In this blog, we will try to understand and dissect the top-of-the-class scalability and powerful performance of the HBO Max app and share some interesting information about its legacy. Learn more on: https://www.techaheadcorp.com/blog/understanding-the-legacy-of-hbo-max-its-powerful-scalable-technical-stack/

1. Understanding the legacy of HBO Max & its powerful,
scalable technical stack

2. Over The Top or OTT Platforms have changed the rules of video consumption
across the world. By 2027, around 4 billion users will be accessing OTT platforms
like HBO Max, Youtube, Netflix, Disney, and more, generating billions of dollars in
advertisement revenues, and unleashing a new era in video content and
consumption.
In this blog, we will try to understand and dissect the top-of-the-class scalability
and powerful performance of the HBO Max app and share some interesting
information about its legacy.

3. 49-year-old HBO, which is the oldest and longest continuously operating
subscription television service in the United States, launched its first on-demand,
Internet-based video service called HBO on Broadband in 2008.
Later, in 2010, HBO Go was launched, which was a better and enhanced version of
HBO on Broadband, and provided on-demand videos to their paid customers via
website, mobile app, TV, and other devices.
This continues to be among the top 10 downloaded apps in the US, and the only
video streaming or OTT app in that list.
The Legacy Of HBO Max

4. Understanding The Technical Stack Of
HBO Max
HBO has invested and
researched a lot, to make the
backend stronger, and a user-
friendly, seamless UI to ensure
the highest engagement and
higher subscribers.
We will breakdown the tech
stack, and understand the
backend of the HBO Max app:

5. The framework deployed by HBO Max is created by BAMTech, which was earlier acquired by Disney. Hence,
both HBO Max and Disney use the same framework for delivering video content to their users.
PrimaryFramework
In-HouseUser Interface
StreamingProtocols
As per Ottball, HBO Max uses a lot of in-house software and systems, developed by their team. And this also
includes a proprietary trickplay system and an in-house video player.
As with most of the big OTT platforms, HBO Max uses MPEG-DASH and HLS with DRM for streaming.
To achieve multi-key protection, MPEG-DASH splits its video qualities over more than one AdaptationSet,
while the audio is delivered across different formats via TTML.

6. CMS USED BY HBO CONTENTDELIVERY NETWORK
A CMS called Comet is used by HBO
Max, which functions as their public
CMS.
As observed in their app, a payload is
shared with
https://comet.api.hbo.com/content,
and a JSON response is received.
As per some experts, HBO Max uses
at least two CDNs: Level 3 and
Akamai.
Level 3 has been in use with HBO
since 2011.

7. VIDEO ANALYTICS PACKAGER
HBO Max is using Conviva
v2.151.0.36981 for Video Analytics.
If we observe the code of this app,
then the client pings at
https://telegraph.api.hbo.com/events/
v1, to indicate the changes.
HBO Max uses Unified Streaming
Platform v1.9.5, which produces HLS
Manifests. With their latest update
for the app in 2021, they are now
using an advanced version,
because Unified Streaming Platform
v1.9.5 has been in usage since 2018.

8. DRM VIDEO PLAYER
HBO Max (earlier version before 2021),
used Widevine, PlayReady, and
PlayReady (with multi-key). As of now,
(post-2021), HBO Max has been using
their own in-house built DRM.
For earlier versions, HBO Max used
the ever-dependable Shaka Player
for web browsers, and Exoplayer for
Android, and AV Player for iOS.
Note here, that HBO has been using
Google's open-source player for
long, for Android users.

9. The Scalability Of HBO Max Is The Gamechanger
If we focus on the technical aspects of creating such a powerful OTT app, then
scalability is critical. The ability to manage such a massive number of concurrent
users, without disrupting their overall experience and behavior, is the recipe to
success.
One such strategy is Video Transcoding, wherein the video format is converted into
another format, so that:
• All users, across all devices and locations, get a uniform, delightful experience
• Buffering is decreased, which translates to seamless viewing
• Latency is low, thereby ensuring high-quality streaming
• Here is a three-step process for Video Transcoding:

11. During the process of
converting the video
formats, some
elements can change
or alter such as
frames, colors etc. With
the Validation process,
the system makes sure
that the Transcoding
process is seamless.
Typically, videos these days
are multiple terabyte-sized
in size and volume, and it
doesn’t make sense to
process such a huge
amount of data. This is the
reason that the video is first
broken down into smaller
fragments, and then they
are encoded in parallel.
This is the secret of
scalability, as
deployed via Video
Transcoding. Every
device has a video
format, that ensures
optimal performance,
based on different
network speeds and
connectivity.
Validation Parallel Encoding Encoding Profile

12. Some other processes for enhancing scalability includes:
TrickPlay: When a user scans the content via the sidebar or the main menu, then a thumbnail is
generated which gives a small snapshot of the video content. This is Trickplay, which is achieved by HBO
Max by requesting images via template-URL and passing the playhead position along.
(e.g.
https://media.fly.cdn.hbomax.com/videos/PRO42/e1/gov2/turner/feature/613088/v1/images/23.98p/r0/
images_2_{0:00000000}.jpg)
Although HBO Max could have achieved this via MPEG-DASH, they chose to develop their own system for
Trickplay.
Similarly, features such as Offline Watching, Continue Watching, etc are deployed, which ensures that
all the users are able to get a uniformed, delightful access to video content
If you wish to know more about HBO Max and find out how you can develop and launch a similar
video streaming and OTT app, then get in touch with our System Architects and Mobile App
Engineers, and explore the possibilities.

13. Contact Us
www.techaheadcorp.com
1-818-318-0727