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Azure Media Services v2 (GA)Concepts

Azure Media Services v2 (GA) Concepts
Azure Media services

 This topic gives an overview of the most important Media Services concepts.

INTRODUCTION
Microsoft Azure Media Services is an extensible cloud-based platform that enables developers to build scalable media management and delivery applications. Media Services is based on REST APIs that enable you to securely upload, store, encode and package video or audio content for both on-demand and live streaming delivery to various clients (for example, TV, PC, and mobile devices). 

Microsoft's efforts to improve the company's cloud platform, Windows Azure, most definitely
do not fly under the radar. Over the past few months the software giant brought Windows
Azure Services to Windows Server 2012, introduced a plethora of new features for its
cloud platform, updated the Windows Azure SDK for .NET and, recently, announced the
general availability of Windows Azure Media Services.

Windows Azure Media Services is basically a Media Platform as a Service or PaaS, as
Microsoft likes to call it, that allows users to implement video streaming,using various
formats, to Android, HTML5, iPad, iPhone, Xbox, Windows 8 or Windows Phone, among other supported clients. Developers can control Windows Azure Media Services through REST APIs or Java SDK and .NET SDK in order to build an automated media workflow which can upload, encode and stream video.Microsoft offers SDKs (software development kits) as well as player frameworks.


Through Windows Azure Media Services, users can upload files to the server over an HTTP
or HTTPS connection using an AES-256 encryption, touted as a solution for smaller sets bof files and periodical uploads, perform bulk uploads, which is designed for vast media libraries.Blob to blob transfers and in-between storage accounts transfers are supported as well as uploading content through the Windows Azure Portal. 

Using REST calls, the Java SDK or .NET SDK, users can take advantage of automated initialized encoding jobs, that are processed and scaled by Windows Azure Media Services.

Microsoft unveiled reserved capacity support for on-demand streaming, as well as dynamic packaging. The latter feature permits users to store a single file format and automatically stream to a high number of adaptive protocol formats.

Windows Azure Media Services is at the moment "live in production" and available to be  usedfor projects. An Enterprise SLA (Service Level Agreement) is implemented.

Here we are going to discuss various concepts of Azure Media Services v2 (GA)
● Assets and Storage
● Jobs and tasks
● Encoding
● Live Streaming
● Protecting content
● Delivering



Assets and Storage

1. Asset
An Asset contains digital files (including video, audio, images, thumbnail collections, text tracks and closed caption files) and the metadata about these files. After the digital files are uploaded into an asset, they could be used in the Media Services encoding and streaming workflows.

2. Asset File
An Asset File represents an actual video or audio file that is stored in a blob container. An asset file is always associated with an asset, and an asset may contain one or many files. The Media Services Encoder task fails if an asset file object is not associated with a digital file in a blob container.

3. Asset encryption options
a. Storage Encrypted
Use this option to encrypt your clear content locally using AES 256 bit encryption and then upload it to Azure Storage where it is stored encrypted at rest.
b . Common Encryption Protected
Use this option if you want to encrypt (or upload already encrypted) content with Common Encryption or PlayReady DRM (for example,  Smooth Streaming protected with PlayReady DRM).
c . Envelope Encryption Protected
Use this option if you want to protect (or upload already protected) HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) encrypted with Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). If you are uploading HLS already encrypted with AES, it must have been encrypted by Transform Manager.
 
4. Access policy
An AccessPolicy defines permissions (like read, write, and list) and duration of access to an asset. You would usually pass an Access Policy object to a locator that would then be used to access the files contained in an asset.

5. Blob container
A blob container provides a grouping of a set of blobs. Blob containers are used in Media Services as boundary point for access control, and Shared Access Signature (SAS) locators on assets.

6. Locators
Locators provide an entry point to access the files contained in an asset. An  accesspolicy is used to define the permissions and duration that a client has access to a given asset.

7. Storage account
All access to Azure Storage is done through a storage account. A Media Service  account can associate with one or more storage accounts.

