幹壞事是進步最大的原動力
在「Scaling Time Series Data Storage — Part I」這篇看到 Netflix 在 Time Series Data Storage 上所做的努力...
因為應用在寫多讀少的場景，所以選擇使用 Cassandra，遇到瓶頸後把常寫入的與不太會改變的拆開儲存，並且用不同方式最佳化。包括了 cache 與 compression 都拿出來用了...
不知道他們內部有沒有評估 ScyllaDB 的想法...
看到「Plex’s DVR now lets you skip the commercials… by removing them for you」這篇文章，介紹 Plex 要推出去電視廣告的服務...
維基百科上的介紹比較清楚：「Plex (software)」，主要有兩個元件組成，media server 與 player：
- The Plex Media Server desktop application runs on Windows, macOS and Linux-compatibles including some types of NAS devices. The 'server' desktop application organizes video, audio and photos from your collections and from online services, enabling the players to access and stream the contents.
- The media players. There are official clients available for mobile devices, smart TVs, and streaming boxes, a web app and Plex Home Theater (no longer maintained), as well as many third-party alternatives.
然後這次要推出的功能是直接在錄影的時候把廣告拿掉：
Plex confirmed it’s rolling out a new feature that will allow cord cutters to skip the commercials in the TV programs recorded using its software, making the company’s lower-cost solution to streaming live TV more compelling. Unlike other commercial-skip options, Plex’s option will remove commercials from recordings automatically.
這讓我有些印像... 當年 TiVo 也有類似的功能，不過文章裡有提到 TiVo 是提供 skip 而非直接拿掉：
The new feature works by locating the commercials in your recorded media. It then actually removes them before the media is stored in your library. That sounds like it could be even better than TiVo’s commercial skipping option, for example, because you don’t have to press a button to skip the ads — they’re being pulled out for you, proactively.
不過主要是認識了 Plex 這個軟體... 如果是電視兒童的話應該用的到 XD 台灣目前的電視節目好像看的比較少...
剛剛看已經 4298389880 次了，成為 YouTube 史上第一個突破 UINT_MAX (4294967295) 的影片：
算是前陣子的新聞，在北美地區的盜版 IPTV 流量比 BitTorrent 的流量還多：「IPTV Piracy Generates More Internet Traffic Than Torrents」。
During peak hours, 6.5% of all downstream traffic on fixed networks is generated by TV piracy services.
To put this into perspective; this is more than all BitTorrent traffic during the peak hours, which was “only” 1.73% last year, and dropping.
如果把影音網站都考慮進去，最大的還是 YouTube 與 Netflix 這兩個啦，不過盜版的量也不小...
然後也有把最大的量分析出來，這裡面最大的量是 Indian Star Plus HD，應該是印度裔或是印度籍的人看家鄉的東西？
The most viewed of all in North America, with 4.6% of all pirated TV traffic, is the Indian Star Plus HD.
不過 Sandvine 一直都有方法分析整個北美流量，讓人感覺不太舒服...
Okay，所以 Netflix 在美國的價錢漲了：「Netflix Is Increasing Its Monthly Subscription Cost」。
基本版不變：
The basic streaming plan, which only allows for streaming on only one screen at a time, will remain at $7.99 a month.
雙螢幕版漲 $1 變成 $10.99：
The company’s most popular plan — which allows customers to stream titles on two devices with a single account — will increase by $1 to $10.99 a month.
四螢幕版漲 $2 變成 $13.99：
The premium plan — which allows customers to use the same account for four screens at once — will increase by $2 to $13.99 a month.
紐約時報的說明是因為自製成本增加，如果是這樣的話，其他地區也應該有可能會找機會漲？
The price hike arrives as Netflix continues to increase production of original TV and movie content. The company said that by the end of the year it will have spent around $6 billion for original content in 2017. In August, Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s chief content officer, told Variety that the company planned to spend about $7 billion for original programming next year.
歐盟在 2014 年做了關於盜版與銷量的研究，結果一直被壓到最近才發表出來 (於是就大概可以猜到結論了...)：「EU Piracy Report Suppression Raises Questions Over Transparency」。
“In general, the results do not show robust statistical evidence of displacement of sales by online copyright infringements,” the study notes.
甚至：
The study found that piracy had a slightly positive effect on the videogames industry, suggesting that those who play pirate games eventually become buyers of official content.
另外也描述了現有電影與 TV-series 定價策略偏高：
“Overall, the analysis indicates that for films and TV-series current prices are higher than 80 per cent of the illegal downloaders and streamers are willing to pay,” the study notes.
難怪被壓著...
EFF 一直站在反對 DRM 的立場，這次 W3C 通過並公開 DRM 框架規格後，EFF 決定退出 W3C：「World Wide Web Consortium abandons consensus, standardizes DRM with 58.4% support, EFF resigns」。
不算太意外... EFF 對 DRM 的立場一直都很清楚，非常的清楚...
Netflix 對於拍攝影片的要求直接放在網站上：「Production and Post-Production Requirements v2.1」。
Provide a set of technical requirements for production and post-production workflows to ensure that a high level of quality is maintained throughout the lifecycle of a project from capture to archive. This serves the purpose of future-proofing the content as the Netflix platform and viewing experience continue to evolve.
裡面有提到一些產品，這些資訊其實可以當作採購指南用... (當預算有到這個 range 時 XD)
不過動畫會怎麼算啊 XDDD (應該是另外的 requirement？)
雖然這篇用的方法很簡單，但因為太符合本 blog 的副標，所以還是寫下來介紹：「Extracting Chinese Hard Subs from a Video, Part 1」。
作者想要把字幕拉出來，他直接把這張圖丟進 OCR，然後失敗 XDDD：
他決定拉出下半段：
再做 thresholding：
最後再 OCR 取得文字：
′…′二′′′'′ 怎么去逯么远的地方 '/′
雖然很粗糙，但已經可以感覺到「幹壞事是進步最大的原動力」的感覺了 XDDD 而且看起來會有續集，會用比較精緻的技巧來處理？
看到「Now Anyone Can Embed a Pirate Movie in a Website」這邊介紹的東西，直接輸入 IMDb 的編號 (包括 tt 開頭的那串編號)，他就自動拉出 embed code：
然後可以直接線上觀看：
然後還支援字幕 (唔)：
Interestingly, should one of those sources be Google Video, Vodlocker says its player offers Chromecast and subtitle support.
官網有寫來源是到處找：
VoDLocker searches all general video hosters like youtube, google drive, openload...
看起來整塊技術其實都是現成的。透過 search engine 加上定期的檢查機制與回報機制就可以做完 @_@