AWS vs FastPix to Build Video into Your Product

Why should you care?

We reached out to 100s of developers working with video and figured out folks are solving video the hard way (read hardest). They work with a range of semi-connected platforms and services, including those for hosting, storage, security, delivery, and analytics. This increases the complexity level and associated costs. One of such most popular services today is AWS (Amazon Web Services) and they are big!

We won’t focus on why they are big, instead here’s a comparison with other alternatives like API-based video platforms to build online video into your product from a single place– more effortlessly, faster, and cheaper.

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What is Amazon web services (AWS)?

Amazon Web Services, commonly known as AWS, is a comprehensive cloud computing platform that offers a range of software, platform, and infrastructure services, to enable hosting, storage, and streaming of online video content. AWS's video services are part of a larger ecosystem, which means that they seamlessly integrate with other AWS services and can be scaled to accommodate a wide variety of use cases. Each of the AWS services can be configured in different ways as per the user’s requirement.

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What is FastPix video API?

FastPix is a one-stop API to build, deliver, and analyze next-gen video.The API powers all things video from on-demand video, live streams, to real-time video analytics. This helps developers spend less time engineering video and more time building the product and experiences.

Early-stage businesses and growth teams can build on FastPix to launch faster into the market and adapt as they grow while also automating the video workflow to do more with less.

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How are they similar?

AWS and FastPix Video API both offer:

1. Scalability: Both AWS and API-based platforms offer scalable solutions, accommodating the growing demand for online video content.
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2. Global reach: Leveraging a network of data centers or integrated CDNs, both options ensure a global reach for optimized content delivery.
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3. Security features: Prioritizing the protection of video content, both AWS and API-based platforms incorporate robust security features, including encryption and access controls.
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4. Flexibility: Whether through customizable AWS services or API integrations, both options provide a degree of flexibility for tailoring video solutions to specific needs.
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5. Adaptation to audience size: Scalable architecture allows both AWS and API-based platforms to adapt to varying audience sizes without compromising performance.
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6. Ease of integration: While differing in technical complexity, both options aim to facilitate integration, making it feasible for users to incorporate video features into their applications or websites.

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What are the differences?

There are some of the key differences between AWS and FastPix Video API in terms of features. FastPix is a one-stop solution compared to multiple services that needs to be configured and connected together.

FastPix comes with:

1. Online infrastructure management: Abstracts away infrastructure management for a more straight-forward and user-friendly experience.
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2. CDN configuration: Integrated CDNs simplify content delivery, eliminating the need for independent configuration.
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3. Video transcoding: Offer automatic video transcoding, simplifying the process for users without extensive technical expertise.
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4. Monetization integration: Built-in monetization options, streamlining integration without extensive coding. While with AWS, you may need to set them up yourself .
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5. Security Setup: Built-in security features like content protection and encryption are common, simplifying user security configurations.
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6. Analytics and reporting: Built-in analytics and reporting tools provide immediate insights without additional setups.
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7. Rapid implementation: Getting started made easy with implementation in minutes, designed for user-friendliness and quick integration. If you need to implement video features quickly, API-based platforms offer a faster solution, while AWS may require more time for setup and configuration.
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8. Cost structure: Transparent pricing models simplifies cost predictions for users. AWS can become costly if not managed efficiently.

To sum it all, here’s a simpler way to understand the key differences:

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Building online video with AWS

AWS services can be categorized across various functionalities within the workflow of video streaming or building an online video into your product:

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1.  Computing/Developer Tools: AWS Lambda, AWS AppSync‍

a.  AWS Lambda is a serverless compute service that lets you run your code without provisioning or managing servers. It automatically scales and manages the compute resources needed, allowing developers to focus solely on writing code.

Use Case: Ideal for executing code in response to events, creating serverless applications, and handling tasks such as data synchronization, real-time file processing, or backend services for mobile and web applications.
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b.  AWS AppSync is a fully managed service that simplifies the development of scalable and secure GraphQL APIs. It enables developers to connect their applications to various data sources, including AWS services and other HTTP data sources, with real-time data synchronization.

