Transcodium

Januari 26, 2018

Transcodium

INTRODUCTION

Recently, the world has seen a remarkable improvement in the media industry, i.e. from video advertising to media streaming, however, due to the high cost of cloud transcoding services, it has been very challenging for startups and companies on a low budget who needs these services. Since the emergence of cloud technology, the transcoding industry has grown at a very large scale. We are well known to companies like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Vimeo, Youtube, and e.t.c, who transcodes terabytes of data on daily basis, investing a large amount of their revenue on media file conversion. The current report also predicts that, by the year 2019, the transcoding market will grow by 15 percent CAGR globally, which reflects a huge scope to flourish.

The concept of transcoding has always been limited to the conversion of video and audio files, however, it has the larger extent to take any type of file like PDF, HTML, Word Document and converts it into any possible preferred format.

Transcodium will provide APIs, Console and GUI Applications for customers to aid in a rapid transcoding process. Before processing starts for each transcoding request, the initiator (customer) will be provided with the estimated cost for approval, once approved, the initiator’s wallet will be debited for the processing to commence.

The file transcoding process includes two parties, master nodes, and workers. Master nodes receive the transcoding request, they then split large media files into chunks when necessary, encrypts these chunks and forward them to workers.

Workers, on the other hand, are responsible for converting the file into the new format. Any device can be a worker, but not a master node. A master node must have a faster processing power and a strong internet connection. A master node can also serve as a worker simultaneously. Master nodes are rewarded with 20% of the transcoding cost whilst 80% is shared amongst the workers. The master nodes are also responsible for joining the chunks when needed.

Multiple master nodes may process the same request for the sake of data
loss. Master nodes have another opportunity to earn from the distribution
of the final output to multiple social media or storage platforms which the
initiator (customer) will be charged for.

what is Transcodium?

ranscodium aims to provide the first peer-to-peer decentralized file editing, transcoding and distribution platform with high quality and reliable computational power at a very affordable price. This will create a global market for users, willing to rent their idle machines to be used as workers. Further, at the end of the processing, the worker (processor) will be rewarded with tokens which can be exchanged into any currency or can be sold to customers (initiators) who need these tokens for use on our platform.

OUTLINED SOLUTIONS TO THE PROBLEMS.

Here are the proposed solutions to the problems above:

The blockchain and decentralized technology model enables the provision of a cheaper and reliable alternative to cloud transcoding.
Due to the unlimited processing power, all thanks to the workers, files will be transcoded in a very fast speed, eliminating long queues and waiting time.
A single transcoding request will be processed by multiple nodes and workers, so the outage of one node or worker will have no effect on the process, making it more efficient and time-saving.
Transcoding will not be limited to audio and videos only, but also other file formats such as images and documents.

GENERAL STRUCTURE

The integrity will be maintained by the proof of conversion. To get the reward, the peer has to submit a proof of conversion before the assigned timeout else the network will mark the task as aborted. Human interaction is not required for completion of the entire transaction.

The transcoding process starts when a master node receives a request from the initiator, the master node will then analyze the file, split large media files into smaller chunks, encrypt them and distribute them to idle workers with instructions.

These chunks will be so small that they will be transferred to the worker in a little amount of time even on a slow internet connection. Due to the little size of this chunk, smartphones will be capable of processing them.

Data transfer between the master node and a worker will have an end to end encryption for maximum privacy and security.

The workers will process the file based on the instruction attached to the file or chunk. After the processing is done, the worker will send the processed file or chunk to the master node to join if required.

The master node will then execute its final task by exporting the output to it destination. Multiple destinations are supported. The first destination will always be free, but an additional destination will attract a fee which will be rewarded to the master node.

The pricing system on the Transcodium network is maintained by the TNS regulation. The TNS regulation is an autonomous algorithm which brings balance between processors and initiators thereby making both parties happy.

Workers periodically send updates to the master nodes about their status, this information sent includes their processing power, internet speed, conversion time and device information. The TNS regulator uses this information together with proof of stake and other factors to randomly select idle workers for processing data. This also enables the network to group workers based on their performance.

Initiators have the free will to select from a price range of $0.006 to $0.01 per minute for an SD quality video output and $0.008 to $0.020 per minute for an HD video quality output. Non-video files such as audio will have the price range of $0.006 to $0.001 per minute of output.

Files such as images and documents (PDF, word and etc) cannot be measured in time (minute), so they will be measured according to their size 7 in megabyte. A megabyte of a file will have the price range of $0.006 to $0.01 per output unit.

