EINBLIQ.IO for Streaming Services
QoE-Aware Delivery
(Multi-CDN & Content Steering)
Route every session to the best pathway in real time.
Optimize for QoE first, while respecting cost and energy goals.
Why typical delivery control falls short
DNS-based steering is coarse and slow
DNS answers are cached by resolvers and clients for the TTL, so changes can take minutes or even hours to propagate. Targeting is limited and mid-stream switches are hard. Great for broad distribution, weak for fast per-cohort mitigation.
Client-side SDK approaches add friction
Fine-grained, real-time decisions usually required player SDKs or custom logic on the client — more integration work, more maintenance risk across device variants. Content Steering gives you a standards-based alternative.
Better way: standard Content Steering
Players fetch a steering manifest (for HLS via EXT-X-CONTENT-STEERING) and follow per-session guidance. Steering can update during playback, enabling targeted, mid-stream switching without custom SDKs. DASH provides an analogous mechanism.
How EINBLIQ.IO works
Sense
Ingest live QoE and context: CMCD from the player plus delivery telemetry. Where available, include CMSD-style server and edge signals to reflect origin and CDN node conditions.
1
Decide
A policy engine evaluates per-session options against goals like minimize rebuffering and start-up time, protect distance to live edge, respect cost and energy budgets. It also chooses the right latency mode per session and device capability, enabling low latency only when conditions warrant it.
2
Steer and verify
Players follow Content Steering. In HLS the playlist signals EXT-X-CONTENT-STEERING so the client fetches a steering manifest and can update mid-stream. In DASH the client uses the remote steering service for the same effect. We then measure the impact on QoE, cost and energy and feed it back to improve policies and playbooks.
3
Low-latency decisioning
(when to use LL, when not)
Not every viewer should be on low-latency renditions. LL-HLS and LL-DASH reduce buffer headroom and raise sensitivity to network jitter and device limits; they also impose workflow requirements like CMAF chunking and partial segment delivery. Use policies to enable LL only when conditions and device support warrant it. Examples:
Live sports priority: Favor shortest distance to live edge for qualified devices and stable connections; fall back to standard latency if QoE drops.
Adaptive LL: Permit LL when player, CDN, and network meet prerequisites (chunked CMAF, partial/CTE support); otherwise maintain standard latency for stability.
Regional stress: During local congestion, back off LL to protect rebuffer ratio while steering around problematic POPs/paths.
How EINBLIQ.IO helps
What you get
-
Smoother experience at scale: steer away from problem paths before viewers feel it.
-
Faster incident mitigation: dynamic shifts during live events and regional issues.
-
Cost and energy control: apply budgets and sustainability preferences without sacrificing QoE.
-
CDN independence: keep multiple providers viable, reduce lock-in.
Common policies you can run on day one
-
QoE floor: if rebuffer ratio or time-to-first-frame breaches a threshold, switch pathway.
-
Live protection: prioritize shortest distance to live edge for sports and news.
-
Regional fairness: protect hotspots by distributing demand across POPs and ISPs.
-
Cost caps: respect contracted ceilings; back off premium routes when QoE is healthy.
-
Energy-aware: prefer paths or bitrates with lower modeled energy when QoE is unaffected.
Standards and ecosystem
-
HLS Content Steering: per-session steering via a remote manifest; supports mid-stream updates.
-
DASH Content Steering: community specification with interoperable procedures for start-up and mid-stream switching.
-
CMCD (CTA-5004): session-level player telemetry to inform decisions and verify impact.
-
CMSD (CTA-5006, optional): standardized response data to expose origin and edge behavior to decisioning and verification.
- SVTA Open Caching (optional): If deployed in your environment, Open Caching nodes can be included as selectable delivery options and evaluated by the same QoE, cost, and latency policies. Not required.
Innovate without risk
Controlled rollout
Start observe-only. Move to canary steering with approvals. Full audit trail and instant rollback.
Own your policy
Express business goals as policies. Tune trade-offs between QoE, cost, latency, and energy.