SVG Sit-Down: AWS's David Griggs Explains the Importance of AWS CDI for Live Production Cloud-based network tech could be a game-changer for live-video workflows By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor
Tuesday, October 6, 2020 - 9:58 am
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Last month, AWS unveiled the AWS Cloud Digital Interface (AWS CDI), a new network technology that allows Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) and AWS Partners to build live-video applications that can connect products and services within the AWS Cloud.
Many in the broadcast and M&E industry see CDI as an impending game-changer for live production, potentially opening up the opportunity for fully cloud-based workflows using uncompressed live video. Traditionally, these types of workflows have been deployed on-premises using SDI or dedicated-network IP infrastructure. However, CDI would allow them to take advantage of the agility and scalability of the cloud. With CDI, broadcasters can deploy live-video solutions - such as TV-channel playout, motion-graphic insertion, multiviewer applications, live-video production switching, video-frame-rate and color-space conversion, forensic watermarking, and video-encoding/decoding - in the cloud.
SVG sat down with David Griggs, senior product manager, AWS Media Series, to discuss what CDI means for the sports-production industry, how his company's AVM (audio, video, and metadata) schema allows interoperability, what CDI means for SMPTE ST 2110 and other broadcast IP standards, how CDI could affect broadcaster and ISV business models, and what the future holds for CDI.
Also, if you'd like to learn more, register now for the SVG Technology in Action Webinar Series: Introducing the AWS Cloud Digital Interface Presented By SOUTHWORKS on Oct. 20 at 2 p.m. ET. More info here.
AWS's David Griggs: I would love to see is a high-tier sports event produced entirely on virtualized instances, running in the cloud with multivendor support and a production crew sitting at home.
Why does AWS believe CDI will have such a major impact on the broadcast and M&E market?
There's a segment of broadcast workflows - of which sports production is one - that today are anchored on-prem because of their dependence on things like timing sensitivity and uncompressed connectivity and, therefore, are not well-suited for migration to the cloud. We wanted to address that problem.
I see CDI as a technology stack that provides this high-capacity, high-bandwidth, reliable connectivity so that vendors across the production, broadcast, and M&E space can start to think about how their products and services can transition to cloud workflows - whether that's a lift-and-shift or a reimagining.
How do you see CDI changing the way broadcasters and production companies operate in the future?
Broadcasters and production companies are excited about the idea of a cost model linked to utilization. When a production company like NEP purchases [equipment] today, they will basically provision for the biggest possible event they're going to do. That causes headaches because they are spending all this time trying to figure out how get that truck or production facility as much work as possible so that they can amortize it from a capex perspective. With a remote-production model and the centralized-production model, we've definitely seen increased utilization, but it's still a problem because you still have a utilization burden.
But, if you look at the way AWS has positioned its business over the years, it's all about agile, scalable computing and a cost model that grows or shrinks based on the agility and utilization. If we could unlock that capability for these high-bandwidth, uncompressed-live-video workflows, we would completely transform that model. From a broadcast or production company's perspective, that's amazing because suddenly they are paying just for what they're using as opposed to a utilization headache.
And how do you see CDI changing the way vendors and ISVs operate?
I think ISVs are also excited about [CDI] because this means a new opportunity with a new market and new revenues. It's not just about converting their existing customer base to cloud. I think, if CDI does what I hope it will do, it will unlock a whole new business in production.
Today, there's so much content out there, sports included, that isn't produced because there's a barrier to entry that is usually related to cost. CDI will allow our ISVs and technology partners to introduce more cost-sensitive, affordable production capability in cloud workflows, which will suddenly open up a whole new tier of content that isn't produced today [but] could be in the future.
What is the process for ISVs to begin developing offerings based on CDI?
The first thing we've done with the CDI technology is, rather than productizing and commercializing a whole bunch of technology, we launched an SDK [software-development kit]. That gives ISV's access to the CDI technology stack and [offers] interoperability. By launching that SDK and making it available at no cost - which I'm really thrilled about because that was essential to the success - we've created a very clear and frictionless way for ISVs to get on board with CDI.
First and foremost, go to the GitHub repository and download the SDK, and there's a whole swath of documentation available online. Of course, it's a fully supported AWS product, and we will continue to nurture it and make sure that the companies are getting the best out of the product.
I would also encourage experimentation. We've engineered the SDK so that, if you're a software engineer that's worked with ST 2110, ST 2022-6, or SDI in the past, we've created an interface that has borrowed heavily from those standard
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SVG Sit-Down: AWS's David Griggs Explains the Importance of AWS CDI for Live Production Cloud-based network tech could be a game-changer for live-video workflows By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor 
