In this post, we will explain CDN for video streaming and help you satisfy your users by using this technology and thus boost your business.
Video CDN plays an essential role in web hosting; because visual content has taken over a large part of the content in the internet space. Everyone is related to the production and distribution of this type of content, from daily to professional activities.
Before we go to the article’s main topic and answer the question of what a video CDN is, let’s review a brief definition of CDN.
What Is a CDN?
Content Delivery Network (CDN) is a collection of data centers and servers located in geographical locations around the world. This technology reduces the physical distance between the user and the server; As a result, the content reaches the audience faster. A CDN distributes content to different servers around the world, which are called Edge Servers.
When the user requests the content, instead of transferring it from the central server that is geographically far away from the user, it provides the closest edge of the content server.
Since the speed of content reaching the user depends on the internet speed and the distance from the source server, CDN reduces this distance and increases the transfer speed by allocating edge servers for content distribution. This takes the amount of request traffic from the central server and minimizes the possibility of crashes due to high traffic. In addition, it covers a broader range of users in different geographical locations due to the distribution of servers worldwide.
What Is a Video CDN?
A video CDN is a system for distributing video content. This system uses the edge server to transfer media files via caching. CDN caches the content and delivers the video from the nearest server to the user.
For example, if you stream videos from the United States to Japanese viewers, this content will be cached on servers located in Japan. When Japanese viewers watch a video, the video is served from a server in Japan instead of the original US server.
Reducing the distance between the user and the server that plays the content increases the speed of content transfer and prevents the delay in video playback. Clearly, using a video CDN for publishing content results in a better and higher quality experience. For this reason, many websites and video streaming platforms today use CDN to increase the quality of their work by increasing the loading speed and reducing the time of content delivery to the user.
If we want to answer the question of what is a video CDN more clearly, we should say that video CDN improves video playback conditions for site users by transferring files with a large volume from the source to the server closest to the user.
How Does a Video CDN Work?
CDN technology uses a vast network of servers distributed around the world to deliver content. When a video is uploaded to the network or streamed live, it sits on edge servers. When the video playback button is pressed, the nearest edge server will make the content available to the user.
Delivering video content via a CDN by placing a copy of the video files on the edge servers close to the viewers, avoids buffering and playback corruption. Even for live broadcasts, this storage capability makes a big difference.
Saved segments in a live stream can reduce startup latency to less than 5 seconds. In addition, it significantly reduces the load on the origin server, resulting in a more reliable viewing experience for the user.
Which Websites Need a Video CDN?
CDN is recommended for all businesses, especially if you have a large business that receives a lot of traffic throughout the day. For example, imagine the big company Netflix, which as an online empire, caters to millions of users every day without any problems. Indeed, without the use of a video CDN, this online movie distribution network could not even be half of the response to half of its traffic today.
Netflix isn’t the only company that relies on video CDNs. Using a proper CDN will make a massive difference if you run a site that sells products and services online, no matter how much incoming traffic you get.
Key Benefits of Using a Video CDN
In the near future, CDNs are expected to become an even more significant part of website traffic within a wide range of niche categories.
For news websites and online stores, a CDN is essential for delivering content faster to a global audience. A video CDN is equally crucial for streaming services.
Video CDNs have several advantages that are worth mentioning:
- The content is available to the user more quickly.
The closer the server is to the end user, the faster the video will load and play. For both live and offline video content, CDNs can serve cached content at the click of a button.
- Manages load balancing on the main server.
Video CDN directs user requests to the nearest edge servers. This process reduces the load on the origin server and prevents slow performance or crashes caused by too many demands on the server; As a result, it is useful for hassle-free live streaming.
- The content is published on a secure platform.
Advanced video CDNs are enhanced with sophisticated security features, including DDoS and malware protection. This adds another layer of security to the workflow and helps protect content assets. With the increase in digital activities, digital frauds have also increased dramatically.
CDNs keep information secure by archiving content through encryption and authentication. It is worth noting that a proper CDN has up-to-date features to deal with unexpected security threats.
- It makes the content available to all users.
This technology makes content available to users regardless of geographic location. In case of excessive user traffic, CDNs distribute the load to different points of presence (PoPs) to prevent the origin server from going down. This process ensures content access for all users.
