Though the lead is slipping, viewing of Internet video on computers still dominates that of tablets, mobile phones or OTT devices, according to a report entitled, US Digital Video Audience Profile: Who’s Watching, How They’re Watching and What Screens They’re Watching, that I spotted on eMarketer (citing data from HUB REsearch). Red is data from 2013, black is data from 2014. …
Read More »Adobe Revs the Creative Cloud
A press release entitled Adobe Updates All Pro Video Applications just crossed my desk. Here are the paragraphs relevant to Premiere Pro and the Adobe Media Encoder. Premiere Pro – The Premiere Pro CC 2014.2 update includes a number of feature enhancements for editors, including support for Arri Open Gate media, the ability to set transitions and still image default …
Read More »Why Adaptive Streaming is Better than Single Bitrate
Every once in awhile, a slide comes a long that’s so brilliant that you just have to share it. So it is with the slide below from Will Law’s presentation at the 2013 Velocity Conference entitled Optimizing the Black Box of HTML Video. I’ve always struggled to efficiently (under 30 seconds or less) explain why single bitrate video (SBR) is …
Read More »Microsoft Dooms HEVC to Obscurity (by including it in Windows 10)
I’m not one to go negative, but when I saw that Microsoft was including HEVC in Windows 10, scheduled for release in 2015, I just had to laugh. Over two years after Windows 8 shipped, I still use it only when I absolutely have to. The most ardent recommendation I make to friends buying a new Windows computer is to …
Read More »Replacing Flash: Media Source Extension and Encrypted Media Extensions
Here’s the session description, you can download all the handouts below. The video is below as well. The Media Source Extensions (MSE) and Encrypted Media Extensions (EME) are the standardized toolsets that enable browsers to deliver adaptive streaming and digital rights management without plug-ins. This session details what these extensions are, how they’re being supported by the different browser and …
Read More »Handout for Digital Rights Management Session
The second session of my afternoon workshop covered closed captioning. Here's the description; click over to the main article to download the handout. For digital rights management, you gain an overview of the technologies available for various targe
Read More »Handout for Producing and Distributing HEVC
Here’s the presentation description; click below to download the handout. The presentation video is at the bottom of the page. This session explores the current status of HEVC, identifying options for encoding live and on-demand HEVC and discussing player options in the streaming and OTT markets. Topics include the comparative quality and usability of HEVC encoders—including encoders from Cisco, Elemental, …
Read More »Choosing a Cloud Encoder
Here’s the session description; click below to download the handout. You can watch the actual conference video at the bottom of the page. This session describes what cloud encoding is and how it works for both live and on-demand applications. Learn the types of applications that work well with cloud encoding and the factors to consider when choosing an …
Read More »Handout for Multiscreen Delivery Workshop
Below is the presentation handout for my Encoding for Multiscreen Delivery: H.264, Protocols and Devices, workshop today at Streaming Media West. Here’s the description. Learn how to create a set of video files that will play on all devices, from smartphones to computers and OTT devices. The workshop starts by exploring key concepts like protocol and container formats and technologies …
Read More »Apple Supports H.265, But So Far Only in FaceTime on an iPhone 6
H.265 is coming to the Android operating system, as well, but it’s nowhere to be seen on desktop or notebook computers. Since I own an iPhone 6, I should have noticed this earlier, but I just learned that Apple is using H.265 in FaceTime on the new models. Note that the unit’s video playback specs don’t mention H.265, so presumably …
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