As regular readers of this blog will know, we are a developer of software-based low-latency encoders and decoders, running on Commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware, but COTS hardware, operating systems and software carefully controlled for reliability and performance (more on that below). But nevertheless as soon as they hear the word “software”, some people say the following:
“I don’t want software-based encoders or decoders. When you run them on a PC, you get all sorts of problems: viruses, instability, and unreliable performance.”
This is something we often hear from people new to our products. But is it true, or is it a myth? In this blog post, we’ll debunk four common myths about software solutions, and share five ways that they beat hardware solutions.
But first, let’s start by defining the terms:
- A software-based solution relies on software to perform the encoding and decoding functions, running on general-purpose hardware (such as a standard computer or server).
- A hardware-based solution uses dedicated physical devices to handle the encoding and decoding process. These devices are designed specifically for the purpose of encoding/decoding audiovisual signals.
Now that the terms are clear, let’s look at some of the common misconceptions about software solutions and set the record straight.
Myth 1: With a software-based solution, you need to maintain a PC
The truth: A well implemented software solution will run on a server platform, not a desktop platform.
One of the benefits of software solutions is that they can run on any form factor. This could physically be a PC, of course – but it doesn’t have to be.
At Open Broadcast Systems, our software-based encoders and decoders run on carefully engineered and tested equipment that is designed to overcome the challenges of running on PC hardware (e.g careful control of power saving features). But this doesn’t mean the PC hardware is running a desktop environment. In fact it’s running the same professional server Operating System as all our hardware platforms. This means not dealing with the frustrations of PC troubleshooting, software conflicts, antivirus, desktop crashes, or manual patching. It ensures minimal maintenance overhead and improved system reliability. Server platforms and operating systems are built for uptime and can be managed remotely, reducing the hands-on maintenance required.
Myth 2: Software solutions are less reliable
The truth: A properly implemented software-based solution will be more reliable than most hardware-based solutions.
The reliability of a solution is not defined by whether it is software-based or hardware-based. It’s all about the implementation.
As we explained before, as a mission-critical part of the transmission chain, we don’t run in a desktop environment. Desktop applications have many things going on in the background – for example, automatic updates, advertising, power saving – that have a major impact on a broadcast transmission. But a server environment is a much more tightly controlled environment, where we can guarantee a level of performance and stability. That’s what we offer in our software-based solution (see the point above). And many of the server platforms we use – such as the Dell XR11 – have been extensively tested in tough environments.
In fact, we offer a highly sophisticated software solution, performing complex tasks like 100Gbit/s processing or sub millisecond SDI processing all in pure software. Many of these features are not available in traditional hardware appliances.
So how does that compare with hardware solutions? Well, hardware solutions often come with their own set of reliability issues. Here are some:
- Lack of device control: The vast majority of hardware devices have a single form factor controlled by the vendor. This means the hardware platform cannot be adapted for the use-case (e.g cost, size, density). By using COTS server hardware, you are able to optimise this to meet your exact requirements. For premium applications you can have redundant disks and power supplies, but for cost-sensitive applications you can use entry-level hardware.
- Lack of monitoring: Hardware-based solutions lack the detailed monitoring provided by software solutions. Virtually all servers offer Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI, sometimes known as iDRAC or iLO), providing extensive details of the system, enabling timely corrective actions. Hardware solutions, in contrast, are a black box, and you won’t know what’s wrong until it’s too late. Unlike most vendors, we provide full access to the platform that our software is running on, allowing you to monitor all aspects of the system.
- Difficult to repair: If a component fails in a hardware device, it will be much harder to find a replacement and it’s likely you have to send the device back to the vendor for repair. Software-based solutions benefit from a much larger supply chain of replacement parts. It’s very easy to obtain replacement servers anywhere in the world, and many server vendors like Dell provide a global service plan. It’s often the case that traditional hardware solutions need manual operation in the field, for example requiring a person to physically restart devices. This was the case for some hardware equipment in our lab and it was exceptionally challenging during the pandemic to send someone to our lab to physically restart a device. Software solutions, on the other hand, have IPMI access (described above) enabling remote restart.
- Use of basic components: Many encoding and decoding products built by the “embedded” industry use entry-level components like SD cards which may not survive long term use in 24/7 professional applications. In contrast, we use enterprise grade disks, often with dual redundancy. Even with a disk failure, the redundancy means we can happily run for years.
- Single Point of Failure: In addition to using basic components, many hardware solutions might not have the built-in redundancy of dual power supplies. By relying on a single power source, they are a single point of failure.
Myth 3: Software solutions are less secure
The truth: Many software-based solutions are more secure than their hardware-based counterparts.
It might seem at the outset, that hardware solutions win out here, but as usual the devil is in the details:
- Obsolete security measures: Virtually all hardware solutions nowadays need software to function. Many run standard Linux operating systems – usually very old versions that cannot be easily updated or upgraded with new security patches. As a result, the latest and most “modern” hardware solutions can suffer from the same vulnerabilities as older software solutions.
- Vulnerability: Many traditional vendors of hardware solutions don’t pass security audits, perhaps because they grew up in a world where they didn’t need to provide regular updates. But that leaves their devices vulnerable to exploitation.
- Monolithic updates: Even if the vendor does provide you with security updates, the security upgrade process is usually a monolithic “firmware update”, upgrading numerous other features that may cause other functions of the device to behave differently. You may want security upgrade A, but a monolithic upgrade process means you have to upgrade features B, C and D which are unrelated. Often this leads to a fear of updating as it may affect interoperability with third-party devices or other feature issues. With software-based solutions, you can update components whenever you want, often without any downtime.
- Software with a shiny bezel: Many vendors so-called “hardware appliances” are now software solutions underneath, but branded with their logo on the bezel. This means you are unable to obtain the benefits of the software platform, as the vendor usually controls the entire system as an appliance.
Myth 4: With a software solution, you cannot achieve the latency required for live broadcasting
The truth: software-based solutions can now meet the extremely stringent latency requirements for live broadcast contribution feeds.
Live broadcast demands low latency from its contribution. For years, this meant relying on hardware-based processing solutions. But that era has come to an end. Thanks to significant advancements in encoding technology, software-based contribution solutions can now meet the strict latency requirements necessary for live broadcast feeds, often beating hardware solutions. And, as we like to say, the proof is in the pudding:
Furthermore, we’ve talked extensively in other blog posts about how we maintain strict compliance with broadcast standards such as PCR jitter and accuracy.
Hopefully this post has shattered some of the myths of software based contribution vs hardware. In the next blog post we’ll talk about how you can break the chains of hardware appliances and move to a flexible software-based future.
Learn more about how our encoders and decoders are changing the face of broadcast contribution