- Reduces costs and uses cost-effective infrastructure.
One of the essential benefits of using a video content distribution network is reducing the website’s running costs.
By using multiple servers, the bandwidth consumption of the main server and, as a result, your costs will be reduced. Also, while some large companies build their own dedicated CDNs, most content publishers do not find this practical.
Content distribution network services allow broadcasters to outsource infrastructure and maintenance costs while benefiting from the same global delivery power.
Best CDN for Video Streaming
Choosing the right CDN to broadcast your video content is not as difficult as you think. However, when it comes to selecting a video streaming platform, there are still a few factors to consider:
- Price – You want a CDN provider that will be able to handle your video streaming needs while also staying within your budget.
- Video Quality – You must consider this factor very carefully because it will determine whether or not your video will be seen by many people.
- Features – There are many factors to consider when choosing a CDN to make your streaming video more accessible to more individuals.
- Ease of Use – The ease of use of a video CDN is crucial, especially if you are a new user. You should avoid CDNs that are very complicated to use.
- Technical Support – There is another point that is important to take into account. Even if you find the best CDN for streaming videos, there is still a possibility that, at some point, you will get stuck in a situation.
As we have now defined what makes a video streaming platform good, let’s take a closer look at the most notable ones and discuss their significant and not-so-great aspects.
BunnyCDN
BunnyCDN is quickly becoming a top choice for companies and broadcasting networks across the globe due to its high-quality network infrastructure that covers even the most remote countries in the world. BunnyCDN makes it possible to stream videos online easily.
As well as providing viewers with a high-quality viewing experience, Bunny CDN Stream allows you to control the delivery of content. With Bunny CDN Stream, you ultimately control the streaming process and videos can be streamed without hassle due to edge storage and server optimization.
In summary, BunnyCDN has the following advantages and disadvantages:
Pros
- Global Load balancer
- Strong Hotlinking Protection and Token Authentication
- Smooth Video Playback
- Strong Global Network
Cons
- Offers a 14-day trial only.
Cloudflare CDN
Many users use Cloudflare for their website’s content distribution network because it has high Points of Presence (PoPs) globally. It offers you cloud-encoding capabilities and customizable HTML5 video players.
With Cloudflare, you can instantly complete cache purges and do mobile optimization, so you’re always ready to work. Cloudflare supports both HLS and DASH standards for adaptive bitrate streaming.
With Cloudflare, you will receive a dedicated streaming feature from which you can control all your video setting options.
Pros
- Smart WAF Protection
- Reliable Global Network
- Smooth Functioning
Cons
- Optimization Needed for WordPress Users
KeyCDN
The next recommendation in the list is KeyCDN, which provides a valuable service supported by a vast network spanning all continents. With KeyCDN, you can access APIs and optimize server hardware quickly.
Through its extensive reach and storage capacity, this CDN enables you to reach customers across a wide range of countries and deliver your content rapidly across a global network. This CDN provides high-quality service regardless of the time of day, thanks to its SSD-based servers and advanced TCP stack.
Through KeyCDN’s latency-based routing technology, your website will load much faster and deliver the best video viewing experience, regardless of where the visitor is located.
Pros
- Improved User Experience with Quality Data
- Optimized Hardware
- Easy and Fast Zone Management
- Smooth Functioning
Cons
- No Bot Filtering
ArvanCloud Video CDN
ArvanCloud’s content distribution network makes your website content safer and faster and provides it to the user from the closest geographical point. By using ArvanCloud’s CDN, your website is always available to users.
ArvandCloud Video CDN or Video Platform uses its multiple pop sites in important traffic points of Iran and the world in more than 40 cities, 30 countries, and 7 continents. This way, the loading speed of your website will increase dramatically.
Having more than 40 pop-sites in essential points of Iran and the world, ArvandCloud CDN will quickly deliver your content to your users worldwide. Also, ArvandCloud CDN helps your website get a higher ranking in search engines.
Advantages of ArvandCloud CDN
- Increasing website security
- Website SEO improvement
- Prevent DDoS attacks
- Reducing the load on the main server
- Improved performance and stability
- Boosted accessibility
- Cost savings
- 24/7 support
