Live broadcast on the website… Introducing Amazon IVS

IVS (Amazon Interactive Video Service) is a feature that Amazon introduced to enable live streaming functionality to be implemented on a website or smartphone app. With IVS, it is possible to deliver live video directly from a website or app that you have developed without using streaming platforms such as Twitch and YouTube Live.

IVS manages streaming in units of channels, and it can be delivered in real time to live streaming websites, iOS and Android apps, using a software development kit. IVS has a low delivery delay of 2 to 3 seconds, and it is possible to add a video that delivers time-recorded metadata. When announcing a new product, it is possible to implement flexible live streaming, such as displaying product information on the streaming screen or a Buy Now button that allows you to purchase the introduced product on the screen.

You can start using IVS by doing a search (Amazon Interactive Video Service) in the AWS Management Console. IVS is currently not available in the Asia-Pacific region and you have to choose between Europe and East US (N. Virginia) and West US (Oregon). When you select a region, the IVS console screen is displayed, and you can create a channel.

There are standards and basics in channels. The standard is full HD, and the default is SD. You can choose between two types of video latency settings, ultra-low delay and standard standby. If you want to exchange with the viewer in real time, ultra-low delay is suitable. When done, click Create Channel.

When the channel is created, the RTMP URL for the stream setting and the playback setting URL are displayed. You can provide a video by specifying the URL for the target stream setting in the streaming software. When delivering using XSplit Broadcaster, set’Custom RTMP’ to the target. The RTMP URL is displayed on the IVS management screen, and the URL is entered in the stream setting. When the transmission starts, you can see that the video is provided on the IVS console screen. In addition, using metadata and SDK, it is possible to exchange interactively, such as conducting a viewer survey.

IVS sets a pay-as-you-go price based on the total time of the video input and the total time of the video delivered to the viewer. Prices vary depending on the channel type and delivery time. For example, if you provide a standard channel type made in North America, 100 people with 2 hours 1080p resolution, 50 people with SD quality, and 50 people with HD quality, the price is as follows. Video input costs $4 ($2×2 hours), SD quality delivery costs $7.5 ($0.0375 × 2 hours × 100 people), HD quality $7.5 (0.075 × 2 hours × 50 people), Full HD quality Silver is $15 ($0.15 × 2 hours × 50 people). The total is 34 dollars. Related information can be found here .