Type of channels Dacast Offers

We have several types of live streaming Dacast channels in order to meet every Broadcaster’s needs. All of our live channels (except Standard Passthrough) are transcoding channels (meaning they come with Adaptive streaming ABR). 

Standard Passthrough

The default live stream channels we have are called Standard Passthrough channels, ready-to-broadcast format channels where the source is responsible for the output quality by choosing resolution, framerate, bitrate, keyframe interval, and potentially other transcoding parameters based on the required encoder settings.

This channel is suitable for more technically advanced broadcasters with a robust setup – network connection, encoder, and their specific requirements for the output, because almost everything is in the broadcaster’s hands here. Considered the default value, this channel type does not change the live stream’s input format.

One of the advantages of the Standard passthrough is it gives you the lowest latency possible. We can also change the default type to ABR if need be. Now, let’s talk about the ABR or Adaptive Bitrate channels.

Adaptive Bitrate or ABR

ABR (Adaptive BitRate) Transcoding changes the input format to one or multiple rates that are chosen by the transcoding provider. All possible rates. The video player accurately switches between a selection of rates (all provided ones or a selection of them targeted for the device) to match screen characteristics and network conditions. Adjusting the quality of the video is an important aspect of this, as it will match the bandwidth availability of the user. 

ABR 1080 means that the broadcaster is streaming FHD quality stream and the viewer will receive several renditions adapting to his network speed, and the highest one will be FHD (1920x1080p). These will be reflected by the viewer who watches the live stream from their respective video player. 

ABR 720 means that the broadcaster is streaming HD quality stream and the viewer will receive several renditions adapting to his network speed, and the highest one will be HD (1280×720p). Lower definition as compared to (1920x1080p) but still very high quality.

ABR 480 means that the broadcaster is streaming SD quality stream and the viewer will receive several renditions adapting to his network speed, and the highest one will be SD (720x480p). 

Choosing this option allows you to do multi-bitrate streaming, giving you the option to choose several renditions that you will choose to encode and soon after will be streamed using the Dacast platform.

Advanced Streaming channel

This is also an ABR channel but with a backup CDN to prevent any hiccups during the stream. 

Advanced Streaming channels allow failover between CDNs if one goes down during a customer’s event. This is a great choice to provide your account with extra backup for your stream.

The advantage to Advanced Streaming channels is that they are also all Live Transcoding channels, which means you push just one resolution from your Encoder to the Dacast Channel and your viewers will get feed automatically adjusting its bitrate and respectively resolution to their internet speed. More on what Live Transcoding Process is you can find here: /blog/live-video-transcoding/

Akamai HLS

HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) is a popular streaming protocol used for delivering video content over the internet. It was developed by Apple Inc. for their iOS platform and has since become an industry standard for live and on-demand video streaming. HLS uses HTTP for delivering video content to viewers, making it compatible with a wide range of devices, including mobile phones, laptops, and smart TVs. Dacast released a BETA version to create HLS channels.

When it comes to streaming high-quality video content, a professional encoder is a must-have tool. An encoder is responsible for compressing and encoding the video content into a format that can be efficiently delivered over the internet. The HLS protocol then segments this encoded video content into small chunks and delivers them over the internet to viewers.

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