There is a new API available for Slicer Failover which allows the update of a Failover Group's failover mode, automatic failback, or both. Documentation available below: * Update Failover Group Configuration API
Contact Support or your Technical Account Manager with any questions.
Fixes:
Liveslicer SDI timecode regression that affected execution of slicer schedule and breaks driven by timecodes.
An issue preventing execution of future_timecodes breaks (likely not a new issue).
Prerequisites:
libnl-3.200 is a new library dependency that may need to be pre-installed manually on Ubuntu 18.04: sudo apt install libnl-3-200
Nvidia driver 418 or later is required for HEVC 4K HDR/SDR.
Due to Centos 6 reaching EOL in November 2020 this slicer release requires CentOS 7 or newer.
Verizon Media Platform (VMP) is performing replacement profile migrations, which will result in the end of life (EOL) of a number of legacy encoding profiles (720p30 to 1080p60 h.264). Replacement profile migrations will be completed in phases beginning in Phase 1 with the 720p30 default encoding profile for Live and VoD. For Phase 1, all affected customers will be migrated to an updated 720p30 profile, which many customers have been using for the last several years. This replacement profile will become the default 720p30 profile in production. Please read the details below carefully.
What is new with the replacement 720p30 Profile? * B-frames have been added to the top rendition to enhance video quality
If you have any concerns with legacy player interoperability with B-frames, and with regard to the timelines set forth below, we recommend testing the replacement profile as soon as possible. We can also remove the B-frames upon request.
Timelines
Your legacy 720p30 profiles will be migrated automatically on July 15, 2021. For the profile to be active a Slicer restart is required. On July 30, 2021, if you have not restarted your slicers, we will automatically restart all Slicers to update to the new profile for all accounts that remain on the legacy 720p30 profile.
What happens after July 30, 2021?
The legacy default 720p30 profile will no longer be available for new asset encodes. However, all existing VoD assets encoded with the legacy 720p30 profile will still be able to playback content.
When is the next expected EOL profile migration?
Following the 720p30 update, we will be performing the Phase 2 migration to address the remaining 720p30 to 1080p60 h.264 encoding profiles that include Baseline Profile renditions. Please reach out to VMP support to take the necessary steps to update all your EOL profiles as soon as possible.
What action do I need to take?
It is important that you update your legacy 720p30 profiles by no later than July 14, 2021 by contacting Verizon support or your Account Manager. A minimum slicer version Slicer Release 18042500 (May 2018 release) is required to support B-frame profiles. Also, to ensure a smooth transition, please re-encode your custom slates with the new profile.
Will there be any impact to my traffic?
We do not expect any impact to your traffic if you timely update your profiles. However, if you do not do so, it is possible that you may experience Missing Content Slate (MCS) when we are performing the forced Slicer restart on July 30, 2021. To avoid this potential interruption, you are encouraged to initiate the profile update process as soon as possible by contacting Verizon Media support or your Account Manager.
Will I lose capabilities after migrating to the new replacement encoding profile?
No, the added B-frames will enhance video quality and the decrease in the number of renditions will increase encoding efficiencies and lower chances of MCS for live streams.
Do I need to change or update my sales contract?
No.
What are my next steps?
Please reach out to Verizon Media Platform Support or your Account Manager to update legacy profiles.
Where do I learn more about the encoding profile migration process?
If you have any questions, please contact your Account Manager or email us at [email protected]. You may also contact our Network Operations Center (NOC) at +1 (877) 334-3236.
Sincerely,
Verizon Media Platform Support Team
Known Issues:
Fixes:
Several use_brokers=3 issues preventing slicer recovery during an outage.
Broker failover failure.
CLUT transform initialization failures.
NVENC VOD bitrate undershoot when source framerate is lower than profile target framerate.
ImageBug liveslicer regression.
Slow bmreplay with some .bmcap files
Incorrect aspect ratio due to rounding errors with -forceAR 16:9.
Incorrect colorspace transform from SDR to HDR when hwdec is disabled, causing over-saturated color.
Several edge cases where a slicer could produce a non-viable 0 duration slice, causing MCS.
A race condition crash with x264 encoder.
An issue where beam end sometimes did not fix last slice 0 duration.
Enables:
Optional upscaling to profile top ray resolution up to 4K (no framerate upscaling).
Optional capture of input UDP stream triggered on detection of corrupted packets.
Optional corrupt_packets_reint_decoder: yes/no option, off by default.
Optional cc_lang and cc_desc cmd line options for VOD.
New /uptime slicer API endpoint.
Other changes:
Disable hwdec for everything except mpeg2, h264, and hevc.
