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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.

Does Anyone Care About Constrained VBR Anymore?

I’m comparing cloud-based per-title VOD encoding technologies for a report I hope to publish in the near term. In an attempt to create a level playing field I set the following specifications. 2-second GOP 200% constrained VBR 2-second VBV buffer Kind of like you were encoding with FFmpeg and using these parameters -b:v 2600k -maxrate 5200k -bufsize 5200k All cloud services …

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Introduction to Streaming Media for Non-Technical Staff

I’ve launched a new course entitled Introduction To Streaming Media for Non-Technical Staff. As the name suggests, the course introduces non-technical employees to fundamental concepts of streaming media. The basic concept is that even if you’re not an engineer, you should know what a codec is, why H.264 is still king, what DRM is (and why we need it), what …

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MSU Updates Video Quality Measurement Tool

Video Quality Measurement Tool

Moscow State University’s Video Quality Measurement Tool (MSU VQMT) is my go-to utility for computing and visualizing objective metrics like VMAF, PSNR, and SSIM. In version 13, MSU increased codec compatibility and metric performance, added new HDR metrics and display capabilities, and enhanced VQMT’s already best-in-class visualization tools. If you’re a VQMT user, it’s an essential upgrade. If you’re not, …

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Bitmovin Video Developer Report Reports on Codec Usage

Bitmovin Video Developer Report

Every year around this time, like an early Christmas present, Bitmovin releases its Annual Video Developer’s Report, a must-read for all streaming media professionals. Now in its fifth year, the report contains valuable insights regarding codec usage, production workflows, and the issues that are keeping streaming professionals up at night, literally or metaphorically. To produce the report, Bitmovin surveyed 538 …

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VVC Performance, Royalty, and Implementation Status

Figure 5. VMAF BD-Rate table for multiple codec implementations.

VVC reached First Draft International Specification in July 2020. We’re about 18 months past that date and it’s useful to check in on VVC progress to date, including licensing, performance, chipset development, and trials. VVC Patent Owners Video quality is nice, but money makes the world go-’round, so let’s start here. Understand that video compression standards like VVC will have …

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When a Butterfly Flaps its Wings in Cupertino, VVC’s Success May Be Assured

Given that VVC is top of mind right now, I just wanted to report that IAM has announced that it appears that Apple has purchased 14 VVC-related patents from a Korean inventor. IAM is connecting a lot of dots to (I think) make this claim, which goes something like this. A Korean inventor set up a company that performs video-related …

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Does FFmpeg 5 Break Your Scripts?

FFmpeg turns 5.0; the new release has big API changes but doesn’t appear to break existing command scripts, though x265-based encodes are worth checking. As much as we like major releases of programs that we know and love, one big question is always whether it changes how we use the program. If you haven’t heard, on January 17, 2022, FFmpeg …

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Beginner’s Guide to REMI Production

Remote production has garnered significant notice over the last few years for obvious reasons. While there is a specific definition that I’ll share below, the concept has expanded to any production schema where the talent or event is at one location and the video production at another. In a recent webinar produced by the Streaming Learning Center, three experts presented …

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Review Finds FFmpeg Course on Udemy Amazing

Few things please a course creator more than positive reviews and it’s been a good week for them. This one is for my FFmpeg for Adaptive Bitrate Production on the Udemy site. My goal for this course was to focus on the “why” as well as the “how.” So, students just don’t learn how to set a keyframe interval in …

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“Wonderful Course” for New Media Professionals

This software development manager found Streaming Media 101 “worth taking” for all new media professionals.  I’ve never met Spoorti Hallur from Xperi Corporation in person (we’re connected on LinkedIn), but I’m guessing she’s a glass-half-full kind of person. At least she seems that way in the fabulous review she just gave the course Streaming Media 101: Technical Onboarding for Streaming …

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