One of the least well known features of the book, Video Encoding by the Numbers, is the content related to FFmpeg. Specifically, for most operations discussed in the book, from setting resolution and data rate to segmenting a file for HLS delivery, the book details the corresponding FFmpeg commands. The latest review up on Amazon includes a major description of how …

OK, so this news is a bit less compelling than the Republicans withdrawing their Obamacare replacement from the vote, but job number 1 for any book author is “flog the book,” and who doesn’t get excited about positive reviews, particularly if from behind the former Iron Curtain. So when a colleague sent me a link to the review, I just …

For three years, encoding.com has issued an annual report about the video files that it produces for its 3,000+ customers. For me, it’s a reality check on which formats are doing well, and which are flailing. The most recent report, which you can download here, includes the following key insights. HEVC is losing share (from 6% to 3%), while H.264 continues …

So a potential client calls and says, “we’ve reached encoding capacity and we’re about to buy another encoding station. Can you look at our presets and see if we can improve throughput and delay the purchase?” “Sure,” I responded.  “Send me your encoding presets and I’ll have a look.” Once the presets arrived, I noticed that the encoder was x264-based, …

V-Nova launched their PERSEUS codec on April 1, 2015, an inauspicious day, particularly for a codec vendor making claims like, “offering UHD quality at HD bitrates, HD at SD bitrates, and SD video at audio bitrates.” That day, I was on a thread that proposed alternative headlines; my favorite, which was not penned by me, was, “Startup does something proprietary that …

Imagine you’re walking through Heathrow Airport terminal, shopping for tchotchkes to bring home to spouse and children. You spot a handsome Cambridge sweatshirt, give it a quick rub and squeeze, and it feels great. What do you check next? For me, it’s price, because if it’s £30, it’s coming home, but if it’s £60, I’m buying a “Mind the Gap” …

I gave a recent talk on royalties at the Streaming Forum, entitled HEVC, H.264 and MPEG-DASH Royalty Update. Here’s the description. Ten years ago, to stream video, you needed to know how to encode to H.264 and configure Flash. Now you have to be a patent lawyer. The end of 2016 was brutal from a royalty perspective. MPEG LA did …

Below is the handout from my presentation at the Streaming Forum entitled, HEVC: Rating the Contenders Operators adding HEVC to their delivery pipeline will have plenty of codec options, but who has the time to evaluate their features, output quality, and performance? No worries – codec specialist Jan Ozer has done the work for you, evaluating leading contenders like x265 …

I’m co-hosting a webinar with MediaPlatform on February 23, 2017 at 2:00 PM ET entitled Top Ten Encoding Mistakes Made by Streaming Producers. Here’s the description.  Join MediaPlatform and Jan Ozer of Streaming Media Magazine for an in-depth discussion that will cover: Live webcasting and on-demand video allow your organization to leverage the power of streaming media to improve internal …

So, I was reviewing Camtasia 9 for Streaming Media magazine (review to appear later in the year), and I had promised Capella Systems a testimonial for their Cambria FTC encoder, specifically the per-title encoding feature. Below is the video I produced in Camtasia describing per-title encoding, discussing why it’s important, and detailing how it works in Cambria FTC.  As a …