me give you an example of the power of internet TV. Lets
say you are production studio from the USA and you want to reach Filipinos from around the
world with your content. In other words Filipinos living and residing in other countries.
Traditionally you would have to set up TV channels in each country you wanted to reach. Not
anymore with Internet TV. You have one platform, you load your content , charge a
subscription fee, and boom, there you have it....a business that caters to a global audience of
Filipinos.
Internet TV

The online video distribution avenue is growing by leaps and bounds and is quickly outpacing
Cable and Satellite. Even in Asian and African countries as internet speeds for homes and
mobile devices increase the more accessible, appealing and cost effective Internet TV becomes.
Instead of having to be at home in front of your TV your audience can be on a bus, at an
airport, in the backseat of a car or anywhere and access your content. In fact as I mentioned
earlier in this book more people are watching video on their Smart devices and mobile phones
than cable and satellite TV combined (Study done by the Consumer Technology Association)
Internet offers the ultimate in distribution, as you are not limited to geographical confines like
that of satellite and cable.

Back in the early 2000's internet TV was a website that had continuous video content. When
people thought of internet TV they would think of going to your website and watching your
channel or VOD (Video on Demand) content. Today things have changed. Internet TV (also
known as IPTV) can be a website, or a app on a mobile device, or an app on an array of devices
meant to be connected to your living room's TV set. There are many devices now that are
making Internet TV more convenient and bringing it into the living room with a simple
connection to your TV through an HDMI cable.

Here are a few definitions and devices you will need to understand.
VOD - VOD stands for “Video on Demand” and means that your viewers can access the video
anytime they want. They do not have to wait for a channel to play the video at a specified time.
A great example of VOD would be Youtube. You watch what you want when you want it. Its
there at “your demand”.

Linear TV - Linear TV is the traditional cable or satellite TV channel. It has a schedule and
the viewer can only watch what is being played at that specific time. So if its playing a
particular show that’s all you can watch at that time. Linear TV is what is considered traditional
Television, you can only watch what is being played.

OTT - Over the top (OTT) refers to film and television content provided via a high-speed Internet
connection rather than a cable or satellite provider. Viewers who eschew paying for bundled content are
often referred to as cord cutters In essence this is Internet TV.

CDN - This is a very important concept to understand from the viewpoint of starting your own
Internet TV channel. A CDN simply means a “Content Delivery Network”. Some people look
at CDN incorrectly as a place to “Host” your internet TV website. However this is not the case.
A CDN delivers video to multiple viewers without causing your video to buffer or load (that is
IF on the viewer end he/she has adequate internet speed). For example if 2,000 people are
wanting to watch your video at the same time, the CDN can deliver it to all 2,000 without it
buffering. Without a CDN internet TV is not possible. A CDN is a company that has a network
of many strong servers calibrated for video delivery. Your live video or pre recorded video at
some point must pass through the CDN for it to adequately serve your viewers.

TV App - A internet TV channel or online TV is more of a classic name than what it really is.
It describes what we want people to perceive our Internet TV channel as. However in today’s
world what we are really developing is an “App” that contains your TV channels, and contents.
In other words if your TV channel is available on iPhone the way they access it is through an
“app” they would download form the iPhone app store (of course you can still have the mobile
version of your website to access through the browser). The app then contains your TV
channels, VOD, and more. Same thing with Android, ROKU, Amazon FireTV or any other
device. If it is not a standard Internet TV site, then we are creating an “app” to be placed in
their store which allows users of that device to download the “app” and watch your TV
channels. So when we say “Internet TV” in regards to a device what we are really talking about
is a “TV app” that plays your video content.

Internet TV is made up today of more than just a webiste with a video channel or player
on it. Lets explore some of the many devices that make up the fast exploding field of
Internet TV.

Roku - Most by now have heard of Roku, a very small box that connects to your TV. It
operates like a cable box or a satellite receiver dish would. Instead of receiving your channel
lineup through a satellite dish or cable it comes through the internet. ROKU has thousands of
channels some are free and others you pay for. You subscribe to the channels you want and
create your own channel list. Its like tailoring your own satellite or cable package. There are
some limitations though as some of your favorite channels may not be on ROKU due to
contract restrictions. However this device has a great distribution throughout the USA, Canada
and the UK with over 50 million boxes sold. This means that if you have a channel on ROKU
millions upon millions can access it on their living room TV. When your channel is approved
by ROKU it is put at the top of the “New Channel” list where millions can see it. This usually
sparks quite many new subscribers to get you going.

They sell these small devices at most large stores such as Walmart, Target, BestBuy and other
outlets. In addition to their small device ROKU also manufactures their own TV set. Many
outlets such as BestBuy sell the ROKU brand of TV's. This is absolutely great for companies
with TV channels on ROKU because the more market share the ROKU TV gains verses other
major manufactures of TV's (such as Samsung, VIZIO, SHARP etc...) the more automatic
distribution your channel gets. In other words people with ROKU TV's already have access to
your ROKU channel.

For our international readers Roku is not available outside Canada, USA, or the UK.

Amazon FIRETV - Competing with ROKU is Amazon FIRETV and they are doing an
excellent job. They offer the same type of device ROKU does with their own platform of
channels and apps. They also offer a list of VOD movies and games that you can play on your
living room TV. Amazon is a great platform to have your channel. Amazon FIRETV also has a
more international presence in that it will work in USA, Canada, Germany, UK, Australia and
Japan.

Google Chromecast - Another fast growing platform that is out performing than expected is
the Google Chromecast. Similar to ROKU and Amazon FIRETV, Chromecast is a device that
you plug into your TV's HDMI port, powered by a USB cable (included). Using your
smartphone or computer as a remote control, you can use Chromecast to access video content
from Netflix, YouTube, Hulu Plus, the Google Play Store and other services. So far there is
over 18 million users on Chrome-cast so this is another huge opportunity for Internet TV
companies to get large distribution on the cheap. However Chrome-cast is not a video platform
in itself, instead if your app is Chromecast compatible it allows you to cast your video from
your phone to any TV with a Chromecast.

iPhone - There are over 500 Million iPhone users world wide! Now just think about this. The
biggest cable company in the USA is TimeWarner and they have about 20 million subscribers.
However they can not compare to the distribution of the iPhone. Granted those 20 million
subscribers on Timewarner have a channel lineup in their living room and you have to compete
with other apps, BUT if you market your TV app correctly there is virtually no one that would
not have access to your content that you have the potential to convert into a paying subscriber
or viewer.

