Blogs

This is a bit old news (March 2013), but I was doing some research for an article on Windows Azure Media Services, and noticed that Microsoft released the Smooth Streaming Plugin for OSMF 2.0 (Adobe’s Open Source Media Framework for adding features to the Flash Player). As stated in the release notes, Using Smooth Streaming OSMF plugin, you can add …

Which technology will you use in 2015 to reach multiple screens, DASH or HLS? While DASH gets the most attention, HLS is my front-runner, and Flash will still dominate desktops. Flash has been one of the foundational technologies for streaming media since the VP6 replaced SV3 as the primary codec in 2005. However, when the first iPad was released without …

I hosted a panel on HEVC at Streaming Media East in Manhattan on May 21, 2013. Just after the session ended, Beet.tv’s Andy Plesser asked me what Akamai, Rovi and Elemental had revealed during the discussion, and how the cloudy royalty picture may slow down HEVC adoption. Here are the excerpts.

I just finished a Creative Cloud FAQ for OnlineVideo.net. As you may know, Adobe has stopped selling new versions of former Creative Suite software components and will make them available only via the Creative Cloud, which you pay for monthly. You can still buy either individual versions of the apps or the suites, but these are frozen at the CS6 …

Portland Community College multimedia instructor Seth Bloombaum likes Producing Streaming Video for Multiple Stream Delivery so much that he's using it in an upcoming course scheduled for this fall. He also took the time to write a 5-star review on A

Motivated by their perception of being short-changed in H.264 royalty revenues, HEVC/H.265 intellectual property (IP) owners seem to be in no hurry to formulate a cohesive and rational royalty policy, delaying the very royalties that they covet.  I had the pleasure of hosting a panel at Streaming Media East entitled Understanding the Significance of HEVC/H.265. The speakers were well-connected, high-level …

As you probably know, Googles VP9 is the successor to VP8 in WebM and a competitive technology to HEVC/H.265. I reported here that patent claims from Nokia present a red flag to potential adapters, but Google keeps pressing ahead, and lots of potential users are taking notice. CNET’s Steven Shankland has been following the release closely, and recently reported: SAN …

VP9 is the successor to VP8, the video codec that Google open sourced and included in WebM. It’s also the only major competitor to H.265/HEVC. In a series of blog posts last week, Google detailed the final release schedule for VP9 and a few other implementation details. These posts also indicated that YouTube plans to start using VP9 once it’s …

Ken Santucci, a professor at George Mason University’s Volgenau School of Engineering, teaches Concepts of Multimedia Processing and Transmission, a class so popular, that it has a waiting list each semester. When choosing a textbook for the class, Santucci chose Jan Ozer’s new book, Producing Streaming Video for Multiple Screen Delivery. “The choice was simple,” Santucci commented. “It’s the only …

OK, a bit melodramatic, but today at Adobe Max, the company’s annual creativity conference, Adobe announced that they were killing the suite to sell the Creative Cloud product which is only available via a periodic license. The primary benefit to the user is that updates are incorporated when available, as opposed to the 18 month cycle that the product typically …