Blog - Friday March 7, 2008 - 1 Comment
Oprah’s Webcast: The State-of-the-Art, But Not What You Think
By now, everyone has heard about Oprah Winfrey’s webcast debacle earlier this week. Oprah, the smartest, richest, most successful person in the television business, decided to do a webcast. She promoted it as only she can. To execute, her people assembled the absolute best practices organizations available anywhere. They used the best online distribution platform: Move Networks. One of the best content distribution networks: Limelight. And, served it up on Oprah.com, which is as industrial strength a website as you are likely to come across.
With all that going for her, it was reasonable to assume that a fairly large group of people could come to the party and expect to be served. But that’s not what happened.
According to dozens of published reports, the demand that an Oprah-sized audience put on the Internet and the related infrastructure was just too great and the system crashed. Pundits everywhere used this particular event to tout their own theories about how many gigabits of bandwidth can actually be handled and, more importantly, why the Internet is not suited for live streaming at scale.
Many were comparing this event to New York Magazine’s problems when they published nude photos of Lindsay Lohan on their site. Others were reminiscing about the Victoria’s Secret streaming crash of 1999. And still others put forth the idea that “millions of people will never watch TV online.” They all got it wrong!
Move Networks does not use ordinary streaming techniques to move video around the Internet. Their platform uses a client-side request schema that is more related to downloading little .gif files than it is to playing back streaming video packets from a server. They have moved over 200 million streams of video for ABC alone. The platform truly provides one of the best long-form online television-like viewing experiences available.
Limelight also lives up to its reputation. They have servers all over the place and as far as content distribution networks are concerned, you can pay more, but you can’t do much better.
What actually happened? According to an executive closely tied to the project, they were up to about 800,000 users when a logical error in the caching servers caused the system to crash. It is important to understand that the only way to ever find a coding error like this is to put a system truly under stress. You can’t simulate 800,000 users in the lab, you need to play with live ammo. Kudos to Oprah and her team for pushing the envelope this hard.
The crash was not caused by a lack of bandwidth, an overwhelming number of users or any infrastructure issues at all. It was a simple coding error – nothing more. The error was identified and is now fixed. It is entirely possible that next Monday’s webcast will enjoy over a million users, maybe more.
Perhaps the key take-away from this experience is the fact that the Internet is truly global. This webcast was available in 149 countries. Oprah has the communicative power to bring people together from all over the world and this technology makes it possible with two-way, interactive connections. What a fantastic use of the Internet. I’m pretty confident that next week’s webcast will easily reach all of the people who want to watch it live.
As a practical reality, the current limit on a Move Networks/Limelight CDN system is probably 2 million simultaneous users. This number is a function of infrastructure, but it has nothing to do with the public Internet’s capabilities. It’s about the deployment of certain pieces of Move Networks technology around the net. If I had to venture a guess, I would say that Move will be the first organization to demonstrate 10 million simultaneous online viewers and I don’t think that demonstration is too far in the future.
As for online video quality — it is, of course, in the eyes of the beholder. But a quality video signal could be described as a continuous viewing experience with good color space at resolution that is acceptable to the viewer and suitable for the content.
Oprah has a very large, diverse audience with feet firmly planted on both sides of the digital divide. When a viewer asks, “why can’t I get good quality?” the answer could be a simple as, “your machine is too old and the CPU or video card is not fast enough.” Or, as complicated as, “there is too much contention on your LAN.” The benefit of Move is that it “breathes” correctly, lowering or increasing bit rates to match the best possible or expected playing environment. This native capability to leverage caches is the best way to get the job done. It’s not TV – it’s Online TV and, when taken as a whole, the benefits are huge.
So, let’s debunk some myths:
1) The Internet cannot handle a television-sized live streaming audience. False.
2) No current system can deliver over 1 million simultaneous video streams. False.
3) The cost of delivering that many one-to-one connections is prohibitive. False.
4) Oprah is so popular, she crashed the Internet. False.