Again the beauty of internet TV is that you can escape geographical boundaries and give
anyone access to your channel anywhere in the world. In the past if you had a TV channel in
the USA, then that is where it would of stayed.
Android - I am sure everyone reading this is familiar with the Android phone platform. Just
like the previous scenario android is just as powerful of a platform if not even more powerful.
In fact there is over 1.4 BILLION android users! Over a BILLION!!!! Now you can see how
having a android TV app is HUGE because over 1 billion have access to your channel in their
hand!!

Android TV Box - This is a wonderful little device. Not to be confused with the Android
phone which is a mobile device, this device is one you connect to your TV. Just think about it
like this, pretend you could have your own ROKU box BUT brand it for your company! I mean
you could become the “Roku”. Android box will allow you to brand the outside of the box and
allow you to develop custom user interfaces so that you give your viewers/users the experience
you want to give them. The box works just like Amazon FireTV, and ROKU in which you just
connect it to your HDMI port and wifi. You have the power to brand the start up screens and
menus with your own company branding. You can develop and customize to make them work
just the way you want. Sell your own box and your viewers will think your company developed
the whole thing yourself. This is great for a company that wants to bring their own list of
channels to any geographical area or country anywhere. You can develop your own channel
lineup (lets say 50, or a 100 channels) brand it for your company and sell the box with a
monthly subscription.

Smart TV's - A smart TV, sometimes referred to as connected TV or hybrid TV, is a television
set or set-top box with integrated Internet and "Web 2.0" features, and is an technological
convergence between computers and television sets and set-top boxes. Besides the traditional
functions of television sets and set-top boxes provided through traditional broadcasting media,
these devices can also provide Internet TV, online interactive media, over-the-top content, as
well as on-demand streaming media, and home networking access.

Smart TV should not to be confused with Internet TV, IPTV or with Web TV. Internet TV refers
to receiving television content over internet instead of traditional systems (terrestrial, cable and
satellite) (although internet itself is received by these methods). Internet Protocol television
(IPTV) is one of the emerging Internet television technology standards for use by television
broadcasters. Web television is a term used for programs created by a wide variety of
companies and individuals for broadcast on Internet TV.

In smart TVs, the operating system is preloaded or is available through a set-top box. The
software applications or apps can be preloaded into the device, or updated or installed on
demand via an app store or app marketplace, in a similar manner to how the apps are integrated
in modern smartphones. In other words a smart TV acts like your smart phone, except its a TV
with a built in computer.

Each manufacture of a SmartTV has their own platform and operating system. Samsung, Sharp,
Vizio, LG are just some examples of popular manufactures. Although Smart TV app's have not
taken off like originally intended it is still a powerful tool. There is a reason that Netflix, Hulu
and many other internet TV video distribution companies invest to make sure their TV app is
preloaded on each platform. That way no matter who or where you live you have access to their
content.

The advantage of having a TV app on each manufacture's Smart TV platform is obvious,

people have access to your TV app while sitting right where you want them! In their living
room! This is obviously where most people consume the most TV time and where you want to
intercept them for viewing your Internet TV channel. In some cases your Internet TV Smart
App is not bound by geographical limits. This means that a Samsung TV owner in France can
access your Internet TV app the same as someone in Japan, or USA. Once again not bound by
geographical boundaries and this is powerful because almost every TV being sold today is a
SMART TV.

The disadvantage is that you need to develop a Smart TV app for each manufacture which can
be costly. Each manufacture also has its own app store. Meaning you have to submit each app
to each manufacture and wait for approval (almost all apps are approved it just takes time). My
company develops both Internet TV apps and Internet TV smart apps so I am very familiar with
the challenges companies face making an investment to make their content available to the
largest audience, but in the end its completely worth it.

Keep in mind that advertisers pay more for ads that appear on living room TV sets. So if your
channel is ad supported then Smart TV's will deliver a higher revenue.

To understand Internet TV you will need a foundation of understanding the different

pieces and technology that make it up.

Bit Rates/Web Optimizing your Videos - Bit rates is a very misunderstood topic. Many
people confuse a bit rate with a “resolution” of a video. They hear the term “HD” and they
think that describes it, however HD is a “video dimension” and not a indication of video
quality. Put very simply the bit rate is the amount of data dedicated to a second of video. So,
the higher the bit rate, the better the video quality. The higher the bit rate, the more bandwidth
is needed to play back the video. And the higher the bit rate, the more data storage is required
per second of video.

Bit rates are defined by mega bits per second (mbps), and in a nutshell, the higher the bit rate of
a video, the higher the video quality (and the faster a internet connection must be to view it).
For example, most video you watch on the web has a bit rate of around 800 kbps – 4000
kbps.Video on DVD has a bit rate between 4-8 Mbps, or roughly 1-2 times higher quality than
web video. Video on Blu-Ray has a bit rate of around 25 Mbps, or roughly 4- 6 times the
quality of web video. So yes if you are watching cable Television channel (not Internet TV) and
you are watching a HD video then yes it will look better than a SD video. However this is
because when watching cable TV the video does not have to be “compressed” for the internet.
So it has higher bit rate for HD resolution.
Although the average internet connection is rising around the world you still want to optimize
your videos for the web. If you do not then you risk having high storage fees (storing your
videos on your CDN and higher bandwidth cost for broadcasting those videos) AND you risk
your videos buffering or not being delivered to your viewers . You could elect to do this, but
then the video would BUFFER because most internet connections average 19 mbps in the USA
and lower outside the USA. Meaning your viewers can NOT possibly play a 25Mbps stream of
videos. Its like trying to stuff a watermelon through a straw, it just don’t fit! This is why most
videos are OPTIMIZED for the web. Web Optimization means making your video the best
quality for the web. Balancing video quality with internet speeds so that the average internet
connection can watch the video without it buffering.

Multi Bitrate - With MBR, a few different streams, all with different bitrates, are made
available to the user. As the user clicks Play, the system performs a test to determine which
bitrate is best suited for their situation. Once selected, however, the system will keep using that
bitrate even if the internet connection or bandwidth fluctuates. So in essence the system has
several streams available, some for slower connections others for faster connections, the system
does a quick speed test and provides the best stream/bit rate for the job.