Jobs and tasks
A job is typically used to process (for example, index or encode) one audio/video presentation. If you are processing multiple videos, create a job for each video to be encoded.

A job contains metadata about the processing to be performed. Each job contains one or more tasks that specify an atomic processing task, its input Assets, output Assets, a media processor and its associated settings.

Transforms/Jobs workflow
The following diagram shows transforms/jobs workflow:

Transforms and jobs workflow in Azure Media Services

Typical workflow
  • Create a Transform.
  • Submit Jobs under that Transform.
  • List Transforms.
  • Delete a Transform, if you aren't planning to use it in the future.

Encoding
Azure Media Services provides multiple options for the encoding of media in the cloud.

Media Services provides dynamic packaging which allows you to deliver your adaptive bitrate MP4 or Smooth Streaming encoded content in streaming formats supported by Media Services (MPEG DASH, HLS, Smooth Streaming) without you having to re-package into these streaming formats.


Media Services supports the following on-demand encoders that are described in this
article:
● Media Encoder Standard



● Media Encoder Premium Workflow


Live Streaming
You can use the following live encoders that output multi-bitrate Smooth Streaming:
Media Excel, Ateme, Imagine Communications, Envivio, Cisco and Elemental. 

The following live encoders output RTMP: Adobe Flash Live Encoder, Telestream Wirecast, Teradek, Haivision and Tricaster encoders.
1. Channel
In Media Services, Channels are responsible for processing live streamingcontent.A Channel provides an input endpoint (ingest URL) that you then provide to a live transcoder.

2. Program (event)
A Program (event) enables you to control the publishing and storage of segments in a live stream.Channels manage Programs (events).
Channel/Event
 

Protecting content
1. Dynamic encryption
Azure Media Services enables you to secure your media from the time it leaves your computer through storage, processing, and delivery. Media Services allows  you to deliver your content encrypted dynamically with Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) (using 128-bit encryption keys) and common encryption (CENC) using PlayReady and/or Widevine DRM.

2. Token restriction
The content key authorization policy could have one or more authorization restrictions: open, token restriction, or IP restriction. The token restricted policy must be accompanied by a token issued by a Secure Token Service (STS). Media Services supports tokens in the Simple Web Tokens (SWT) format and JSON Web Token (JWT) format

Delivering
1. Dynamic packaging
When working with Media Services, it is recommended to encode your mezzanine files into an adaptive bitrate MP4 set and then convert the set to  the desired format using the Dynamic Packaging.


2. Streaming endpoint
A Streaming Endpoint represents a streaming service that can deliver content
directly to a client player application, or to a Content Delivery Network (CDN) for further distribution (Azure Media Services now provides the Azure CDN integration.) The outbound stream from a streaming endpoint service can be a live stream, or a video on-demand Asset in your Media Services account.


3. Asset delivery policy
One of the steps in the Media Services content delivery workflow is configuring
delivery policies for assets that you want to be streamed.  

Streaming protocol should your asset be dynamically packaged (for example,MPEG DASH, HLS, Smooth Streaming, or all),whether or not you want to dynamically encrypt your asset

4. Progressive download
Progressive download allows you to start playing media before the entire file has been downloaded. You can only progressively download an MP4 file.


CONCLUSION
Windows Azure is a constantly evolving platform.What makes it more attractive, in my opinion, than the competition, is that Microsoft is constantly building and expanding the set of ready to use services around the platform.

Windows Azure Media Services provides a fully-featured media management platform for Video-On-Demand solutions. Covering the full media lifecycle management – from ingesting media to delivering encrypted and digitally protected media to millions of end users and great variety of devices. You can start with standard small fee and scale out on demand.

REFERENCES
● https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/media-services/previous/media-services-co
ncepts
● https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/media-services/previous/media-services-ov
erview
● http://www.leonardofranca.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/azure_media_ser
vice.jpg
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