To enable fairness on the network, the highest paid task will be assigned to the best performing workers to help provide the initiator value for the money paid.

TRANSPARENCY

The use of smart contract will enable transparency on the network, vital information such the file duration, the amount the initiator was charged and the amount paid to workers will all be on the public ledger. Customers and workers can always check how much they have been charged or paid respectfully for a specific task on the network.

PROOF OF STAKE

To achieve a better-decentralized consensus, the Transcodium network employs the proof-of-stake type of algorithm where workers are randomly selected based on their wealth and age of account. This helps in selecting workers with quality processing power thereby saving time and money.

PROOF OF CONVERSION

The proof of conversion agreement between the master node and a worker states that, a worker has to complete its task within the given time range to receive the reward, during processing of data, the worker sends progress update to the master node, the worker must complete processing the data before the assigned timeout else the network will mark the task as aborted or inactive and will award that same task to the next available idle worker.

A dynamic timeout is set on all transcoding activities based on the performance of the worker and the size of data to be processed. The contract pays a worker after a successful transcoding and submission of file.A task is deemed completed after the processed file is uploaded and verified by the master node.The proof of conversion will be backed by a smart contract. The proof of conversion together with the proof of stake makes the TNS regulation which is responsible for making a smart random selection of workers and bringing balance between initiators and processors.

WORKERS

Workers are idle devices responsible for processing data on the network. Any device with an internet connection and capable of installing our application can be a worker. A worker can earn more rewards if it has higher specifications such as a multi-core device or GPU based devices.

Once a device installs the Transcodium app, it becomes part of the Transcodium network, an initial device assessment will be made to help rank the device as part of the TNS regulations.

After a successful task, workers are rewarded with 80% of the total amount paid in TNS token whilst 20% goes to the master nodes responsible for processing the final output and distribution.

CUSTOMERS

Transcodium network will enables customers to avail unlimited processing power in a very cheap compensation for the task. Customers will be able to select a price from the range of prices provided by the TNS regulation, the higher the price the faster the file conversion and vice versa.

Customers or initiators will have three types of interface to ease the conversion process:

An API interface to help developers integrate into their projects or apps,
The command line interface will be for basic functionality and 10
The advanced visual studio media editing app for complex media editing needs

The customer can select where to export the file after processing, destinations such as facebook, youtube, twitter, SFTP, Amazon AWS, Google Drive and etc will be supported. Multiple destinations are supported. The first destination is always free, other subsequent destinations will attract a fee which will be rewarded to the master node processing it. Before processing of any file commence, the application will compute the total cost for the initiator to approve, once approved, the initiator’s wallet will be debited. The debited amount will be refunded if processing fails. Customers will need the TNS token in order to pay for any transaction on the network.

OPEN SOURCE

At Transcodium we believe in openness and transparency, we support the open source idea, all of our developments will be made available to everyone on our GitHub repository ( https://github.com/transcodium ) . Open sourcing our project will help promote innovation. We will welcome contributions from anyone who wishes to improve the project. To show how serious we care about this, we recently open sourced the cloud version which was a proprietary project.

TRANSCODIUM ( TNS ) TOKEN

TNS token is an ERC-20 compliant ethereum based token which is designed to work on Transcodium network. The token will be the official currency to be used on the network.

The total supply of the TNS token is 120 million and has a maximum of 18 decimal places. This is a fixed supply and will not decrease or increase, the decision of the total supply was made by the Transcodium team and founders.

The limited supply will help improve the quality of the coin. The transcoding industry has a huge market, so the limited coin supply is a great advantage for both investors and marketers in the near future.

BUILT IN LIVE EXCHANGE

All Transcodium’s wallet applications will have an inbuilt live exchange to enable users to convert their coins to other currencies. The live exchange will connect to some of the popular existing exchange platforms available.This will help ease the token acquisition process to customers or anyone who will need them.

TOKEN LENDING FEATURE

With the adoption of proof of stake concept, one important factor in the selection of a worker involves their wealth, but not everyone can meet that requirement, so we decided to employ a lending feature into the platform, where token holders or investors can lend their tokens to workers who need them. The borrowed tokens cannot be spent, it will be backed by a smart contract, a worker can borrow tokens with a specified time period.The longer the time, the higher the interest to be paid on the loan.

Only workers are eligible to borrow. Before any worker is credited with the principal, the interest is auto-calculated and debited from his/her account based on the duration.The interest will be added to the principal, this means a worker needs some amount in his/her wallet before applying for a loan . The principal plus interest will be locked using a smart contract until time is due for release to the lender.