Adaptive Bitrates: With YouTube or Netflix, as opposed to pay-per-view, you select a video
and watch it right away. Upon initial viewing, you may get one bitrate and as the internet
connection fluctuates (kids, friends, others using the viewers internet), the quality changes and
usually becomes worse if the internet connection is heavily used. It will then change again
minutes later once the internet connection is freed up (kids, friends have left the house). The
streaming service detects the bandwidth fluctuations and automatically changes the bitrate for
you so the movie continues without buffering. This is called ABR. In other words your CDN
provides your viewer with the same stream in multiple bitrates that the web player can adjust
up or down as needed on the fly.

NOTE: I just wanted to add that multi and adaptive bitrate is at great solution for delivering
high quality/resolution videos to those people who's connection speeds can handle it. However
you still want to weigh your options on how high of a quality you want to go BECAUSE you
still have to pay for the storage and bandwidth to delivery those higher quality videos to your
viewers and subscribers. If you are monetizing your network with advertising and subscriptions
then this needs to be weighed in.

HLS - There’s been a major shift happening in the world of online video over the last decade.
Adobe’s Flash video technology, which had been the main method of delivering video via the
internet, is rapidly declining. In fact is gone. It’s being replaced by video delivered using
protocols like HLS streaming and played in HTML5 video players.

For users, this is a great change. HTML5 and HLS are open specifications, which means they
can be modified and used by anyone for free. They’re also safer, more reliable, and faster than
what came before.
Content producers have more of a mixed bag. Sure, there are some major advantages to using
these new technologies. However, there are also disadvantages, especially when it comes to
replacing legacy systems and technologies with new standards that may not work the same
across all platforms. Growing pains are inevitable.

This book, which is aimed at both longtime broadcasters and newcomers to streaming media,
focuses on HLS streaming. We’ll cover basic definitions, discuss other streaming protocols,
and answer the question posed in the title of this essay. Let’s get right into it.

What is HLS?

HLS stands for HTTP Live Streaming. Essentially, HLS is a media streaming protocol that is
used for delivering visual and audio media over the internet. The HLS streaming protocol
works by chopping MP4 video content into short, 10 second chunks. These short clips are
delivered via HTTP, which makes HLS compatible with a wide range of devices and firewalls.
Latency (delay) for HLS live streams compliant with the specification tends to be in the 15-30
second range.

When it comes to quality, HLS streaming shines. On the server side, content creators frequently
have the option to encode the same live stream at multiple quality settings. Players can then
dynamically request the best option that is available to them given their bandwidth at any given
moment (multi bitrate and adaptive bitrates). From chunk to chunk, the data quality can differ.
One moment, you might be sending full high-definition video. Moments later, a mobile user
may encounter a “dead zone” where their quality of service declines. The player can detect this
decline in bandwidth and begin delivering lower-quality movie chunks at this time. This
reduces buffering, stuttering, and other problems.

HLS streaming format history:

HLS was originally launched by Apple in summer 2009 to coincide with the release of the
iPhone 3. Previous iPhone models had been plagued by problems with streaming media online,
partially because these devices often switched between Wi-Fi and mobile networks mid-stream.
Prior to the release of HLS, Apple’s media streaming standard was the Quicktime Streaming
Server. It was a robust service, but since it used non-standard ports for data transfer, its RTSP
protocol was often blocked by firewalls. Combined with slow average internet speeds, this
doomed Quicktime Streaming Server. This early experiment in live streaming technology never
reached a wide audience. However, the lessons learned from creating and rolling out this
service were incorporated into HTTP Live Streaming (HLS).

HLS Technical overview

HLS streams are generated on the fly and stored on an HTTP server. Video files, as we’ve
mentioned, are split into short segments with the .ts file extension (standing for MPEG2
Transport Stream).
The HTTP server also creates a .M3U8 playlist file (also called a manifest file) that serves as an
index for the video chunks. The playlist file serves as a bank that points towards additional
index files for each of the existing quality options. Even when you choose to only broadcast
using a single quality option, this file will still exist.
The user’s video player software is responsible for detecting deteriorating or improving
network conditions. If this occurs, it reads the main index playlist, determines which quality
video it should switch to, then reads the quality-specific index file to determine which chunk of
video corresponds to where the viewer is watching. The entire process is seamless for the user.
HLS also supports closed captions embedded in the video stream.

Today Internet TV is HLS

We recommend using HLS all the time. In fact HLS is the standard. It is the most up-to-date
and widely used protocol for media streaming. It does have one disadvantage, however. HLS
has relatively higher latency. This means streams are not quite as “live.” They can be delayed
by up to 30 seconds or more. However, for most broadcasters this isn’t a problem. The vast
majority of live streams can handle a delay like that without causing any sort of user
dissatisfaction.
Streaming to mobile devices
If you want to stream to mobile devices and tablets, HLS is mandatory. Given that mobile
devices now make up the majority of internet traffic.

There is one other flaw with HLS is that some video players can not handle the switch in
resolutions and bit rates. What I mean is if you have a playlist that has a mixture of 720, 1080,
and other resolutions it can trip the HLS stream up and cause it to shut down.

This is why its important to have a profile for your channel (explained below) that sets the
standard for the resolution and bitrate your channel will broadcast at.

Real-Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP) was initially a proprietary protocol developed by

Macromedia for streaming audio, video and data over the Internet, between a Flash player and
a server. Macromedia is now owned by Adobe, which has released an incomplete version of the
specification of the protocol for public use.

For several years RTMP was the standard for streaming over the internet. However you had to
have a flash player and RTMP was not compatible with mobile devices.

If you remember back in the day when you wanted to play a video you would get a popup box
that said “ To play this video you need Flash video, Would you like to install or enable Flash?
”Today the Google Chrome browser has disabled “Flash” by default AND disabled popups...so
you cant even get the question to enable “Flash”. Hence RTMP is the dying breed of streams.
The great thing that RTMP allowed was for mixing and matching of different bitrates as it was
very lenient in allowing sloppy encoding.

