2021
BITMOVIN
VIDEO
DEVELOPER
REPORT
bitmovinCONTENTS
Welcome5
Key fi ndings6
Methodology8
CHALLENGES AND INNOVATION
The biggest challenges 12
Innovation 14
Machine learning & artifi cial intelligence 16
VIDEO WORKFLOWS
Encoding20
Video codecs22
Audio codecs24
Streaming formats 25
Low latency26
Live streaming 27
CDN solution28
Content-aware encoding 30
Player codebase31
Platforms and devices 32
BUSINESS INSIGHTS
Monetization38
DRM and content protection 39
Advertising42
Analytics 44for years, we’ve been avid supporters and excited
about the potential of the AV1 codec. As a company,
we believe and acknowledge that it’s a multi-codec
world, and this year we fi nally see results indicating
that AV1 is ready to be a part of that approach.
We have also seen increased usage of more
comprehensive content protection systems over the
past few years, at least partially driven by increased
piracy over the pandemic.
Last but not least, video developers have indicated
Welcomethe rising importance of video analytics platforms in
a successful video workfl ow. Several use cases might
have driven that progress. Analytical monitoring
When I was writing my welcome note last year, the gives insights and a detailed understanding of your
world was in a very diff erent place. By no means audience, resulting in the ability to control costs by
are we back to normal. We are still dealing withensuring resources are in the right place.
a lot of uncertainties. But with the world slowly
beginning to open up again, we’ve been moreWith the 5th edition of the video developer report
than curious to see how it has aff ected the video in your hands (or on your screen), we again want
streaming industry.to thank you, the video developer community, for
providing us with your thoughts and insights and
Due to the lockdowns last year, the industry hasparticipating in the survey. Regardless of whether
seen substantial growth rates in terms of increasedyou are encoding 10 or 10,000 videos, deploying a
consumption and accelerated innovation topics, player for the fi rst time, or increasing your device
from personalization to video quality optimization.coverage while analyzing and monitoring your
Providing higher quality and more engaging videoviewers’ experiences, we hope you learn from us as
experiences also surfaced new challenges, such as much as we have learned from you.
controlling costs.
Wishing you great success in 2022 and beyond!
Looking at this year’s results, we see several
indicators across the board that the industry isStefan Lederer
further maturing. Let me give you an example; CEO & Co-Founder Bitmovin
5 KEY FINDINGS
Changing of the guard? The value of commercial solutions
When it comes to device reach, there is no way around the AVC/H.264 video codec. However, Media companies have become more mature in their knowledge of the streaming stack
newer and more effi cient codecs, HEVC, VP9, and AV1, all saw signifi cant increases in testingand their level of expertise. The value of commercial solutions shines when deploying highly
and production usage, with HEVC being deployed by over half of respondents.confi gurable and modular best-of-breed components.
The ecosystem may be ready to make the jump to AV1 considering AV1 adoption by consumer54% of the respondents use a commercial encoder (+4% from last year). This could be due to
platforms like YouTube and increasing device support from the Fire TV Stick 4K Max.several reasons including the need for higher levels of support, usability, and control. Or to be
more specifi c, the increased complexity of codecs such as HEVC, VP9, and AV1 and Dolby
For audio codecs, AAC has enjoyed a similar reign at the top - but it did experience some
audio codecs.
decline this year while multiple Dolby audio formats gained ground.
Similar reasons will play a role for the 45% of developers that selected the commercial player
HLS has been the most popular streaming format, but its fi rst decline in usage has made way
solution. A commercial solution adds value from deployment to maintenance and testing in the
for CMAF, which saw an uptick in adoption, rising from 21% to 26%.
fragmented player landscape.
The same holds true for analytics solutions where the easy-to-integrate Google Analytics is
often supplemented by a commercial solution and over 50% of the developers are using 2-3
data logs to get a better understanding of their audience.
Understanding your audience
The key to a successful business, regardless of the business model and content type, is
understanding your audience. Turn to page 32 to see what devices and platforms the video
developers are focusing on. The ongoing challenge with low latency applications
To understand your audience, consistent monitoring and analytics are a must. While startup
Last year, the number-one challenge was cost. This year innovation topics like low latency
time is still an important performance metric, video developers now often look to other
are back on top. This is no surprise, as reducing live latency has been among the biggest
metrics that infl uence the viewer experience.
challenges faced by video developers over the past several years.
Last but not least, when asked for innovation areas, ‘viewer engagement and consumption’
The majority of respondents expect low latency video in the 3 to 5-second range, while 25% of
received 28% of the votes.
our respondents expect sub-second delays for the second straight year in a row.
67 METHODOLOGY METHODOLOGY
JOB TITLE
MethodologyJOB TITLE
More than two-thirds of the participants hold
technical roles, such as developers, solution
architects, and product/technical managers;
This is Bitmovin’s 5th annual survey designed to
26% have business roles and 1.3% have research
collect, aggregate, and analyze responses to the
responsibilities.
most burning questions and topics facing video
developers.
INDUSTRY
We conducted the survey from July 7th through We saw a similar distribution across the industries
August 22nd, 2021. 538 video developers andcompared to the previous years.
industry experts from 65 countries participated.
COMPANY SIZE
Certain questions in the survey are multiple-
choice, multiple-answer questions where theThe majority of survey participants came from
aggregate of the answers will not add up to 100%. companies with up to 100 people and made upINDUSTRY
over 53% of the respondents. 33% are working in
For the fi rst time, we introduced a rankingentities with 300+ employees.
option for some questions. We have adapted
the question lineup to acknowledge new
developments and technologies.
While the Bitmovin Developer Survey is open for
everyone to participate and we are posting it
industry-wide, we want to preface that the results
might be slightly skewed towards the Bitmovin
customer base.
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