First, video compression is a garbage in/garbage out medium, so output quality improves with input quality. Second, codecs such as H.264 are lossy, which means the lower the data rate, the lower the quality. Finally, intermediate formats such as ProR
Read More »WebM: It’s Forgotten but Not Quite Gone
I recently taught several seminars on producing video for HTML5, and I started my preparation with some research to see how the WebM codec was being used to determine the focus and scope of my WebM-related materials. In case you’ve forgotten &m
Read More »Windows 8 and Internet Explorer 10: How to Make Sure Your Videos Play
Windows 8 might be taking off more slowly than Microsoft had hoped, but for video producers, it's still another OS and browser to reckon with. Here's what you need to know to make sure your videos play on Windows 8 devices.
Read More »Tutorial: Vislink LiveGear Airstream Cellular iNG Transmitter
If you're in the market for a portable video encoder/transmitter, you should consider the LiveGear Airstream from Vislink. It's mobile and easy to use, and it employs predictive forward error correction and adaptive bitrate H.264 encoding to reliably
Read More »Closed Captioning for Streaming Media
Though relatively few websites are required to provide closed captions for their videos, any website with significant video content should consider captioning. Not only does it provide access for deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers, but captions and the
Read More »Handout for Encoding Video for HTML5 – SMWest 2012
Here’s the seminar description: Encoding Video for HTML5: Learn the technological fundamentals behind encoding both H.264 and WebM formats for playback with the HTML5 tag. Learn the basics of H.264 and WebM encoding and how to produce it for HTML5 distribution. In addition, see how the various H.264 and WebM encoding tools compare in regard to performance, quality, and features. …
Read More »Handout for Choosing an Enterprise Encoder – SMWest 2012
Here’s the seminar description: Choosing an Enterprise-Class Video Encoder: This session discusses factors to consider when choosing an on-demand enterprise video encoding system from the likes of Digital Rapids, Elemental, Harmonic, Sorenson, and Telestream. Factors incorporated into the analysis include performance, output quality, quality control options, format support, expansion options, programmability, and other variables. If you’re considering buying an enterprise …
Read More »Livestream Broadcaster Review: Deliver Rich Live Events for Less
Livestream Broadcaster is an exceptionally easy to configure and use live encoder that produced very good quality over a range of relevant bandwidths. The only significant negatives are that the unit doesn't work with the older Livestream system, and
Read More »Handout for Choosing a Live Encoder – SMWest 2012
Here’s the seminar description: Choosing a Live Streaming Encoder: This session discusses factors to consider when choosing a live streaming encoder, starting with free or inexpensive software options to high-volume, big iron systems, including quality, performance, portability, features, and format support. The session also examines how new cloud- based features such as live transrating are changing the requirements for on-location …
Read More »Handout for Encoding for Flash, Mobile and HTML5 – SMWest 2012
Here’s the seminar description: Encoding for Flash, Mobile and HTML5: Learn the technological fundamentals behind encoding for both H.264 and WebM formats. Learn how to encode H.264 for HTML5 distribution and streaming to iOS and other mobile devices, as well as how to encode it for Flash, including live, on-demand, and RTMP, as well as HTTP-based adaptive streaming. For WebM, …
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