Today RTMP is used typically only to send your live broadcast stream to the CDN where then
he CDN would output a HLS stream that would be delivered to your website and apps. RTMP
is the typical stream for OBS and other streaming software.
Best Bitrate Practices for internet TV: Selecting Your Channel Profile

Before beginning your Internet TV channel it is best to have decided the specs your Internet TV
channel will broadcast at. Even in the cable and satellite TV world channels have specs on what
they can broadcast on their system. Such as frame rates resolution and more. As I have
explained above HLS is the standard of today's technology for streaming videos across all
platforms and devices (desktops, mobile apps and more) on the internet. However the draw
back is that HLS is very sensitive to changes in bitrates and resolutions. This means that if your
playlist is a combination of resolution of 1080, 720 and 480 and varying bitrates you WILL get
disruptions to your channel. This is especially true on platforms such as ROKU and Amazon
FireTV which are not very forgiving to sloppy encoding. Your stream will just stop playing and
your viewer will get an error message. So it is very important in the very beginning to decide
your specs for your channel; what your average bit rate will be, and your resolution. Now with
that said, that does not mean that you can not include videos from different bit rates and
resolutions IF you encode them. For example if you had videos from youtube you wanted to
broadcast on your channel then you would need to encode them to match your channels
settings. This means if you have a 1080 channel and you wanted to broadcast a video that is
480 you would run this through an encoder that would add blank lines of resolution to match
your channel profile.

I can give you an example. Below is a video that was shot on a mobile phone or a camera that
was not 1080. As you can see bars of shaded resolution is added on both sides of the video to
make it full HD so it will fit your screen and your stream. Its just a duplicate of the outskirts of
the video copied to the edge.
One of the first things we do for our customers is create a “channel profile” that has your
channel settings inside it. This is so that all videos will match your “profile” and even the
software we give you is set to your channel profile. This is one of the biggest mistakes new
broadcasters online make is not understanding HLS and that you can not mix and match
resolutions and bitrates like you could in the days of Flash. Once you decide your channel
profile (Resolution and bitrate) then all videos you make will match and creates conformity
across all platforms. Your channel will run smooth without glitches.

However occasionally we have customers that want different resolutions for different reasons.
So we have tools for you to use in your control panel that will flag videos that do not match.
This is only done once a playlist is created and ready for broadcast. Our system will examine
quickly each of those videos to make sure they match for proper HLS streaming. This isn't as
important if you are just broadcasting on the web, BUT if you are using our services to
broadcast across multiple devices such as ROKU, Amazon FIRETV etc... then it is crucial
everything matches. Otherwise your stream will not play correctly or drop altogether.

You can see below a screenshot of our system looking for errors in the current playlist:
If you are a wanting to cater to adaptive bitrates (which I highly recommend) then you would
need to decide your resolution for your top quality streams and your lower quality streams for
your channel profile. The system will then give the stream that is best for their internet speed
making your channel run smoothly.

Adaptive bitrate services cost a bit more money but is well worth it. However adjusting on the
fly is a great advantage for those with slower internet connection although in most cases
multibitrate will suffice.

SD Resolution: SD resolution is defined at 640 x 480 pixels. However sometimes low-end

HD of 1280 by 720 is now also referred to as “SD” (Even though technically it is HD).

Choosing a bitrate for your channel profile:

Remember a “channel profile” is what you decide your settings should be for your Internet TV
network that you want all of your live broadcasts, VOD videos, and pre-recorded scheduled
videos to conform too. Setting up your channel profile should reflect the type of channel you
are wanting to portray. For a SD channel you want to set your profile 800Kbps or 1386 Kpbs
or 1800 Kbps. For HD 1080 you want a minimum of 2500 Kbps (2.5Mbps) and at the highest
6Mbps. If for example you were doing a sports channel I would go for the higher resolution as
more image detail would be needed.

For multi bitrate you would select your profile for your main stream and then an alternate lower
bitrate for slower connections. For example you may select HD 1080 at 3.0 Mbps as your high
quality stream and 720 resolution at 1200Kbps for your low quality stream. This means your
videos will be encoded for both a high quality stream an a low quality stream. If you are using
adaptive bitrate on your streams then we will encode them on the fly. Meaning we are
providing a 1080 high quality stream, a 720 mid quality stream and SD stream. When using
adaptive bitrate there is no need to worry about mixing resolutions for HLS because we are
encoding on the fly and each outputted streams is consistent with its chosen resolution.

If you are doing the encoding yourself (meaning you are not using our service/we do this for
you) for VOD a good rule of thumb is that a high quality encode should be about 2.0 Mbps at
SD resolution. Some slow moving dramas might get by at 1.5 Mbps for SD, while fast action
sports would benefit by going higher than 3.0 Mbps at HD resolution. When encoding for HD,
the bit rate must be at least 2.0 Mbps, and will look much better above 2.4 Mbps. As you
sacrifice quality for lower bitrates, we recommend that the lowest bit rate video that is still
watchable on the TV screens Roku boxes are plugged into is 756 kbps. In general fast action
like sports would do better with higher resolution rates while slow moving scenes like college
lectures would benefit more from higher resolution. Keep in mind the above is dealing with
VOD and not a playlist. In other words VOD's do not have to match resolution UNLESS you
plan later to put the videos into a playlist (then they have to match).

When selecting resolutions, you will generally want 720x480 SD content, 1280x720 HD
content, and 1920x1080 1080p HD content. You may decide to set a resolution lower than
720x480 on your low bit rate streams. When selecting these lower resolutions, you should use a
resolution that is a multiple of 16 since H.264 uses 16x16 macroblocks (Otherwise you will be
wasting bits on resolution that is unused).

Just keep in mind the higher your bit rate the better your picture looks, but the higher the
chance your video will buffer for some of your viewers with slower connections.

A free software for changing video containers, codex's and bitrates is www.handbrake.fr

However if you are encoding for a stream (streaming a channel) remember you want your
resolutions to be all the same and your bitrates within 10% of each other. HLS does not allow
for variations and can cause your channel to go down.

Once again not to confuse you; VOD video resolutions DO NOT HAVE TO MATCH because
they are not a stream. Instead a VOD is a stand alone video waiting fo r the user to play it
(and not a HLS STREAM consisting of multiple videos). HOWEVER if you take your VODs
and MAKE A STREAM (by placing them in a playlist and scheduling that playlist) it now a
HLS STREAM of multiple videos and the video resolutions NOW must match. If you use our
system we make this easy. We do all the heavy lifting and the encoding and have a special tool
as we showed above for checking your playlist.
Buffering - If you understood the above about bit rates the you should understand buffering
easily. There are many factors that can effect buffering including DNS load balancing, your
CDN”s capabilities, connections speeds and so on. If you are one of our customers then you
really should not have a problem with buffering. The only time buffering will take place if if
your viewers connection speed drops dramatically (below a reasonable rate to play a video) or
they loose connection.

