SMNYC 2024: United Cloud's Boban Kasalovic Talks End-to-End Streaming and Content Security
At Streaming Media NYC 2024, Tim Siglin, Founding Executive Director, Help Me Stream Research Foundation, and Contributing Editor, Streaming Media, interviews Boban Kasalovic, Product Manager, Streaming, United Cloud. Kasalovic discusses United Cloud's development of an end-to-end streaming solution and an anti-piracy platform called Gladiator. The platform uses machine learning and AI to analyze data and identify critical behavior that could lead to piracy. The company has also implemented Widevine CAS for its hybrid solution.
Siglin mentions that he moderated a panel at Streaming Media NYC, “Securing Your Streams,” which featured Kasalovic as one of its guests. He asks Kasalovic to talk a bit about himself and United Cloud.
“I'm a product manager in United Cloud, an innovation and development center within United Group,” Kasalovic says. “We are supporting the telco business in the seven countries [of] Southeast Europe. We have more than 300 professionals working on 13 product lines. Our main products are end-to-end streaming solutions, and we are also developing our own anti-piracy platform [called Gladiator].”
“So what's the impetus for creating the security solution as part of the overall system?” Siglin asks.
Kasalovic says that the OTT world is very vulnerable to various types of attacks, and the quality and sophistication of protection are essential. He mentions Widevine CAS as United Cloud’s hybrid solution and its anti-virus platform, Gladiator, as their dynamic approaches to these issues. He says they use machine learning/AI to analyze all kinds of data on CDNs to find any critical behavior on user devices that can lead directly to identifying piracy activities.
Siglin asks, “What was your decision around implementing Widevine?”
Kasalovic says that many of their telcos use Digital Video Broadcasting - Cable (DVB-C), and there is a particular need to protect those systems. He says they were pioneers in implementing Google’s Widevine into the process, largely driven as a way to challenge themselves and be pioneers in that area.
“And so you mentioned some of your customers have both DVB and a set-top box approach,” Siglin says. “Is set-top growing more rapidly than DVB in your part of the world?”
Kasalovic says that DVB is declining and being replaced by VOD, even though DVB has an advantage with live streaming, such as sports, with lower latency issues.
Siglin mentions that he assumes that mobile viewing use is also increasing, considering the number of users who want to watch live sports.
Kasalovic says they have actually found that 80% of live sports viewers prefer watching on large screens rather than mobile, possibly due to a preference for watching these events in group settings.
“So, what's your perspective on what you heard on the panel today from other parts of the world?” Siglin asks. “[Such as] the US and Northern Europe?”
Kasalovic says he noted how much content protection was covered as an essential topic for all regions, and he highlights the importance of learning from industry experts and considering different perspectives from around the world.
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