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Jan Ozer

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I help companies train new technical hires in streaming media-related positions; I also help companies optimize their codec selections and encoding stacks and evaluate new encoders and codecs. I am a contributing editor to Streaming Media Magazine, writing about codecs and encoding tools. I have written multiple authoritative books on video encoding, including Video Encoding by the Numbers: Eliminate the Guesswork from your Streaming Video (https://amzn.to/3kV6R1j) and Learn to Produce Video with FFmpeg: In Thirty Minutes or Less (https://amzn.to/3ZJih7e). I have multiple courses relating to streaming media production, all available at https://bit.ly/slc_courses. I currently work as www.netint.com as a Senior Director in Marketing.

D101 – How To: Fine-Tuning Your Adaptive Encoding Groups With Objective Quality Metrics

Here’s the session description; scroll down to download the handout and watch the video. Choosing the number of streams in an adaptive group and configuring them is usually a subjective, touchy-feely exercise, with no way to gauge the effectiveness and efficiency of the streams. However, by measuring stream quality via metrics such as PSNR, SSIM, and VQM, you can precisely …

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W2: Encoding 2016: Codecs and Packaging for PCs, Mobile and OTT/STB/Smart TVs

Here’s the description for my workshop at Streaming Media West; download the handout below: As video resolutions increase and target playback platforms multiply, video producers must leave their H.264/HLS/HDS comfort zone and expand into HEVC, VP9, and MPEG-DASH. This workshop is divided into multiple segments by target platform to teach you the applicable standards and best strategies for delivering live …

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Cloud Pricing Survey Shows Hybrik Least Expensive Option By Far

I recently finished a white paper comparing the pricing for a new cloud encoding service named Hybrik with multiple cloud providers, including Amazon Elastic Transcoder, Microsoft Azure, Bitmovin, encoding.com, Telestream Cloud, and Zencoder. The white-paper was sponsored by Hybrik, and you can download it below. By way of background, I ran all calculations by the respective services (except Amazon) to verify my …

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Review: Matrox Monarch LCS

The Matrox Monarch LCS is an inexpensive dual-input lecture capture solution with two output channels that can be independently set for recording and/or streaming.   At $2,495, the Matrox Monarch LCS is an inexpensive dual-input lecture capture solution with two output channels that can be independently set for recording and/or streaming. You control the unit via a standard browser, and …

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The Changing Cloud Encoding Market Leads to Cost Savings

New offerings in cloud video encoding let companies both large and small find the option that makes the most sense for them. The benefits of cloud encoding have been clear from the start: less capital expenditure (CAPEX) for encoding gear and the facilities to store it in, and fewer up-front costs for expensive licenses. For many years, however, cloud encoding …

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Benchmarking PCs, Capture Cards, and Software Mixers for HD Capture and Streaming

To determine how powerful a system it takes to produce and deliver live event streams, we tested a range of computers (old and new), capture devices, and multiple live streaming software programs, streaming to one or more streaming services, recording archive/ISO files in various formats, and measuring CPU utilization. Read on for the results. When you’re producing a live event …

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How to Stream to Facebook Live

Anyone can stream to Facebook Live, but if you want to deliver live video via a computer with streaming or encoding software, read on. With 1.65 billion monthly active users, Facebook is the largest social network in the world. It’s no surprise that when the company introduced live streaming, the online video industry took notice. “If Facebook introduces a new …

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Review: Livestream Mevo

If you frequently produce live or on-demand videos for social media sites, Livestream Mevo can help you produce more polished and engaging videos. While there are some rough edges in version 1.0, and there is a learning curve for operation, Mevo is an essential tool for any organization seeking to leverage the power of video in its social media marketing. …

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Taxonomy of Video Quality Metrics

The sheer number of video quality measurement tools makes it difficult to choose the right metric. Here’s a quick overview of some of the options and what they offer. All compressionists should use video-quality metrics to make compression-related decisions regarding data rate, key frame interval, and other settings. Unfortunately, the sheer number of options and the noise surrounding their comparative …

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Review: Capella Systems Cambria FTC Offers Per-Title Encoding

The benefits of per-title optimization aren’t just for the major players, anymore. Streaming Media reviews the first solution for smaller content owners and finds the results promising. Netflix announced the beginning of the end for fixed encoding ladders with a December 2015 blog post called, “Per-­Title Encode Optimization”. The big question was, what would replace them? For companies with the …

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