Platforms verses Apps - This may be obvious to some people but I at least need to mention
this for first timers. TV apps are apps that you download to your platforms. Platforms are your
devices. For example, iPhone is one platform, Roku is one platform, Smart TV's is one
platform (made up of many different manufactures) , Amazon Firetv is one platform and you
get the picture. These platforms run apps. These platforms/devices are in the hands of millions
(actually billions) of consumers world wide. Consumers download apps to platforms. I think its
important to understand this so not to get confused with what internet TV is. Internet TV is a
combination of a platform and a app. Example of Internet TV apps that run on these platforms
would be Netflix, HULU, YouTube, and HBO Go just to name a few. So your goal is to have a
Internet TV app that can run on all platforms (and making people aware of it) thereby having
the most market reach.

Internet TV and the International Marketplace - Although this book is mainly about the
'how” internet TV functions I feel compelled to give out some information on the international
market for internet TV. I know many of our readers and customers come from all over the
world and each have their own idea and niche of how they want to implement their strategy. I
think understanding the power of the international market is imperative. Literally if you have
video content you are not bound by geographical confines of cable or satellite. You can reach
anyone that has internet. With that said you can take content from one country and advertise
your app in another country. You can buy content from one country and distribute in another.
You could be in Africa and release content in the USA and vice versa. I think you get the
picture but what I want you to understand is that you are really only limited to what you can
dream up.

Monetizing Internet TV

Credibility and Status = Unmeasurable Monetization

I will start with the least known Monetization benefits of having your own Internet TV
network.

Lets talk about the most hidden Monetization effect. The fact that you have a Internet TV
network on platforms such as ROKU, Amazon FireTV, iPhone, Apple TV etc... give you and
your organization “credibility” and “status”. Few people on this planet can boast they have
their own network. This benefit of this alone is hard to be measured because its not always
obvious that was the reason someone decided to do business with your company. Whenever
people are deciding to do business with your business, decide if your church is the right church
for them, decide to list their house with your real estate company......many things weigh into
that decisions including how they feel about the credibility and status of your organization. So
keep in mind that just having your online network alone will generate in-direct revenue.

Digital Add Injection

AKA Dynamic Ad Insertion is something that is new to the digital landscape. When I say
“new” I do not mean that it started yesterday, but that the technology is not yet perfected. It is
ongoing process to evolve and perfect. However it is far enough a long that we can do two
critical steps;

1. Inject paying advertisers adverts

2. Track the amount of viewers per add

Both of these steps allow a total to be calculated monthly so that your channel can get a check
every month.

This makes your goal obvious; Create or obtain great content people want to see and promote
it. In other words build your content and viewership. That is of course the name of the game
for any TV network but this is definitely the core concept of success when it comes to getting
big advertising checks.

To thrive in the Internet TV world you the Content Owner, TV Broadcaster and/or OTT
Operator need to optimize ad revenues and make the most of the latest shifts in technology that
are available today in order to increase monetization potential. This is why you should require a
platform that can precisely target the right audience and accurately insert relevant ads across
connected TV channels and multiple screens.

The components of add injection:

– Dynamic Ad insertion - Our solutions make sure that the right ad is ready to play every
time there is an ad break and can seamlessly scale to television-sized audiences.
– Multiple Triggers – you the broadcaster can trigger the ads, or you can pick one of our
algorithms that automatically inserts them for maximum revenue potential (example 12
-16 mins of ad breaks per hour)
– Guaranteed Ad views – Even if the stream is paused the Ad is not skipped when the
stream resumes.

All of these components work together to create a nice revenue stream for your channel.

Subscription model

The obvious money maker for online TV is charging a subscription fee. This is a big money
maker especially if you have a lot of content. Netflix is making BILLIONS (not millions) from
this subscription based method. However of course they have a ton of content so this
subscription model makes since for them.

You can charge for a day, month, quarterly or annually. You can give free trials and a host of
other options to make revenue easier to generate. For smaller broadcasters subscriptions make
a lot sense if your audience is a niche. For example if you specialize in a particular content
geared to a language besides English or other small niches like ball room dancing etc....
Subscriptions excel in these type of situations because the audience is eager to obtain content
that is not catered to in today's mass media.

Other models that work well - charge a subscription fee for an ad free version of your network.
This is a common “up-sell” for many networks. This allows you to leverage both ads and
subscriptions.

Rev Share

Lets talk about another fantastic advertising model that seems to do really well with Internet
TV channels. Revshare is a network of more than 1,700 media partnerships and is comprised of
local, regional and national cable networks, as well as hundreds of broadcast stations and
nationally syndicated programs. This model can help you bring coveted ad dollars to your
internet TV station by monetizing your channel through selecting pre-made ads. It’s a plug-and-
play solution to untapped resources for your ad inventory. This means you choose from a list of
pre-made ads that you think would match the type of audience that watches your channel.
Instead of getting paid per viewer you get paid per call (not per sale but per call) and typically
the pay is 50 to 150 dollars per call. This is fantastic for many online channels with smaller
audiences as they seem to be very responsive to this type of offer. Even just a small number of
20 or 30 calls a month can boost your income greatly on your internet TV network. As your
network grows the response to these ads continues to grow even in to the hundreds of calls
(leads) generating your channel some real cash.

Revshare can deliver a suite of commercials uniquely customized to your preferred formats
(which of course is .mp4 for internet)
• Revshare constantly scours the marketplace for the most profitable offers and most
aggressive ROI
• Each offer has already been tested
• You are provided a data driven dashboard to manage your online stations offer
performance
• Guaranteed payments

The difference in Revshare and dynamic ad insertion is that for your Revshare ads you will
need to manually place them into your playlist, where as dynamic ads are automatically placed
with ad injection. However this is still a very powerful advertising tool that give you control of
your station without a sales team and with very little work. Just choose the ads and place them
into your channel and start making money.

YouTube Monetization - With Youtube's new rules its making it harder and harder to monetize
on their platforms. You want to be the one in control of your networks future.

