What’s CMAF ingest?

CMAF ingest is a collaboration between members of the DASH Industry Forum (DASH-IF) and companies operating within the OTT industry.

Essentially, CMAF ingest is a specification. Also called Live Media Ingest Specification, CMAF ingest is based on industry best practices for ingesting and processing CMAF (Common Media Application Format) media (ISO/IEC23000-19:2018).

And if anyone’s asking, CMAF media is pretty much a type of MP4 file. (You and I know better. But if your dentist cousin wants to know, just say CMAF’s an MP4, with a twist.)

History of CMAF ingest

Here’s some background. Between 2017 and 2023, heavy hitters in the media streaming space developed the CMAF ingest specification. Among others, contributions came from these companies:

• Akamai
• AWS Elemental
• BBC R&D
• CenturyLink
• Microsoft
• Hulu
• Comcast
• Facebook
• ITV
• Qualcomm
• Tencent
• MediaExcel
• Harmonic
• Unified Streaming
• Sony
• Arris (Interscope)
• Bitmovin
• DSR

While MPEG-DASH is a suitable presentation format for client devices to receive content, transmitting content from a live source (encoder) to an origin or packager requires a different approach. Thus, CMAF ingest.

The CMAF ingest specification is divided into two parts:

• Ingest Interface 1: CMAF ingest protocol, based on fragmented MP4
• Ingest Interface 2: DASH and HLS Ingest Protocol Behavior, based on DASH and HLS

Both interfaces use the HTTP POST (or PUT) method to transmit media objects from an ingest source to a receiving entity. Smart implementations can implement and support both at the same time. (For more information, please refer to the DASH-IF documentation.)

Media produced can be used in both Live and VOD streaming workflows. It also fits well in the DASH-IF reference streaming workflows for ad insertion, low latency, and general interoperability workflows.

Why’s CMAF ingest important?

In 2018 a large majority of the media industry still depended upon the Microsoft Smooth Streaming (MSS) ingest protocol to deliver streams to intermediary servers such as Unified Origin.

This specification fell victim to its own success, though.

First developed in 2010 (yes, it’s that old), Smooth Streaming became so stable and reliable that, in recent years, it received very few updates. Requirements to support new technologies within the OTT ecosystem such as HDR, HEVC, and SCTE35, came too little, too late.

So it made sense for the industry to come together under the banner of DASH-IF to solve these problems.

Let’s discuss main benefits of using CMAF

1. Best quality

Today, by simply switching your encoder output from Smooth Streaming to CMAF ingest, you get the benefit of supporting current and new codecs. Apple continues adding support for AV1. Sounds future-proof, right?

2. Reliability and scalability

You can send synchronized media and metadata to multiple Unified Origins using sources with something called ​“epoch locked timecode.” This feature offers redundancy in case you experience any issues with connectivity to a data center or public/​private cloud.

But wait, there’s more.

The epoch locked timecode feature also offers scalability. You can use it to offload traffic to an alternative location when hosting major sporting events. Speaking of major sporting events, there might be one happening this year. (Maybe even two.)

DASH-IF Ingest — Section 4. Media Ingest Workflows and Interfaces (Informative) — Figure 3

3. Monetization of content

CMAF ingest offers you the chance to maximize and monetize the value of content by offering new and innovative ways to engage your target audience.

You get the capability of using custom-timed metadata (aka SCTE 35) in your streaming workflows. Whether it’s a new targeted AVOD (ad-based video-on-demand) platform; a premium SVOD (subscription-based video-on-demand) platform; or even a personalized FAST (free ad-based streaming television) channel to watch your favorite niche genre, on repeat, giving a traditional TV-like vibe; we’ve got you covered.

4. Efficiency

CMAF is the most suitable format for streaming and storing media. Why not just encode a single file that can be used to stream to multiple formats and devices? In the end, you’re making your solution’s workflow more efficient and cost-effective.

And don’t you worry about backward compatibility. Switching from Microsoft Smooth Streaming to CMAF ingest means you can still support streaming MSS or HSS (HTTP Smooth Streaming) to legacy devices, right alongside newer HLS and DASH devices when using Unified Origin.

Don’t believe us? Happens. Please feel free to read what the rest of the industry has to say about the subject. We recommend the shortlist below, which we hope you find helpful.

• Bitmovin — Fun with container formats (cmaf)
• TheoPlayer — How CMAF will influence the industry
• Jan Ozer — The state of CMAF

Who supports CMAF ingest?

Unified Streaming does, and has, ever since the specification was in development. And most important, this support comes at no extra cost or configuration when deploying Unified Origin.

Changes are defined at the encoder, where a of encoding companies supports CMAF ingest, too. Here’s a list:

• AWS Elemental Live/​MediaLive
• Ateme Titan Live
• Bitmovin Live Encoder
• MediaExcel Hero
• Telestream
• Zixi

Wanna talk CMAF ingest?

If you have questions about the specification, we’re all ears. We’re glad to answer your questions and tell you what we know, and how it can improve your particular streaming workflow.

We’re here to help you stream efficiently. Just contact sales@​unified-​streaming.​com.

Oh, wanna download a CMAF slide deck? Go ahead!