Scalable Simulcasting Solution in Record Time

Project
in a nutshell

Client: a horse racing venue with thousands of annual visitors

Solution: a highly scalable video platform available on multiple devices

Time challenge: meeting a very tight deadline of 2.5 months

Features: multi-camera live streams and on-demand content, a detailed schedule of races and training sessions, notification setup for favorite events

End users: horse racing amateurs

Industry

Media & Telcos

Delivery Model

Scope-driven milestone-based development

Domain

Online Video, AdTech

Effort and Duration

6 months, 13 man-months

Technologies

Java, Hibernate, Spring, Swagger, React, Swift, BrightScript, JUnit, Log4j, Liquibase, MySQL, Akamai, Streamroot, Amazon S3

The success metrics assigned before the project’s start

The client wanted to expand their outreach beyond track patrons and provide fans with a convenient option of following races live or on-demand. The project team would have two big challenges to deal with:

Tight deadline

As the stakeholder chose to align the launch with the main racing event of the year, a fully-fledged solution had to be delivered in under 2.5 months.

Top UX on all screens

To ensure outstanding performance across multiple platforms, the solution needed to provide seamless video distribution on vastly different devices at the same time.

Early value that heightened the client’s confidence

Early into the project, we started delivering potentially shippable product increments. Designers and front-end engineers rapidly created appealing prototypes and mockups for the Roku, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire TV applications. To let the client monitor production and ensure that all parties remained on the same page throughout the project, we implemented Scrum and appointed a Certified Scrum Master to head the team. Thanks to efficient collaboration with the client, we effectively planned sprints, promptly provided product demos upon the stakeholder’s request, and received valuable iterative feedback.

— Project Manager

Well-coordinated team

Enabling the quick generation of mockups for multiple platforms

Close collaboration

Contributing to effective planning and demo delivery processes

Scrum-based delivery

Adding transparency and predictability to the project phases

Overviewing the delivered solution

The solution comprises a host of visually rich and powerful multi-platform apps and a comprehensive backend with VoD functionality.

User-facing features
Back-office potential

Native applications for Apple TV, Amazon Fire Stick, and Roku

Hassle-free access to live streams and on-demand horse racing videos
Watching multi-camera live streams from 3 major race tracks
Enjoying full HD recordings of races, training sessions, and interviews with the jockeys
Checking the schedule and details of upcoming events
Getting notifications about events of interest

Highly scalable Elastic Beanstalk-powered backend

24/7 load monitoring and dynamic load balancing
Integrating CDN services from Akamai and Streamroot for smooth live and on-demand content delivery
Adding new racetracks and live streaming cameras to the apps
Creating new events
Built-in advertising capabilities for quick monetization
Organizing a past events archive
Managing user accounts

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The key challenges successfully tackled

Accelerated content delivery and platform-specific performance optimization

To boost video delivery and enhance performance across all platforms, the back-end developers built a robust content delivery layer, integrating Akamai CDN, AWS Elemental Live, and Streamroot.

How it works:

These services constantly communicate with each other, the backend, and the apps, enabling users to seamlessly access simulcasts and VoD content from any device.
AWS Elemental Live transforms video signals from the stadium cameras into HLS video streams and converts finished streams into the MP4 format for on-demand access.
Akamai CDN and Streamroot synergize to route network traffic, balance the load, and deliver high-quality videos at scale.

Addressing the Roku integration restrictions

The Roku Channel Store prohibits channel owners from uploading more than 20-60 MB of image data to the Roku application. This constraint presented a problem for the client, whose high-resolution photos would be the selling points of the future solution. We implemented a custom AWS Lambda function to convert pictures from full HD to appropriate resolution thumbnails on-the-fly.

How it works:

During a new image upload, the Lambda function instantly creates a thumbnail of the image and sends it to the corresponding Roku S3 folder.
When the Roku application requests the image, the backend responds with a thumbnail and the texture memory bottleneck doesn’t occur.
The function integration doesn’t require changes to the back-end logic.

Considering new cooperation opportunities

The client was impressed with the quality of deliverables, the development speed, and the complete transparency of Oxagile’s Scrum process, which was instrumental in hitting the market with a fully-fledged product in just 2.5 months.

With the performance and scalability requirements fully implemented, the solution boasts a lightning-fast UX and a compelling UI designed to keep users coming back.

The native apps are already available for download on the Apple Store, Amazon, and Roku Channel Store, and the client is positive about continuing the cooperation and extending the apps with the new features.

Why go with Oxagile to make your project idea come true?

Meeting harsh deadlines
Without projects delays
Oxagile’s team takes a proactive approach to elaboration, working out detailed requirements, describing system architecture, business logic, and the product’s functionality.
Deep expertise in multiple platforms
For about 20 years
Delivering end-to-end solutions for live streaming and VoD, products for Smart TVs, and digital media players, Oxagile has been highlighted as the vendor of choice.