First and foremost the #1 reason our customers want to acquire their own Internet TV network
is so that it can be “self branded”. In other words it has nothing to do with YouTube (Facebook
or any other 3rd party) and when promoting your channel this keeps your network looking
professional. However there are more critical reasons why its important to have your own
network and not rely on 3rd parties such as “YouTube”.

1. For the most part it is difficult to make money off of your YouTube videos. That does
NOT mean that there are no YouTubers making good money. There are some, but for the
majority it is a known fact that channel creators (even those with hundreds of thousands
even millions of views) struggle to make even a hundred dollars in a month. YouTube is
not in the business for the benefit of the content creators but for the benefit of
themselves.
2. Youtube now “censors” content they don't like. This means you are no longer in control
of your network. This is important to understand because they censor content they deem
“controversial”. However they define what “controversial” is. They are now changing
algorithms hiding videos and NOT notifying your subscribers (on new video posts and
live broadcast) for groups that have opposing political positions of YouTube (owned by
google) shareholders.
3. YouTube has new rules that makes it difficult for new channels to monetize any content.

The fact is, you have absolutely no control over your subscriber base when you’re on YouTube.
You don’t have their names, you don’t have their email addresses, you can’t take them to
another platform. That’s a huge issue. This means you can not run email campaigns, promos,
and that YouTube could shut your channel down (as they are known to do without giving a
reason) without a given notice. YouTube is built to make YouTube money and not to make the
broadcaster money. In fact its built to enslave you to their system. Building a YouTube
audience is a waste of time and money, unless it is to promote your other platforms...which is
where you make your real money. YouTube may have some professional videos on their
platform, but it is NOT a professional platform. When you have your own online network you
can make hundreds even thousands of times more money than you can on Youtube controlling
your own advertising or subscriptions. I am not saying YouTube does not have its place, but it
is built with the idea for sharing videos and not monetizing them.

YouTube has its place and like I said before, there are some earning money on the platform.
However the majority of serious YouTubers earn next to nothing. Plus at a moments notice
YouTube can cancel, censor or demonetize your channel (or videos) so that your viewers can
not find it in a search or a related video. Same thing is occurring with Facebook live
broadcasts....You can NOT monetize them and you CAN be shut off for breaking one of many
many rules they have. Facebook and YouTube should only be used in order to support your
main Independence channel. That is the purpose of using these social platforms, to SUPPORT
your business not to use them AS YOUR business. Insuring against a Facebook or YouTube
decision that they know longer like you. If your channel is independent they can NOT SHUT
you down.

Video Playout - “Video playout” is the process in which you create a list of videos that would
be played on the internet. You can consider the playout your “Core” to your internet TV
channel. A playout system is an industry term used to describe the equipment, software and/or
processes—typically within some kind of broadcast environment—responsible for "playing"
source videos and converting or rendering it into a form which may be "put to air", or
presented, for external use. This is where you form your video lists. You may import hundreds
even thousand of videos into your playout server and then schedule them for playout.

Two types of playlist.

– Local playout – defined by your own computer at your local location. Typically some
type of software and some hardware configuration. You can create playlists and then
your responsibility is to send the stream to your CDN for redistribution. Disadvantage is
power outages, internet outages, internet upload speeds and fluctuations (your video
stream is being constantly uploaded to the CDN) computer freezes or other technical
problems can cause your stream to go down.
– Cloud Playout – You host your videos on a CDN service. These videos are can then be
put into a playlist and scheduled. You can schedule playlists weeks or months in
advance. The advantages is that your stream is always playing and no need to worry
about your upload connection, machine freezing or internet speed fluctuations. This is
one of our core products we offer our customers.

Our cloud playout overview: Our customers receive a online account that gives access to our
playout servers and gives you very similar capabilities to mimic that of a real live TV station
and best of all your viewers have no idea you are using our service. The way it works is you
upload your videos to a admin/control panel we provide you, and in that admin/control panel
you can create playlists. Each playlist contains the videos you want to broadcast in the order
you want them to play. You may schedule your palylist or you can schedule multiple playlist
for months in advance of hands free use. You may always interrupt your playlist with a our live
broadcast feature as well.

So in conclusion a playout server is what “plays” your video and creates a “video stream” that
mimics that look and feel of a real TV channel playing one video after the other (and allows for
your own commercials to be inserted). You can use our online version by uploading your
videos into a media library and then creating a playlist and ordering or scheduling your videos,
or you can buy your own Playout server that you will use from your location (no uploading
videos in that case).
Note: You need a constant upload speed of at-least 50% more than your stream if you will use
your own playout server at your location.

Video codec's - Codec is really the meshing of two words: coder and decoder (co/dec). What
do they do? In the simplest explanation, codecs encode and compress streams of data for
storage or broadcast or they decompress for playback or even editing. If you are watching a
video on the internet then it is being “decoded” by the video player that is paying it (for
example the Jwplayer)

A codec is usually a small piece of computer code that performs its magic whenever it's called
by a piece of software, but a codec can also be a physical piece of hardware responsible for
turning analog video and audio into a digital format and is usually called a “encoder”. This
happens in real time, either at the point of capture or the point of playback. The codec can also
perform the reverse function, turning digital video and audio signals into an analog format.
Books have been written on video codecs and it can turn into a complicated and exhaustive
topic to research. However really all you need to know is that codecs can take really large video
files of many Gigabytes and compress them into much smaller sizes. This is extremely helpful
and necessary in broadcasting live streams.
You will notice if you ever record something in a raw format on a DSLR camera that when you
pull the video file off the camera it is a huge file of many Gigabytes. You can then take that
same video and put it through a free encoder that will encode into h.264 and a .mp4
format/container and you will see the size go down dramatically.

A few examples of codecs:

MPEG-2 is a very high standard and the only video compression standard used for DVD-video
compliant discs. Even though new codecs have been introduced which compress at a higher
quality, MPEG-2 is still the standard for DVD production, and it is also an option for Blu-ray
Disc creation.
MPEG-4 (please keep in mind that MPEG-4 and .mp4 are completely different with MPEG-4
being a codex and .mp4 being a container) handles both progressive and interlaced video. It
employs better compression techniques than MPEG-2 and, like MPEG-2, it is a widely-
accepted compression standard. In fact, there are a number of codecs that are derived from
MPEG-4. One of them is the H.264 codec, which is another option for encoding video for Blu-
ray Disc, as well as for videos found on the iTunes store. H.264 is a family of standards with
great flexibility and a wide variety of applications. H.264 enables compression for high and
low bit rates and both high and low video resolutions. Adjusting size allows users to use this
same standard for compressing for broadcast, multimedia usage and large file storage.