5) The Internet cannot handle a Super Bowl-sized live streaming audience. True, but that’s what Television is for.
Oprah is one of the most future-thinking media executives in our business and her vision is second only to her ability to assemble extraordinary teams. What is the state-of-the-art for long-form video distribution on the public Internet? You can see an on-demand version right now at http://www.oprah.com/ondemand, or you can catch the next show live on March 10th.
Shelly Palmer is Managing Director of Advanced Media Ventures Group LLC and the author of Television Disrupted: The Transition from Network to Networked TV (2006, Focal Press). Shelly is also President of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, NY (the organization that bestows the coveted Emmy® Awards). He is the Vice-Chairman of the National Academy of Media Arts & Sciences an organization dedicated to education and leadership in the areas of technology, media and entertainment. Palmer also oversees the Advanced Media Technology Emmy® Awards which honors outstanding achievements in the science and technology of advanced media. You can read Shelly’s blog here. Shelly can be reached at shelly@palmer.net
Comments
One Response to “Oprah’s Webcast: The State-of-the-Art, But Not What You Think”truxter March 8th, 2008 12:34 pm
Don’t believe one optimistic word from any public figure about the
economy or humanity in general. They are all part of the problem.
Its like a game of Monopoly. In America, the richest 1% now hold
1/2 OF ALL UNITED STATES WEALTH. Unlike ‘lesser’ estimates, this
includes all stocks, bonds, cash, and material assets held by
America’s richest 1%. Even that filthy pig Oprah acknowledged that
it was at about 50% in 2006. Naturally, she put her own
‘humanitarian’ spin on it. Calling attention to her own ‘good
will’. WHAT A DISGUSTING HYPOCRITE SLOB. THE RICHEST 1% HAVE
LITERALLY MADE WORLD PROSPERITY ABSOLUTELY IMPOSSIBLE. Don’t fall
for any of their ‘humanitarian’ CRAP. ITS A SHAM. THESE PEOPLE ARE
CAUSING THE SAME PROBLEMS THEY PRETEND TO CARE ABOUT. Ask any
professor of economics. Money does not grow on trees. The
government can’t just print up more on a whim. At any given time,
there is a relative limit to the wealth within ANY economy of ANY
size. So when too much wealth accumulates at the top, the middle
class slip further into debt and the lower class further into
poverty. A similar rule applies worldwide. The world’s richest 1%
now own over 40% of ALL WORLD WEALTH. This is EVEN AFTER you
account for all of this ‘good will’ ‘humanitarian’ BS from
celebrities and executives. ITS A SHAM. As they get richer and
richer, less wealth is left circulating beneath them. This is the
single greatest underlying cause for the current US recession. The
middle class can no longer afford to sustain their share of the
economy.. Their wealth has been gradually transfered to the richest
1%. One way or another, we suffer because of their incredible
greed. We are talking about TRILLIONS of dollars. Transfered FROM
US TO THEM. Over a period of about 27 years. Thats Reaganomics for
you. The wealth does not ‘trickle down’ as we were told it would.
It just accumulates at the top. Shrinking the middle class and
expanding the lower class. Causing a domino effect of
socio-economic problems. But the rich will never stop. They will
never settle for a reasonable share of ANYTHING. They will do
whatever it takes to get even richer. Leaving even less of the pie
for the other 99% of us to share. At the same time, they throw back
a few tax deductable crumbs and call themselves ‘humanitarians’.