Scrub apikey from blackmagic slicer log.
Prerequisites:
Nvidia driver 418 or later is required for HEVC 4K HDR/SDR.
Due to Centos 6 reaching EOL in November 2020 this slicer release requires CentOS 7 or newer.
Verizon Media Platform (VMP) is performing replacement profile migrations, which will result in the end of life (EOL) of a number of legacy encoding profiles (720p30 to 1080p60 h.264). Replacement profile migrations will be completed in phases beginning in Phase 1 with the 720p30 default encoding profile for Live and VoD. For Phase 1, all affected customers will be migrated to an updated 720p30 profile, which many customers have been using for the last several years. This replacement profile will become the default 720p30 profile in production. Please read the details below carefully.
What is new with the replacement 720p30 Profile?
B-frames have been added to the top rendition to enhance video quality
Top rendition bitrate increased slightly
Baseline Profile renditions are no longer supported and replaced with Main Profile
Low-resolution baseline renditions have been removed for encoding efficiency
If you have any concerns with legacy player interoperability with B-frames, and with regard to the timelines set forth below, we recommend testing the replacement profile as soon as possible. We can also remove the B-frames upon request.
Timelines
Your legacy 720p30 profiles will be migrated automatically on July 15, 2021. For the profile to be active a Slicer restart is required. On July 30, 2021, if you have not restarted your slicers, we will automatically restart all Slicers to update to the new profile for all accounts that remain on the legacy 720p30 profile.
What happens after July 30, 2021?
The legacy default 720p30 profile will no longer be available for new asset encodes. However, all existing VoD assets encoded with the legacy 720p30 profile will still be able to playback content.
When is the next expected EOL profile migration?
Following the 720p30 update, we will be performing the Phase 2 migration to address the remaining 720p30 to 1080p60 h.264 encoding profiles that include Baseline Profile renditions. Please reach out to VMP support to take the necessary steps to update all your EOL profiles as soon as possible.
What action do I need to take?
It is important that you update your legacy 720p30 profiles by no later than July 14, 2021 by contacting Verizon support or your Account Manager. A minimum slicer version Slicer Release 18042500 (May 2018 release) is required to support B-frame profiles. Also, to ensure a smooth transition, please re-encode your custom slates with the new profile.
Will there be any impact to my traffic?
We do not expect any impact to your traffic if you timely update your profiles. However, if you do not do so, it is possible that you may experience Missing Content Slate (MCS) when we are performing the forced Slicer restart on July 30, 2021. To avoid this potential interruption, you are encouraged to initiate the profile update process as soon as possible by contacting Verizon Media support or your Account Manager.
Will I lose capabilities after migrating to the new replacement encoding profile?
No, the added B-frames will enhance video quality and the decrease in the number of renditions will increase encoding efficiencies and lower chances of MCS for live streams.
Do I need to change or update my sales contract?
No.
What are my next steps?
Please reach out to Verizon Media Platform Support or your Account Manager to update legacy profiles.
Where do I learn more about the encoding profile migration process?
If you have any questions, please contact your Account Manager or email us at [email protected]. You may also contact our Network Operations Center (NOC) at +1 (877) 334-3236.
Sincerely,
Verizon Media Platform Support Team
The VOD Statistics API provides real-time data on VOD playback. Data points on requests, session starts and latency are offered to Streaming customers that want to monitor the health of VOD playback. Documentation available below: * VOD Streaming Statistics API
Contact Support or your Technical Account Manager with any questions.
HLS PUSH now supports ray filtering, allowing users to choose which ray(s) they wish to publish. This enhancement helps customize the ladder for the target publishing platform, as a subset of the rays available in the encoding profile associated with the account.
Documentation available below:
Contact Sales to enable syndication publishing.
Preplay request error messaging is being expanded: most non-404 errors returned to the player will be more informative than before, and there will be increases in the level and verbosity of reporting for existing errors for those customers who have enabled log pushing in their account.
New protocols added for live/linear syndication publishing: HLS PUSH and ZIXI PUSH. HLS PUSH includes all rays in the encoding profile, whereas ZIXI PUSH allows selection of one ray. Both protocols allow forwarding of ad breaks and other stream points of interest as SCTE-35. Documentation available below: * Live Channels
Contact Sales to enable syndication publishing.
Channel Scheduler is now available in the Control Center UI and API. Live Channels can be scheduled from the Schedule tab within a channel, allowing you to schedule vod assets, live slicers, and ad breaks. To enable this feature, create a new channel and check the “Enable Scheduling†checkbox. Documentation available below: * Channels API
Contact Support or your Technical Account Manager with any questions.