Difference in a video codec and a video container: Simply put, a codec is a method for
encoding and decoding data and more specifically, a protocol for compressing data, especially
video. Selecting the right codec can depend on several factors. Target file size, output quality,
and delivery method all factor in. Currently h.264 is the predominant codec on the web and can
play on mobile devices, Smart TV's, and more (its the primary codex for HLS streams).
In comparison, a container is what holds the grouping of compressed video as defined by the
codec. A container is also referred to as a format. The container takes care of packaging,
transport, and presentation. The container is usually represented by a file extension. For
example the MP4 container is usually represented by a .mp4 file type. Do not confuse MPEG4
codec with the .mp4 container. They are different. So in summary a container like that of .mp4
is to be compared to a box that hold all the information for that video, the codec, the audio
codec, and all info in regards to playing that video back. There are many different types of
containers .mp4, .avi, .mov and much more.
While there are literally hundreds of container/codec combinations, there are two predominant
pairings. The MP4 container with the h.264 gained widespread popularity after it was adopted
as the leading format for iOS devices. Similarly, Google’s support for the WebM container and
the VP8 codec in the chrome browser ushered in an era of popularity for this combo.
For the internet you need to know these key factors; You want all of your video content in the
h.264 format with a .mp4 extension/container. This is because h.264 and .mp4 are the most
widely used codecs and formats on the internet and will work with almost all devices. Keep in
mind that if your video(s) are not in h.264 most devices will not be able to play it.
So whats your take away for codecs? Simply put you will use .mp4 and h.264 for your
internet TV channel. If you are one of our customers we will typically encode your videos into
this format for you.
Video Encoding: Now that you understand what a codec is and what it does you should be
able to see the need for an encoder. There are many types of encoders both free ones and ones
that cost lots of money. The main reason you want an encoder is if you doing a live broadcast
the ouput of the camera is going to be in a different format and uncompressed video (meaning
its to much bandwidth per second to send through the internet). Encoding also known as
transcoding can refer to more than one process. It can refer to compressing a video and/or
changing the videos codec's, changing the video containers, and changing the resolution.

So lets talk about the application of encoding. When does it need to be done? Encoding needs
to be done for everything you are going to put on the web. This includes if you are going to
provide VOD videos on your website or app, or if you are going to do a live broadcast from a
camera or multiple cameras, and even if you are broadcasting from a playout server (each
camera and playout manufacture has their own set codec's and containers that are output). You
want to encode them first into h.264 (if it is not already done) and the .mp4 format. There is a
free program you can use to do this and that is called “HandBrake” (you can get it here:
https://handbrake.fr/ ). Or if you are one of our customers we will give you software that will
take care of this process for you automatically as you upload videos..

If you are doing your own network and using a playout server other than our cloud service then
you will need an encoder. There are many types with the most professional being what they
call a standalone encoder. Meaning it is a piece of hardware that is only for the use of encoding.
These encoders have many different options and typically cost anywhere from $3,000 all the
way to $50,000. So do you need a stand alone encoder for a live broadcast or a playout server?
The answer is “no” you don’t have to have one. You can instead use a free one called “Open
Broadcaster Software” (also known as OBS) and can be found at www.obsproject.com and can
be installed on a desktop or laptop PC or Mac. This means you can turn your laptop or desktop
into an encoder and OBS does a pretty great job at the encoding. In many applications you can
use the same machine you are using for playout and install the encoder there, or you can go
from the output of the encoder to another laptop where your encoder is installed.

For a live broadcast at your home or office (or a remote location) you can use a laptop for your
encoding. Even if you are using multiple cameras to shoot your video, it can be put through the
free OBS encoder and it works well.

When do you need a standalone encoder? When a free one does not suit your needs. You may
be broadcasting on satellite or need multiple streams encoded or higher bit rates than
usual...many factors can lead you to wanting a standalone encoder. However for the majority of
people reading this you would not need a stand alone encoder.

In summary (for 99% of the people reading this, this is all you need to know)

When is encoding needed? If you are not our customer: When you plan to put a VOD video
on your website/network (Roku, firetv etc...) and/or use that video in a playlist. If you are
broadcasting live then you will need to encode it in real time using something like OBS
software. If you are our customer: It is done for you.

What should it be encoded too? When the codecs format is not h.264 and .mp4 and anywhere
between 756Kbps and 5Mbps.

Character Generation (CG) - Character Generation is the ability to overlay in real time (live)
graphics either over a live broadcast or a live stream coming from a playout server. If you have
ever seen sports scores on the TV screen, or a scrolling News or text across the bottom when a
live broadcast is going on, then you have seen CG. This is not the same as adding titling and
lower thirds in your editing software, because CG is done off the cuff, meaning live as the
broadcast is going out. Usually it is a separate computer that overlays the graphics on the
stream before it is encoded. Here is what you need to understand; most of the time you need a
playout server to do this or a service/software that is installed on your end. In other words the
stream must originate from your location where the CG is done, it can be done from our online
playout server but on a much less of a scale. Our CDN service can give you a limited control of
this but nothing compared to what you can do with your own server. So if you are wanting a
system that does this I would suggest a playout system with this capability.

You can see below an example of CG technology being used in a live soccer match:
Notice the sports score above is generate in real time with CG technology.

Summary for CG: If you want to do professional CG then you need your own palyout server
with CG technology at your broadcast location. A cloud playout would not be sufficient.

Overview of how a Internet TV channel Works/Putting it All Together- I wanted to give

you a basic overview of how this all works. You do not need to invest tens of thousands of
dollars in equipment, and although in some rare circumstances a hefty investment may be
necessary, in most cases it is not.

Keep in mind for Internet TV it is the apps that give the viewer the experience that keeps them
coming back (also of course your content). I put together some very basic drawings of how
some typical internet TV broadcasts work. This may or may not be the setup you use, but at-
least you can get the idea of what is going on.

The first thing I would like to demonstrate is how a Internet TV site works. The “flesh” of the
site or app (That is the HTML, Javascript, etc...) is hosted on web servers. The videos are
hosted on a complex CDN. This means that when your viewer wants to watch a VOD Video or
a Live stream, the videos or streams are coming from the CDN but the flesh of the website is
coming from the hosting....separate servers and services make up the Internet TV site, and apps.

