Introduction: Hybrid by Default

GPAC has a long history of seamlessly blending transport channels, such as broadband and broadcast, to reassemble signals without interruption. This innovative approach is more relevant than ever as it resurfaces in the form of a hybrid unicast OTT combined with Adaptive Bitrate (ABR) streaming, aimed at reducing transport costs while maintaining quality.

GPAC’s commitment to mixing traditional broadcast media with modern interactive applications—what we proudly call “UltraMedia”—is at the core of our vision for the future of media. 

GPAC has been architected to embody this strong vision because we believe it is the future of media, supporting the convergence of media experiences across different platforms and formats. It’s exciting to see multicast and hybrid solutions gaining renewed attention as the industry evolves.

The Most Versatile Multicast-ABR Solution

GPAC stands as the only open-source solution that supports both ROUTE and FLUTE protocols, which is why it is highly regarded within industry consortiums. This makes GPAC the ideal platform for evaluating and experimenting with various protocols, offering reproducible results that can inform decisions on the best approaches to adopt.

Our expertise in ROUTE, showcased by our ATSC 3.0 implementation (which earned us a NAB Innovation Award in 2018), and our recent addition of FLUTE support for DVB-MABR (2024), highlight our commitment to staying at the forefront of technology. GPAC also supports DASH, HLS, and other media formats (albeit with some limitations), allowing users to leverage Multicast-ABR as they would any other format—whether for analyzing, dumping, or integrating with other content.

As we continue to push the boundaries of what’s possible, we value the feedback from our community. Your insights are invaluable to our journey; let us know what features or improvements you need as we shape the future of media together.

Practical Applications of Multicast-ABR

Over time, several compelling applications of multicast-ABR have emerged, showcasing the versatility and potential of this technology in different broadcasting scenarios:

• Rich-Media Delivery via Broadcast Carousels: One of the standout applications is the use of carousels to send rich-media content over a broadcast signal. This method allows broadcasters to deliver interactive and enhanced content, such as multimedia presentations or additional data layers, alongside the main broadcast stream.
• Layered Media Transmission: Another innovative use case involves sending a base layer on one channel and an improvement layer on another. This technique enables efficient bandwidth usage while still offering the option to enhance the content quality for users who have the capability to receive and process the additional data.
• Separate Channel Media Distribution: There’s also the possibility of distributing different media components—such as audio, video, and subtitles—across separate channels. This approach can optimize the delivery process, ensuring that each component is transmitted with the appropriate level of quality and bandwidth allocation.

These examples underscore the adaptability of multicast-ABR and GPAC in addressing various media distribution challenges, further solidifying its role in the future of broadcast and streaming technologies.

The Evolution of IP Multicast in Broadcast

Over the last decade, traditional broadcast has found new life through IP multicast. On mobile networks, technologies like LTE and more recently 5G have driven the broadcasting of content, particularly within managed networks—spaces where IP multicast has been a mainstay for years. As consumer habits shift away from linear consumption, the challenge of merging OTT adaptive streaming with the efficiency of multicast has re-emerged, and GPAC is at the forefront of meeting this challenge.

GPAC’s involvement in HbbTV dates back to 2011, with carousel technologies in use for enhanced radio services as early as 2009 through initiatives like the Radio+ project. When ATSC 3.0 proposed ROUTE, GPAC quickly implemented it, earning the 2018 NAB Innovation Award. This achievement was made possible through the collaborative efforts of our academic partner, Telecom Paris, and GPAC’s commercial arm, Motion Spell, as part of the ConvergenceTV consortium.

Fast forward to 2023, and Motion Spell (the commercial entity backing GPAC) has been selected as the DVB MABR (leveraging FLUTE, a protocol related to ROUTE) solution, positioning it as a potential future standard in the industry. This recognition further cements our role as a leader in the development of cutting-edge media delivery technologies.

Innovating with Sustainability: The SMART-CD Initiative

In media technology, sustainability has become increasingly important. At GPAC, we recognize that innovation must go hand in hand with environmental responsibility. That’s why we’re proud to be part of the SMART-CD consortium, which stands for “Sustainable Media Architecture for TV Content Delivery,” an initiative aimed at addressing the environmental and technological challenges associated with TV service distribution. 

This consortium focuses on optimizing video distribution infrastructure, reducing redundancy in content production and delivery, and developing energy-efficient codecs and transport protocols. This initiative is dedicated to exploring how MABR can reduce the environmental footprint of media delivery, all while maintaining the high-quality experiences that consumers expect. One of its key goals is to create metrics to accurately measure and reduce the carbon footprint of video streaming, particularly within cloud-native architectures.

Through SMART-CD, we are conducting rigorous experiments to assess the potential for energy savings and other environmental benefits when deploying MABR technology. This work not only reinforces GPAC’s commitment to cutting-edge media solutions but also highlights our dedication to driving sustainability within the industry.

The consortium is a collaboration between various industry leaders, including Motion Spell, Telecom Paris, Ateme, Viaccess-Orca, Nexedi, Greenweb and others, and is working on building a sustainable video streaming ecosystem. This includes creating a monitoring framework to collect environmental impact data and an orchestration agent to dynamically manage energy efficiency across the entire video delivery chain​.

Conclusion

The journey towards perfecting multicast-ABR and its integration into modern media landscapes is ongoing. At GPAC, we are proud to contribute to this evolving narrative, combining our technical expertise with a forward-thinking approach. As we continue to innovate, we invite you to join us in shaping the future of media.