Protocols in AWS Elemental MediaConnect

AWS Elemental MediaConnect supports different protocols for incoming (source) and outgoing (output) live video streams depending on the type of flow you use.

For transport stream flows, which transport compressed content that is muxed (audio, video, and ancillary data are combined) into a single stream, you use the following protocols:

• Reliable Internet Stream Transport (RIST) (Simple profile only) is a highly available, low-latency protocol that is suitable for long-distance applications. MediaConnect doesn't support encryption for sources or outputs that use the RIST protocol.

• Real-Time Transport Protocol (RTP) has wide applicability and takes less bandwidth than RTP-FEC. MediaConnect doesn't support encryption for sources or outputs that use the RTP protocol.

• Real-Time Transport Protocol with Forward Error Correction (RTP-FEC) has wide applicability and forward error correction (FEC) to self-heal any corruption and packet loss. Using this protocol takes more bandwidth than RTP without FEC. AWS Elemental MediaConnect doesn't support encryption for sources or outputs that use the RTP-FEC protocol.

• Secure Reliable Transport (SRT) is a highly available, low-latency protocol that is suitable for long-distance applications.

  • SRT listener is a pull-based implementation of the SRT protocol. SRT listener can be used as a Source or Output. SRT listener must communicate with an SRT caller.

  • SRT caller is a push-based implementation of the SRT protocol. SRT caller can be used as a Source or Output. SRT caller must communicate with an SRT listener.

• Zixi is a highly available protocol suitable for most applications, especially use cases that involve longer distances. If your encoder is not capable of using Zixi, you can use the Zixi feeder/receiver software that was created specifically for use with MediaConnect. You can access this software on the Zixi website, where you will be asked to provide your information before you can download the software. If you set up multiple flows for distribution, we recommend that you use Zixi as the protocol to send content between flows. MediaConnect supports two Zixi protocol options:

  • Zixi pull uses the Zixi protocol to send content to a receiver or an integrated receiver decoder (IRD) that is behind a firewall. Additionally, you can use this option when you need network address translation (NAT) to route the traffic from MediaConnect to the receiver.

  • Zixi push uses the Zixi protocol to send content to a receiver that has a static, publicly addressable IP address. Use this option when the receiver is not behind a firewall or NAT-based router.

  • Zixi push for AWS Elemental Link uses the Zixi push protocol to connect an AWS Elemental Link UHD device with a MediaConnect flow.

• Fujitsu-QoS is a low-latency, high throughput proprietary protocol from Fujitsu that enables transport from Fujitsu devices into MediaConnect, and from MediaConnect into Fujitsu devices. MediaConnect does not support source failover if you use the Fujitsu protocol.

For CDI flows, which transport high-quality content that has been lightly compressed using JPEG XS, you use the following protocols:

• AWS Cloud Digital Interface (AWS CDI) is a technology that allows you to transport high-quality uncompressed video inside the AWS Cloud, with high reliability and network latency as low as 8 milliseconds.

• ST 2110 JPEG XS is a low-latency protocol that can be used on streams with minimal compression.

Protocol support for sources and outputs

The following table describes what protocols can be used for sources, outputs, or both.

Transport stream protocols
Protocol	Can this be used as a Source?	Can this be used as an Output?
RIST	Yes	Yes
RTP	Yes	Yes
RTP-FEC	Yes	Yes
SRT listener	Yes	Yes
SRT caller	Yes	Yes
Zixi pull	No	Yes
Zixi push	Yes	Yes
Fujitsu-QoS	Yes	Yes

CDI protocols
Protocol	Can this be used as a Source?	Can this be used as an Output?
CDI	Yes	Yes
ST 2110 JPEG XS	Yes	Yes