Notice below:
The navigation and all the HTML and code that makes up how the site or app (HTML 5) runs is
hosted separately than the videos...the videos come from the CDN and are indexed with title
and descriptions. They work together to make a complete Internet TV site. When your viewer is
browsing the site or app they are accessing one server, and when watching a video accessing
the CDN (another server)

There are two types of apps for mobile and other smart devices, “HTML5” and “Native”.
HTML5 means that the app is running in its own internet browser serving up functions based
on HTML technology. This by no means makes them easier to develop, but it does simulate the
functions of a native app. In other words a HTML5 app receives its data to populate the app via
the internet.

A native application (native app) is an application program that has been developed for use on a
particular platform or device. Because native apps are written for a specific platform, they can
interact with and take advantage of operating system features and other software that is
typically installed on that platform (device).

So for a Native app the code and data is on the device instead of a browser accessing it
remotely, but either way it still must receive its video content from a CDN.

Which one is better? We develop both, and to be honest it depends on the device/platform that
you are deploying to. However the only exception is for Roku because it only accepts native
apps, and the language used to write ROKU apps is called “Brightscript”. So all apps on the
Roku platfrom are native to ROKU (no HTML5 apps).

Local Playout

Earlier in this book we talked about playout servers and what they do. Two types of playout
servers, a local server (at your location) and a cloud (or hosted) server (at our location). Both
will do the job, both have advantages and disadvantages. Local palyoust server you do not need
to upload videos, however it needs a steady upload speed and can crash or freeze. Cloud server
will not crash or freeze but each video needs to be uploaded to your account.

Below is an example of using a Playout server and standalone encoder for a Internet broadcast.
This is just to give you an overview of the workflow and your configuration may be different.

The above illustration shows your video playout server (pictured as a desktop) sending the
video output to an encoder (can also be done on the playout server) then outputting the encoded
signal to a CDN where anyone who requests it can get a nice constant video stream. The
advantage of this is that the playlist is created on your machine at your studio or home.
However in this configuration you still need to upload any vidoes you want to archive or make
available for VOD.
Here is another example of using our service without a playout system (uploading your files):

In the above example you upload your files from your pc or mac to your online account
(through our company) and create a media library. From the library you are able to create
playlists and VOD categories that will broadcast out to all your devices and viewers.

With either example the idea behind our service is one control panel for all devices. In other
words whatever playlist and VOD videos you set in your control panel it is repeated or
broadcast to all your devices that you have. One control panel controls your channel on ROKU,
your Website, your Firetv app, iPhone, Android etc...you get the picture.

How do I get started?

If you are looking to get started the very first step is to purchase your control panel.

Here are the main reasons:

– You can begin building your media library. This means you can start with videos you
have made, videos you like from YouTube or any other videos.
 – You can practice putting together playlists and scheduling playlists and getting a feel for
the mechanics of Internet TV.
– You can embed (or we can do it for you) and integrate your Internet TV into your
website (or choose a template website).
– From here you can branch out to ROKU, FireTV, Apple TV, Smart TV, iPhone app,
Android app and more.
– You can get a feel for broadcasting live.

Before you can branch out your Internet TV channel and get approved on other platforms
(Roku etc..) you need to have your core channel working. The contorl panel is your “core” and
controls what you broadcast to your website and internet TV network.

There are other key benefits and tools of our control panel.

Tool 1 Simultaneously broadcast your live sermons to your Facebook, YouTube accounts and
your website (or your online TV network).

Tool 2 Live Record. After your live sermon is over you need to archive to your website/and or online
network FB, and YouTube. Creating an existing online library of past live broadcast, and events allows
viewers to browse.

Although FB will automatically archive your last live record you need to also need EASY access to that
video if you want to EDIT it, or list it in a playlist.

Our Live Record tool will keep a copy of all of your Live Broadcasts in your media library so that you
can easily display the video on your website, Social Media or Internet TV network. The Live
Recordings can also be added to a playlist and scheduled for broadcast (either broadcasted back on
your Internet TV network, your Social Media accounts, or your website).

Tool 3 Scheduled Broadcast – As mentioned earlier this tool mimics the traditional TV stations where
you always have a playlist playing with a schedule. Its one thing to have a list of archived VOD
content, but its even better to have a continues playlist broadcasting on your website, Internet TV
network or social media accounts.

To get started go to tvstartup.com/act-creation and you can begin today.

Are there any Equipment Costs for Internet TV?

The only real investment you might want to make is a high speed computer with plenty of
RAM. If its a PC make sure it has USB 3.0 for faster file transfer since you will be processing
large video files. However its not necessary to have a super fast computer, it just makes it
easier for you. Regarding other equipment like cameras and things of that nature, that is on the
production side of things and there is plenty of info out there on how to produce professional
quality videos for cheap. You might check out some video tutorials on production at lynda.com.
If you are looking for a great camera that can work for live events you want a camera that can
stream to a computer. Many cameras can connect to a computer via USB but that does not
mean it can stream to a computer. Let me give you the difference; a USB is typically for file
sharing and dropping your media onto your machine. However your camera needs to be able to
stream to the computer so that your encoder or playout server can capture the stream and
broadcast it to your CDN.

Conclusion:

For your Internet TV network decide your channel profile (bitrate and resolution), make sure
all your content is .mp4 container and a .h264 codex using a HLS stream. Multi or adaptive
bitrate to adapt to different connection speeds (may cost more in the setup), decide what
platforms you want to develop apps for (Website, iPhone, Android, Roku, FireTV Android Tv,
Apple TV, Smart TV's and more) make sure you have a CDN in place and your playout
software and server as well as any graphics overlay software you would like to use. As always
you can use one of turn key systems that includes all of these bundled into one.

If your doing it on your own then you want to have a developer that specializes in each
platform, you want a powerful hosting company to host your app files, web sites thumbnails
and more, and you need a CDN that can offer the stability and speed that you need for video.

Thanks for taking the time to read this book. I hope this information helps you and puts you on
the right track for your TV goals. What may seem like a uphill task is really not so hard after all
when you have the information. The most important aspect of this whole industry, the key to
your success is NEVER GIVE UP! You can do it!

Feel free to reach out to us if you would like to use any of our services at www.tvstartup.com.

All the best!

Brock Fisher