Use Case: Useful for building interactive and responsive applications that require real-time updates, offline capabilities, and secure access to multiple data sources.

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2.  Storage: Amazon S3

a.  Amazon S3 (Simple Storage Service) is an object storage service designed to store and retrieve any amount of data from anywhere on the web. It offers industry-leading durability, availability, and scalability.

Use Case: Widely used for storing and retrieving data such as backups, static web hosting, big data analytics, mobile and gaming applications, and as a data lake for analytics.

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3.  Database: Amazon DynamoDB

a.  Amazon DynamoDB is a fully managed NoSQL database service that provides fast and predictable performance with seamless scalability. It is designed to handle large amounts of data and traffic, making it suitable for various applications.

Use Case: Ideal for applications with variable and high read/write workloads, gaming leaderboards, user profiles, session management, and as a backend for serverless applications.

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4.  Media: Elemental MediaConvert, Elemental MediaPackage

a.  AWS Elemental MediaConvert is a file-based video transcoding service that provides high-quality video processing for various delivery formats. It converts media files stored in Amazon S3 into formats suitable for playback on different devices.

Use Case: Used for video-on-demand applications, video streaming services, and preparing media for distribution on platforms like smartphones, tablets, and smart TVs.
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b.  AWS Elemental MediaPackage prepares and protects live video streams for delivery over the internet. It simplifies the process of content delivery by formatting video streams to be compatible with different devices and ensuring secure delivery.

Use Case: Useful for live streaming events, broadcasting, and delivering high-quality video content to a global audience with low latency.

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5.  Networking and Content Delivery: CloudFront

a.  Amazon CloudFront is a content delivery network (CDN) service that securely delivers data, videos, applications, and APIs to customers globally with low latency and high transfer speeds.

Use Case: Accelerating the delivery of websites, applications, and media assets, securing content with HTTPS, and distributing content closer to end-users for improved performance.

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6.  Management: Amazon Cognito

a.  Amazon Cognito is a fully managed identity service that provides secure user sign-up and sign-in, along with user identity management and authentication for mobile and web applications.

Use Case: Used to add authentication and user management to applications, enabling developers to easily handle user identities, securely authenticate users, and synchronize user data across devices.

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7.  Monitoring: CloudWatch

a.  Amazon CloudWatch is a monitoring and observability service that provides data and actionable insights for AWS resources, applications, and services. It collects and tracks metrics, logs, and events, allowing for performance analysis and resource optimization.

Use Case: Monitoring the health and performance of AWS resources, setting alarms based on thresholds, and gaining visibility into application and system behavior.

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8.  Analytics: AWS Kinesis

a.  AWS Kinesis is a platform for building real-time data streaming applications. It allows users to ingest, process, and analyze streaming data at scale.

Use Case: Ideal for scenarios requiring real-time analytics, data lakes, machine learning, and building applications that respond to and process streaming data in real time.

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9.  Security: AWS Secrets Manager

a.  AWS Secrets Manager helps protect sensitive information such as API keys, passwords, and database credentials. It enables secure storage, retrieval, and rotation of secrets, reducing the risk of unauthorized access.

Use Case: Used to manage and secure sensitive information in applications, databases, and services, with features like automatic rotation of credentials for enhanced security.

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10.  Governance: Rekognition

a.  AWS Rekognition is a machine learning-based image and video analysis service. It can identify objects, people, text, scenes, and activities, making it a powerful tool for building applications with visual analysis capabilities.

Use Case: Applied in use cases such as facial recognition, content moderation, object detection, and analysis of images and videos for insights in applications like security, media, and e-commerce.

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These are few of the services from an extensive list of services and functionalities offered by the AWS platform.

AWS workflow for on-demand video

Now let’s put all the above-mentioned services and functions into picture. We won’t ask you to “Picture This?” rather we have it for you.

By now you must already be overwhelmed by what all it takes to stream a video online – not one but the complexity of bunch of tools. This makes it hard for developers (mostly beginners) to build video online.

