Two or three years ago, the average cost of a video webcast was around $1,200 – $2,000. Now that services like GoToWebinar start as low as $99/month, established companies are having to adjust both their products and their pricing. I’ve been working with TalkPoint’s new Convey self-service webinar system for my last two webinars, and will review it for Streaming …

The poor folks at HDTVtest were reviewing a Samsung HU8500 UHDTV and noticed that Netflix was streaming House of Cards Season 2 at 4K in HEVC. According to the article, after cycling through 720p and 1080p, the stream ultimately switched up to 2160 HD at 15.6 Mbps. In dark scenes, there was very little difference, but in bright, colorful scenes, …

I’m preparing for my full day seminar entitled Producing a Webcast from Soup to Nuts at Streaming Media East in Manhattan on May 12, 2014. Part of the process involves watching a bunch of live events to glean tips and tricks and mistakes to avoid. Two videos of the same subject that I noticed yesterday illustrated two critical principles of …

From my perspective, Apple Technical Note TN2224 is the Rosetta Stone of adaptive streaming, a document that translates multiple factors into concrete recommendations that should be considered by all producers streaming to Apple Devices. Which is to say, of course, virtually all streaming producers. So when Apple makes big changes in the Tech Note, as they did on February 28, …

This tutorial provides a quick overview of how to mix multiple cameras, graphic overlays, and other media in the new version of Livestream Studio, as well as how to record isolated video program feeds, and configure your stream and send it out via Livestream or other RTMP-compatible streaming providers. If you’ve prefer to read about the workflow, Streaming Media Producer …

On April 2, 2014, Adobe announced updates to all Creative Cloud video apps that will debut at NAB. This video demonstrates the four key new features in Premiere Pro CC: Master Clips, Live Text, Masking and Tracking, and new 4K format support. Streaming Media Producer transcribed this tutorial and added screens to the text; if you’d prefer to read about …

Let’s test your observational powers. On the left are the web presets from Adobe Media Encoder prior to the April 2014 reveal. On the right is the same group of presets after the April refresh. What’s missing?  Well, in case the title didn’t clue you in, I’m sure you figured out by now that it’s Flash; Adobe Media Encoder no …

HEVC comes with two benefits; equivalent quality to H.264 at about half the data rate, and ultra-high definition video. One big question about the new technology, however, is the impact of HEVC playback on device battery life, which is critical given how quickly mobile viewing is growing. Techspot’s Tim Schiesser focused on this issue in his recent article, Media Players …

OK, pretty discrete topic, but if you care, you care. This blog post originated as questions from a visitor to this website, who asked: At this stage of my investigation, I have the following questions: – Should I go for a few 16-core or a lot 4-core machines (like mac mini). – Do I need the Episode Cluster license for …

Interested in HEVC (H.265)? My article regarding same is now available on the Streaming Media website, here. Here’s the intro to give you an idea about what’s covered.  While few companies of any kind are actually making money from HEVC (H.265) today, the successor to H.264 will become increasingly important during the next 2–3 years, perhaps even earlier in some …