Engineering behind JioCinema & Hotstar Live streaming

The Technology Behind Live Streaming on JioCinema and Disney+Hotstar

In 2023 during World cup final and on peak, Hotstar was handling 5cr+ devices on its server and not once it crashed or lagged the live stream during World cup 🤯 but at the same place Netflix couldn't stream Jake paul vs Mike Tyson fight correctly even after having such sophisticated architure . Live streaming high-profile sports events like cricket requires more than just high-definition video. Platforms like JioCinema and Hotstar use a sophisticated technical setup to manage millions of concurrent viewers, ensure smooth video delivery, and minimize interruptions. These platforms rely on several technologies and practices, including Content Delivery Networks (CDNs), adaptive bitrate streaming, cloud computing, and feature flags, to deliver a seamless experience.

1. Content Delivery Network (CDN)

Platforms like Hotstar and JioCinema use content delivery networks (CDNs) to handle massive traffic. These are networks of servers distributed across various regions. When you watch a live stream, the video is delivered from the server closest to your location. This reduces latency and ensures faster loading times, minimizing delays during the match.

By distributing the load across multiple servers, CDNs also reduce the chances of any one server becoming overloaded. This approach ensures smooth performance, even when millions of users are accessing the stream simultaneously, as during high-demand events like the IPL (Indian Premier League) or a major cricket final.

2. Adaptive Bitrate Streaming

Adaptive Bitrate Streaming (ABR) adjusts the video quality based on the viewer's internet connection in real time. You’ll receive a high-definition (HD) stream if your internet speed is fast. If your connection drops or becomes unstable, the system automatically lowers the quality to prevent buffering. For instance, if you’re watching a cricket match in 1080p HD but experience network congestion, the system might switch to 480p to ensure continuous playback without stuttering.

This flexibility allows a consistent viewing experience, even when the network conditions fluctuate, ensuring users don’t experience buffering or interruptions.

3. Load Balancing and Redundancy

With millions of people watching a live event, the servers handling the stream can easily become overloaded. Load balancing helps by distributing incoming traffic across several servers, preventing any single server from being overwhelmed.

Additionally, platforms like JioCinema and Hotstar build redundancy into their systems. If one server fails or experiences high demand, another takes over automatically, ensuring there are no disruptions. This redundancy is crucial in preventing downtime during major events.

4. Cloud Computing for Scalability

Live events, especially sports, attract huge spikes in traffic, and it’s critical to scale the infrastructure quickly to handle this. Cloud computing allows platforms to dynamically increase computing power as needed. Services like Amazon Web Services (AWS) or Google Cloud enable Hotstar and JioCinema to scale their resources up or down in real-time. During a major event, additional servers and computing power are automatically provisioned to handle the surge in users. Once the event ends, these resources are scaled back to save on costs.

Cloud infrastructure is not only flexible but also ensures that the streaming platforms have the capacity to handle millions of viewers without hiccups, even during the busiest times.

5. Feature Flags for Controlled Rollouts

Feature flags are an important tool used during the production launch of new features or improvements, particularly in high-traffic situations like live streaming events. A feature flag is a mechanism that allows developers to turn features on or off remotely without deploying new code. This is especially useful for large-scale events.

For example, during a high-stakes cricket match, platforms like Hotstar or JioCinema may introduce new features such as interactive elements, live stats overlays, or different streaming quality options. Instead of pushing these features live for everyone at once, they can use feature flags to:

• Gradually roll out new features to a small percentage of users first (e.g., 5% of the viewers). This allows the engineering team to monitor performance and ensure the system can handle the load.

• Test changes in real-time: If any issue arises (e.g., a new feature causes latency or crashes), developers can quickly disable the feature without affecting the rest of the user base.

• Optimize performance: Feature flags allow teams to quickly experiment with and optimize different streaming parameters (e.g., bitrate or resolution) for specific regions or devices based on real-time feedback.

Feature flags help reduce the risk of introducing bugs or performance issues during live events. They allow engineers to make safe, incremental changes without affecting the entire user base, ensuring smoother performance during critical moments like the climax of a cricket match.

Netflix’s Live Streaming Struggles: Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson Fight

Netflix’s recent livestream of the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson fight faced significant problems, including buffering, stuttering, and delays. Unlike Hotstar or JioCinema, which have years of experience in scaling live sports events, Netflix is still relatively new to live sports streaming.

The buffering issues during the fight can likely be attributed to under-provisioning of resources. It appears that Netflix wasn’t prepared to handle the sudden surge in traffic. The company might have failed to properly scale up their servers and CDNs during peak times, which led to server overloads. Additionally, scalability problems and the lack of optimized load balancing could have contributed to the disruptions.

Although Netflix uses cloud computing for scalability, their system seemed unable to handle the spike in viewers, unlike platforms like Hotstar, which have a more refined system for live streaming.

Conclusion

Delivering a smooth, high-quality live-streaming experience for sports fans requires sophisticated infrastructure. Platforms like Hotstar and JioCinema excel because they use CDNs, adaptive bitrate streaming, load balancing, cloud computing, and feature flags to ensure that viewers enjoy uninterrupted streams even during massive spikes in traffic. Netflix’s recent issues with streaming the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson fight show how crucial it is for streaming platforms to be fully prepared for such events, with robust systems in place to handle high traffic, maintain video quality, and quickly address any problems as they arise.