SCD supports comfortable and worry-free access to "AmebaStudio", offering an exciting "new media" on the web live from the studio

Two-way communication connecting the newly opened
studio and the Web Site

On February 14, 2007, a new "popular spot" opened in Harajuku, Tokyo. The"AmebaStudio"is a broadcasting studio operated by CyberAgent, the provider of "Ameba (Ameblo)", one of the largest blog services in Japan.

At the studio, celebrities, talents, models, artists and athletes, who are also "Ameblo" bloggers, are invited as talk show guests, and the viewers can enjoy the live webcasting or archived video on the Web Site. The Web Site contains chat rooms, where the viewers can freely write and communicate with each other while watching the programs. The glass window provides a view of the studio from the sidewalk, therefore a crowd of spectators gathers in front of the studio when programs are ongoing. CyberAgent effectively bridges the physical and virtual worlds by combining website, chat, streaming video, and an accessible studio in Harajuku.

Confidence in the one-stop proposal of Streaming Server + SCD

It was only three months before the opening of the studio when the idea of this innovative service started. Although speedy business development is CyberAgent's specialty, it faced a challenge of having to complete all the necessary arrangements in a very short time. One of the issues was building the infrastructure for delivering streaming video from the studio to the Web Site.

CyberAgent predicted very high visitor and traffic volulmes as popular guests perform live in the program. With the content being primarily video, staff had to consider the high storage and data transmission capacity required. It was necessary to anticipate unpredictable traffic conditions so that the viewers can watch the programs without broken streams, shaky video, or lost frames.

Mr. Takunori Fujii, manager of AmebaStudio Group, Content Division, Ameba Headquarters

"However," the manager Fujii says, "I had absolutely no knowledge of video streaming and therefore, no idea of what to do." So he searched the internet with key words related to video streaming to find vendors supply this type of service and arrange meetings with them. In the end, he chose NTT Communications as a partner for building and operating AmebaStudio.

The key point for the selection was the proposal encompassing the total solution, including "Smart Content Delivery (SCD)".

SCD is the content delivery network service using the cache servers installed within the NTT Communications Global IP Network which is connected directly to major ISP networks domestically and internationally. Customers utilize this network of cache servers and global load balancing systems to distribute their rich or streaming content instead of using additional web servers. SCD provides a solid environment maintaining fast response even under heavy or unpredictable traffic conditions from end users without applying additional load on the origin server. Mr. Fujii says, "Only NTT Communications made an overall proposal including not only the streaming server for video delivery but also the network environment to support it. It offered a single point of contact to build a new infrastructure, which gave us a tremendous comfort level. Also, the benefit of introduction and operation cost was highly evaluated.

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