Cashing in on the PR and getting even richer the following year. IT
CAN’T WORK THIS WAY. Their bogus efforts to make the world a better
place can not possibly succeed. Any ‘humanitarian’ progress made in
one area will be lost in another. EVERY SINGLE TIME. IT ABSOLUTELY
CAN NOT WORK THIS WAY. This is going to end just like a game of
Monopoly. The current US recession will drag on for years and lead
into the worst US depression of all time. The richest 1% will live
like royalty while the rest of us fight over jobs, food, and
gasoline. Crime, poverty, and suicide will skyrocket. So don’t fall
for all of this PR CRAP from Hollywood, Pro Sports, and Wall Street
PIGS. ITS A SHAM. Remember: They are filthy rich EVEN AFTER their
tax deductable contributions. Greedy pigs. Now, we are headed for
the worst economic and cultural crisis of all time. SEND A “THANK
YOU” NOTE TO YOUR FAVORITE MILLIONAIRE. ITS THEIR FAULT. I’m not
discounting other factors like China, sub-prime, or gas prices. But
all of those factors combined still pale in comparison to that HUGE
transfer of wealth to the rich. Anyway, those other factors are all
related and further aggrivated because of GREED. If it weren’t for
the OBSCENE distribution of wealth within our country, there never
would have been such a market for sub-prime to begin with. Which by
the way, was another trick whipped up by greedy bankers and
executives. IT MAKES THEM RICHER. The credit industry has been
ENDORSED by people like Oprah, Ellen, Dr Phil, and many other
celebrities. IT MAKES THEM RICHER. Now, there are commercial ties
between nearly every industry and every public figure. IT MAKES
THEM RICHER. So don’t fall for their ‘good will’ BS. ITS A LIE. If
you fall for it, then you’re a fool. If you see any real difference
between the moral character of a celebrity, politician, attorney,
or executive, then you’re a fool. WAKE UP PEOPLE. ITS ALL ABOUT THE
MONEY. The 1% club will always say or do whatever it takes to get
as rich as possible. Without the slightest regard for anything or
anyone but themselves. Reaganomics. Their idea. Loans from China.
Their idea. NAFTA. Their idea. Outsourcing. Their idea. Sub-prime.
Their idea. The commercial lobbyist. Their idea. The multi-million
dollar lawsuit. Their idea. $200 cell phone bills. Their idea. $200
basketball shoes. Their idea. $30 late fees. Their idea. $30 NSF
fees. Their idea. $20 DVDs. Their idea. Subliminal advertising.
Their idea. Brainwash plots on TV. Their idea. Prozac, Zanex,
Vioxx, and Celebrex. Their idea. The MASSIVE campaign to turn every
American into a brainwashed, credit card, pharmaceutical,
love-sick, couch potatoe, celebrity junkie. Their idea. All of the
above shrink the middle class, concentrate the world’s wealth and
resources, and wreak havok on society. All of which have been
CREATED AND ENDORSED by celebrities, athletes, executives,
entrepreneurs, attorneys, and politicians. IT MAKES THEM RICHER. So
don’t fall for any of their ‘good will’ ‘humanitarian’ BS. ITS A
SHAM. NOTHING BUT TAX DEDUCTABLE PR CRAP. Bottom line: The richest
1% will soon tank the largest economy in the world. It will be like
nothing we’ve ever seen before. and thats just the beginning. Greed
will eventually tank every major economy in the world. Causing
millions to suffer and die. Oprah, Angelina, Brad, Bono, and Bill
are not part of the solution. They are part of the problem. THERE
IS NO SUCH THING AS A MULTI-MILLIONAIRE HUMANITARIAN. EXTREME
WEALTH HAS MADE WORLD PROSPERITY ABSOLUTELY IMPOSSIBLE. WITHOUT
WORLD PROSPERITY, THERE WILL NEVER BE WORLD PEACE OR ANYTHING EVEN
CLOSE. GREED KILLS. IT WILL BE OUR DOWNFALL. Of course, the rich
will throw a fit and call me a madman. Of course, their ignorant
fans will do the same. You have to expect that. But I speak the
truth. If you don’t believe me, then copy this entry and run it by
any professor of economics or socio-economics. Then tell a friend.
Call the local radio station. Re-post this entry or put it in your
own words. Be one of the first to predict the worst economic and
cultural crisis of all time and explain its cause.. WE ARE IN BIG
TROUBLE.