Streaming solutions provider nanocosmos has developed a unique cloud-based product suited perfectly to the iGaming industry, nanoStream Cloud, which delivers ultra-low-latency live streaming across the globe.
Inside Asian Gaming: Oliver, can you tell us a bit about nanocosmos and the company’s streaming services?
Oliver Lietz: nanocosmos was founded 20 years ago with the aim of developing innovative solutions for the audio and video market. Since 1998, companies around the world have been trusting us to develop and build live video applications successfully across platforms, in a wide range of sectors, from iGaming and online auctions to TV broadcast stations and mobile media enterprises.
Following market trends and listening to our customers’ needs, we have developed a unique solution for ultra-low-latency live streaming: nanoStream Cloud, a scalable ultra-low-latency live streaming service with a worldwide footprint. nanoStream Cloud features a unique delivery technology developed by nanocosmos: the nanoStream H5Live streaming format based on existing standards, which enables light-weight playback of low-latency live streams on all HTML5 browsers. With this you can go live around the world in one second on any device!
IAG: How does this differ from other streaming services?
OL: nanoStream Cloud is a unique solution because it is a combination of software and services for delivery of interactive live streams with ultra-low-latency. nanoStream Cloud basically consists of a low latency CDN with a scalable worldwide server infrastructure and additional software: H5Live server and player. H5Live embraces existing streaming standards like HLS or DASH for delivery and playback, which usually create long latency user experiences. With our unique technology we can achieve ultra-low-latency on any HTML5 browser of around one second on any device, including Safari on iOS. nanoStream Cloud is designed to be lightweight, easy to use on any platform and cost-efficient for scalable audiences with a high quality of service.
IAG: Why is low latency so important?
OL: Interactive live streaming is all about engaging the audience. From the technical point of view, it means that the time of audiovisual content from the camera to the viewer (glass-to-glass) must be as low as possible.
Any interactive use case with communication channels between the users requires low latency to achieve real engagement. Take iGaming as an example, any second counts to have a fair user experience. Ultra-low-latency (ULL) is a step forward, promoting end-to-end latency of around one second.
IAG: Who can benefit most from using your products?
OL: We see a lot of demand from iGaming companies looking for better solutions for live dealers, platform operators or other businesses. The main question of these companies is usually about how to achieve ultra-low-latency without any software installation or plugin and playing on all HTML5 browsers including Safari on iOS. That is definitely a big challenge for iGaming companies as their players are significantly moving towards mobile devices.
nanoStream Cloud is the perfect solution for such use, filling all these technology gaps iGaming companies have recently experienced. It is not only ultra-low-latency and plugin-free, but also scalable and available worldwide. nanoStream Cloud has several servers distributed in all continents, therefore players around the world can easily access a game by using any HTML5 browser.
nanoStream Cloud was developed for companies looking for a global presence, but without losing the quality of its content and interaction.
IAG: How can this low-latency streaming be utilized in the gaming industry?
OL: Nowadays, a great part of the gaming industry is being made online through new iGaming platforms. Hence, low-latency live streaming becomes a crucial capability for live casinos and live dealers looking for a fair user experience to players worldwide, even on mobile devices. Every second counts when you are betting online and any long delay can easily change the final result of a game. Adopting an ultra-low-latency solution is the only way to ensure a fair and interactive online experience.
IAG: How important is this sort of service going to be for the global gaming industry in the future?
OL: It is an upward trend for every business to move towards online versions. The iGaming industry is also intended to grow exponentially in the next few years. The global presence through offering online games is going to be essential sooner or later for any big player in the market. Thus, the ones who have already adopted ultra-low-latency solutions will have an advantage in the near future by promoting realtime engagement between the player and the dealer.
Interactive live streaming is definitely the future for iGaming.
IAG: How does this relate to proxy betting?
OL: Proxy betting can easily be replaced with nanoStream Cloud services for direct betting without a proxy. This can be done for betting and iGaming services
IAG: Can you discuss some of the current trends when it comes to live streaming?
OL: Interaction, cross-platform, plugin-free (mobile and desktop), global scale for large audiences, instant access, API access and white label platforms, end-to-end service including software and services and finally ease of use.
The most important trend right now is definitely the adoption of interactive capabilities. When I say interaction it means, of course, ultra-low-latency, but it also includes other features that make a live stream accessible, easy to use and engaging. For instance, cloudbased solutions are bringing numerous benefits to businesses by taking away setup, deployment and maintenance effort. The use of complete cloud-based setups avoids vendor fragmentation and mix and match of different technologies from different sources. Besides, the improvement of cloud developments makes scalable live streaming easier and smoother.
Another important trend is to be cross-platform. Viewers are everywhere and want to easily access content from any device, therefore it is so important for live streaming technologies to be available on all browsers and avoid plugins.
Last but not least, simplicity also plays an important role right now. Basically, every business wants to go live and tell a story but not everyone has the expertise or the time to learn how to live stream. We tend to see simpler browser-based live streaming applications. When we say simpler, we don’t mean less quality or features, only less complex. New live streaming solutions will be complete, easy to use and intuitive, letting users focus on their content.
IAG: What sort of security measures does nanocosmos provide?
OL: nanoStream Cloud and H5Live supports encryption and secure streaming by default.
IAG: Finally, can you run us through some of nanocosmos’s different products?
OL: The most unique product is the H5Live server and client software, which we brought to worldwide access with nanoStream Cloud for interactive live streaming use cases. With servers worldwide, nanoStream Cloud is the perfect live streaming CDN for companies looking for scalability of lowlatency live streaming applications and presences around the globe.
nanoStream Cloud is basically the middle of the streaming workflow with H5Live on the distribution and playback side.
To create a live stream you need a “live encoder”. There are standard products available which you can bring and integrate with nanoStream Cloud and ingest your existing RTMP H.264/ AAC live stream. You can also use nanoStream software which is available as nanoStream Apps and SDKs to create end-to-end solutions.
Avoiding a mix of technologies and vendors is a great benefit of nanocosmos. With nanoStream WebRTC.live you can even go plugin-free live directly from your browser and deliver it to all HTML5 browsers worldwide.
All our products are easily integrated to our customer’s brands and websites.
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