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Here’s a Walkthrough:

1. Admin logs into the application, authenticated by Cognito, and uploads the video.
2. AppSync uses GraphQL API to upload the video to the S3 Input bucket.
3. A Lambda function is triggered as soon as the video is dropped in the Input bucket. This function initiates the MediaConvert job to convert videos in different formats.
4. An additional Lambda function is triggered to store the metadata of converted video in DynamoDB.
5. Converted videos are then stored in S3 Output bucket.
6. Secrets Manager securely stores CloudFront private keys, which are then used for signing the CloudFront URL.
7. CloudFront streams the videos to registered end-users.
8. CloudFront signed URLs are generated when authenticated user request the video. The final stream plays as an Apple HLS adaptive bitrate stream.

This video workflow solution is built using several AWS services connected together including Amazon Cognito, AWS AppSync, Amazon S3, AWS Lambda, Amazon DynamoDB, AWS Secrets Manager, AWS Elemental MediaConvert and Amazon CloudFront.

For a developer to stream a single video with AWS, they need to integrate with almost 8 AWS products. Beyond integration, customization of the services according to the requirements is the hassle.

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Using FastPix API to Build online video

While AWS offers a wide range of customizable options for hosting and streaming videos, API-based platforms like FastPix skip several critical steps, making them an attractive choice for many users.

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With FastPix, software developers and product builders can skip the moving parts of a “to-be connected” widely spread distributed solution. You get a finished, functioning product far sooner than you would get through a DIY process. This gets you up and running with fast time to market.

By simplifying infrastructure setup, content delivery, transcoding, security, monetization, analytics, and offering rapid implementation, FastPix allows businesses and individuals to focus on creating and delivering their video content rather than managing the complexities of the backend infrastructure.

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FastPix is 8+ products in one: The video alternative to AWS Media Services

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A simpler workflow for online video

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Here’s a walkthrough:

Ingestion:

1. Sign up and upload video to FastPix using the API or the FastPix dashboard.
2. FastPix will encode the video into multiple formats and adaptive bitrate (ABR) streams. This step is essential for adaptive streaming, allowing viewers to watch videos at different qualities based on their network conditions.
3. FastPix will store the video in its global network of servers to ensure video is delivered to viewers with the lowest possible latency and the highest possible quality.

Transform:

1. Use the FastPix dashboard to transform videos. Add watermarks, subtitles, and captions, select thumbnails or auto-generated preview clips.
2. Leverage speech to text translation to auto-generate subtitles.
3. Also, manage and insert ads into video content for monetization purposes.

Stream:

1. Once encoded and transformed, video is ready for streaming. FastPix supports adaptive streaming protocols such as HLS (HTTP Live Streaming) and DASH (Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP).
2. Integrate the FastPix API-based video player into your application or website.
3. FastPix automatically secures the video with signed-URLs and DRM.
4. With multi-CDN deliver low latency buffer-free video across anywhere globally to viewers.
5. Users can now play the videos seamlessly on your platform. The player adjusts the quality based on the viewer's internet speed and device capabilities.
6. With multi-streaming capability, re-stream the video to other third-party applications or social media platforms.

Analyze:

1. FastPix provides real-time analytics and monitoring tools. Track video performance, viewer engagement, and other relevant metrics.
2. Measure video quality of experience (QoE) data and improve video experiences for viewers.

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Benefits of FastPix API-based Online Video Platform

1. Simplicity: More user-friendly and easier to set up, making it a suitable choice for individuals or smaller businesses with limited technical expertise.
2. Quick implementation: API-based platform allows for rapid implementation of video features, saving time and resources.
3. Cost-efficiency: Transparent pricing models like pay-as-you-go or resolution-based pricing, making it easier to predict and control costs.
4. Built-in features: Built-in features for video analytics, monetization, and user management, reducing the need for extensive customization.

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Conclusion

The choice between AWS and API-based platforms depends on your specific needs, technical expertise, and goals. If you prioritize a streamlined and quick implementation process and seek to avoid the complexities of managing video infrastructure or solve building video the hard way, API-based online video platforms are a compelling solution that can help you get your video content up and running with minimal hassle.

Click here, to discover how FastPix Video API lets you to effortlessly create and deliver high-quality video experiences to a global audience in a matter of minutes.