End-to-End Video on Demand Solution in AWS

Video on demand (VoD) solutions have become a cornerstone of modern digital content delivery. In this article, we outline a simple yet effective AWS architecture for implementing an end-to-end video-on-demand solution. This design leverages AWS services to efficiently process, store, and deliver video content to end users.

1. Source File Management
The workflow begins with the source video file being uploaded into an Amazon S3 bucket. This S3 bucket serves as the initial storage location for raw video content.
• S3 Event Trigger: The upload of the source file triggers an S3 event, initiating the processing workflow.
• Long-term Storage: After processing, the source file can be archived in Amazon S3 Glacier for cost-effective, long-term storage.

2. Media Encoding with AWS Elemental MediaConverter
Amazon MediaConvert is employed to encode the source video into formats suitable for playback on various devices and platforms.
• Step Functions for Workflow Orchestration: AWS Step Functions orchestrate the processing workflow. Each step within the Step Function corresponds to a specific task and calls an individual Lambda function to execute it.
o Validation: Ensures the uploaded file meets expected parameters.
o Configuration Retrieval: Pulls encoding configurations for the file.
o Metadata Extraction: Extracts metadata such as video height, width, and other attributes.

3. Metadata Management with DynamoDB
The extracted metadata is stored in Amazon DynamoDB for further use. DynamoDB acts as a centralized repository for metadata, enabling downstream tasks to make decisions based on this data.
• Encoding Template Selection: Another Step Function is triggered to determine which encoding templates to use in MediaConvert. This decision is based on the metadata, such as the height and width of the video.

4. Post-Processing and Delivery
Once the media conversion is completed, the processed video files are:
• Stored in a destination S3 bucket.
• An S3 event triggers an Amazon CloudWatch event to signal workflow completion.
Publishing Workflow:
• The publishing workflow reads the CloudWatch event, retrieves information about the MediaConvert job, and processes the outputs.
• Metadata and output details are written to DynamoDB.
• Amazon CloudFront URLs are generated for the processed video files, enabling global delivery.

5. Notifications and Monitoring
To keep stakeholders informed, Amazon SNS (Simple Notification Service) can be integrated into the workflow to send notifications upon process completion.

Benefits of this Architecture

Scalability: Leveraging AWS services ensures the solution scales with your workload.
Cost-Effectiveness: Using S3 Glacier for archival storage and DynamoDB for metadata management optimizes cost.
Flexibility: Step Functions and Lambda enable modular workflows that are easy to extend and customize.
Global Reach: CloudFront ensures fast and reliable content delivery to users worldwide.

By implementing this architecture, you can create a robust, end-to-end video-on-demand platform that is both efficient and user-friendly. AWS’s managed services reduce operational complexity, allowing you to focus on delivering exceptional video experiences to your audience.