Live streaming has become an integral part of modern life, revolutionizing how we consume content in real time. Whether it's watching a global music festival, tuning into the Super Bowl, or following breaking news as it unfolds, live streaming bridges the gap between events and audiences, making real-time experiences more accessible than ever. For instance, the 2023 Super Bowl attracted over 113 million viewers worldwide, showcasing the immense reach and popularity of live streaming. From social media platforms to dedicated streaming services, the demand for instant, high-quality broadcasts has skyrocketed. This article explores the past, present, and future of live streaming through the perspective of Akhil Ramachandran, a visionary whose groundbreaking contributions are shaping this dynamic field.
Early Days
In the early days, the infrastructure was both expensive and complex, primarily installed in fixed locations like stadiums and arenas. These setups included high-quality video cameras to capture events, encoder monoliths to compress the video for transmission, and satellite systems to broadcast the content to stations via satellite, radio, or cables. "The infrastructure required significant financial investment and technical expertise to operate and was inaccessible to the general public. It was clear that we needed a more scalable and flexible solution," Akhil reflects, acknowledging the industry's early challenges.
Emergence of Cloud Computing
"Cloud computing was a game changer," Akhil states emphatically. "It introduced scalability and efficiency that we hadn't seen before, and enabled us to tackle the infrastructure challenges with live streaming."
"Breakthroughs like advanced ingest technologies and cloud-based transcoding, which allow for adaptive bitrate streaming have democratized live streaming, making it more accessible and cost-effective," he explains, emphasizing the role of Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) in ensuring low-latency delivery to millions of users worldwide. "The ability to deliver content seamlessly across different devices and screen sizes was a major leap forward," he adds, underscoring the transformative impact of these advancements.
Innovator at the Forefront of Live Streaming
Akhil Ramachandran embarked on his journey during the transformative era of cloud computing in live streaming, beginning his career with AWS Elemental. This subsidiary of Amazon Web Services specializes in solutions for video processing and delivery, enabling high-quality streaming experiences across various platforms. With a Master's in computer science and a passion for media technology, Akhil quickly recognized the potential of this emerging field. With close to 10 years of experience in the streaming industry, he has built multiple products that are used by small and large businesses worldwide to stream content to millions of viewers. Akhil has been instrumental in setting new standards for scalability, availability, and latency in live streaming and is regarded as a thought leader for these significant contributions.
One of his major contributions was developing AWS MediaStore, a low-latency origin store, which significantly reduced the latency of live streams, enabling seamless real-time broadcasts. "The crucial challenge was building a service that is globally accessible and ensures that even in the most demanding situations, the time it takes to process data is less than 50 milliseconds for 99.99% of all requests. This level of performance was essential for maintaining smooth and uninterrupted live-streaming experiences," Akhil recalls. His effort has been pivotal in streaming major events, including multiple Super Bowls, captivating more than 200 million viewers worldwide.
Overcoming Accessibility Barriers
"Even with cloud computing, there were still barriers," Akhil acknowledges. "Content creators still required expensive equipment and technical expertise, making it less accessible to the general public." Akhil states that his vision was to democratize broadcast-quality live streaming for content creators, and he realized this vision by playing a pivotal role in developing Elemental Link, a small, plug-and-play encoder that can be set up in minutes and allows users to start ingesting content into cloud effortlessly at a fraction of a cost of traditional streaming infrastructure. The innovation leverages the full scale of cloud technology to broadcast content to millions of viewers. "The product was a smash hit, featured in magazines, and showcased at major trade shows where it won numerous awards. However, what made me most proud was the transformative impact it had on small content creators during the COVID-19 pandemic," Akhil notes.
The Future of Live Streaming
While broadcast live streams with fixed cameras for live events remain extremely popular, a new genre—personal live streaming—has been gaining traction. With the advent of smartphones and social media, live streaming is now at everyone's fingertips through apps like Instagram, YouTube, and Twitch. The latest innovation in this field is the emergence of smart glasses with built-in capabilities to stream users' points of view, eliminating the need to hold a phone. As live streaming continues to evolve, Akhil's visionary contributions ensure that the technology remains accessible, innovative, and transformative.
