Web Application Video Ecosystem - Device Playback Capabilities (CTA-5003-B)

People watch streaming video on many different devices – phones, tablets, computers, TVs, projection systems, stadium displays, and more. This created a nightmare for content creators and streaming media service providers. Not only do viewing devices often have different aspect ratios (ratio of width to height), but they might also have different software, too. The result is that streaming video providers must create and send many differently formatted streams of the same program to reach all the various combinations of playback hardware and software out there. The WAVE Project limits the scope of this problem by identifying a limited number of formats that streaming service providers should be able to use to reach most of their audience. CTA-5003-B defines requirements for playback of WAVE-compliant streaming media content. It addresses things like buffering (the playback device’s temporary storage of incoming content so it can be fed to the screen and speakers in a smooth, even fashion), encryption of streaming content, randomly accessing content mid-stream, and more.