I was performing some research for my upcoming workshop at Streaming Media East (W4 – Encoding 2017: Codecs & Packaging for PCs, Mobile & OTT/STB/Smart TVs). Basically, I wanted to see how many of the larger advertising-supported websites like ESPN/CNN had transitioned over from Flash to HTML5. Last time I checked, few if any had, largely because ads weren’t yet widely …

Apple could make all of this easier to remember if they changed the name of the BANDWIDTH tag to PEAK BANDWIDTH, which is really what it means. Since that’s unlikely to happen, if you just remember that BANDWIDTH means peak bandwidth, you should be able to keep it straight.  In this article, I take a quick look at the VOD …

I’m proud to announce my latest book, Video Encoding by the Numbers, Eliminate the Guesswork from your Streaming Video, which is available now on Amazon. You can read all about the book by clicking here, or click here for a detailed table of contents. Briefly, after introductory chapters get you up to speed and familiar with objective quality metrics, the next chapters focus on key …

I really was positive about HEVC when there was one pool from MPEG LA with a $25M/year cap. It was three times the cost of H.264, but HEVC was a better technology, so it seemed reasonable, and there were no content royalties. Certainly the industry thought the MPEG LA pool was reasonable  as there was barely a murmur in response. …

On April 3, 2017, London codec developer V-Nova announced PERSEUS 2.0; you can read the complete release here. I visited V-Nova in March 2016, and wrote an update for Streaming Media that you can read here. Basically, the press release/announcement makes three key points. First, the codec is tuned for what V-Nova calls key “operating points, including: 100 kbps, the minimum …

The Streaming Learning Center will host a webinar entitled HEVC: Rating the Contenders on April 18, 2017 at 2:00 PM EST. The free event will review the findings of extensive comparisons of the x265 and MainConcept HEVC codecs with x264 and VP9. Specifically, the test protocol involved three test files, Sintel (an animated production), Tears of Steel (mixed real world video and …

Hey all, recently announced my new book, Video Encoding by the Numbers:Eliminate the Guesswork from your Streaming Video, which you can read all about here. The paperback version in full color is available on Amazon for $49.95 here, or you can download a PDF version for $39.95 from a service called Sendowl here. Why no Kindle version? Because Amazon’s Kindle royalty …

My article in the Streaming Media Sourcebook entitled the State of Codecs 2017 just published. It’s actually a review of codec-related highlights from 2016, which include: HDR market converging on two-technology solution (Dolby Vision and HDR10) Beamr acquiring Vanguard Apple supporting fragmented MP4 files in HLS Apple deprecates TN2224 Netflix loudly proclaims HEVC superior to VP9, then quietly recants Eutelsat …

I wrote a story on ad blocking for the Streaming Media Sourcebook, which did not include Instart Logic. They called to set up a briefing, and here’s what they told me. Company: Instart Logic Product: AppShield Ad Integrity Date: March 28, 2017 Discussion with: Peter Blum, VP of Product, Dan Berkowitz, Head of Communications Quick summary: AppShield Ad Integrity is …

  Here’s what’s new. First, an essay entitled Standards are Failing the Streaming Industry, explores how MPEG’s inability to set unified pricing is hindering the utilization of HEVC, and will likely stall the deployment of DASH (read this article to learn about DASH royalties). The essay also talks about the Nokia vs. Apple lawsuit, which could boost royalties on H.264, and the Alliance for Open …