Livepeer - An Open Platform for Live Video Broadcasting (Review)
Introduction
Over the years, the vision of decentralized networks has begun to be realized, with the advent of networks, such as Steem and Ethereum. It is with these advents, that these decentralized networks have created a system to make computing trustworthy, swarm and IPFS, to achieve decentralized storage and content distribution. Bitcoins among various token projects have facilitated p2p value transfer, as well as decentralized name registries such as Blockstack and ENS provide humanized names for content and identity. These elements form the basis of DApps, built in the form of most static or infrequently updated web or mobile content, but currently DApps still lack the ability to include live streaming media and data in an open and decentralized manner. Let me present to you a lovely dapp built on the Ethereum network for a peer to peer live video system called Livepeer. It is currently ranked at 6th at State of The DApps but ranked 1st at the media category..
What is Livepeer?
Livepeer is an open-source blockchain-based project which is focused on decentralizing live video streaming. On 30th April, 2018, livepeer went live on the Ethereum network. This DApp allows users to upload both pre-recorded video content, as well as stream live content, on the Livepeer network. Livepeer transcodes contents into the many forms currently available on the Internet and then broadcast this content to the end user.
The aim of the Livepeer is to incentivize the creation of a fully decentralized live video platform, where developers who want to build applications that include live video can be part, individuals who want to stream videos, gaming, coding, entertainment, educational courses, and other types of content and broadcasters who have large audiences and high streaming bills or infrastructure costs can use the Livepeer network to potentially reduce costs or infrastructure overhead.
Join me and let’s use livepeer for its intended purposes of encoding and distributing live video. It high time we move from these centralized platforms, since they are not to be trusted and there is no freedom of speech. Decentralized platformd brings many benefits than the centralized platforms.
Main components of Livepeer
Livepeer project has four components which includes;
Livepeer Media Server
The media server of livepeer is an open source server that takes streams of live videos and audios and transcodes them into alternate encodings, thus transrating it into different bitrates, and transmuxing it into different delivery formats. This helps the various live videos been been recorded in the user’s format reach any screen an end user wants to watch the live video in(format). The media server is there a powerful tool which can be used as a standalone in any media streaming application.
Livepeer Network
The network system of livepeer comprises of a set of nodes that runs the media server of livepeer and understands the livepeer protocol. The network system of livepeer operates on two types of requests: thus publishing a stream, and requesting a stream. A publish request is a request to transcode a live video with certain parameters, and to serve the resulting video. A request is an attempt to access an existing live stream that is on the network. The network system of livepeer has four different nodes which includes; publishing node, consuming nodes, relaying nodes and inactive nodes with green, red, orange and grey as their respective colours.
Livepeer Token
The livepeer token is what broadcasters pay to use the network in Ethereum's ETH. The livepeer tokens serves as a unit for users on the livepeer ecosystem. Tokens are for staking, and its used by any user who wants to perform a task on the network. The tokens serve as bonding mechanism in a delegated proof of stake system, were stakes delegated towards transcoders who transcode live videos.
Livepeer Protocol
Livepeer Protocol lays out the various roles in the livepeer network, the various transactions types supported, the cryptoeconomic security measures in place to prevent collusion, and the token distribution mechanics.
How Does it Work?
Since livepeer is an open source network to provide flexible, inclusive, and censorship-resistant solutions among video content providers, it transcodes and broadcast or publish videos in a manner that is as good as existing providers.
With livepeer, all that a user who wants to broadcast live has to do is to capture video and send it to livepeer network where the network process and convert the video into a different formats for end users to view the broadcast with any media they wish to watch with.
Furthermore, due to the design of the Livepeer network, its developers believe that its protocol will power a video streaming solution with sound economic incentives in place and eventually result in a cheaper option for broadcasters in comparison to centralized live video solutions.
What I like about Livepeer
- The livepeer platform give users the freedom of speech to express whatever they want to share
- The cost of transmitting is much lower than the centralized live video platforms
- Livepeer convert videos in many different formats and makes it possible for the end users to access it no matter the device he or she uses.
- It is easy to access
##What I don’t like about Livepeer
The processes on goes through first to launch livepeer is so hectic
Conclusion
Most video streaming platforms require content to achieve specific, predetermined specifications before they can be uploaded or shared through their network. The pre-set criterium result in the effective cutting out of a segment of the market. An example is the Twitch service of streaming. Users must first get themselves acquainted with their websites broadcasting software. Twitch also continues to monitor the settings of users videos and can stop a stream if the settings are determined to be incompatible.
Livepeer is here and its here to stay, it’s here to help every broadcast get value for what he wants. The days of making live videos viable to only some particular segment of the market is over, jump on to livepeer
I rate livepeer at a 4/5 star rating.
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