Codecs

Streaming Media West was a high-energy conference with a great vibe and the usual elegance of the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort & Spa. I gave two talks; a 3-hour preconference session entitled Advanced Codec Implementation & Production and a 45-minute session on Encoding AV1 with Open Source Alternatives. Below are the descriptions and links to the presentation downloads. W1. …

This article is the second in a series about benchmarking hardware encoding performance. In the first article, available here, I delineated a procedure for testing hardware encoders. Specifically, I recommended this three-step procedure: Identify the most critical quality and throughput-related options for the encoder. Test across a range of configurations from high quality/low throughput to low quality/high throughput to identify …

This article shows the quality/encoding time tradeoffs for producers choosing a preset for SVT-AV1 and libaom-AV1. Note to readers – 12/13 – AOM has released version 1.4, which fixed the SVT-AV1 preset issues reported in the first version of this article.  Presets are the most important configuration option for controlling quality and throughput for most codecs. For this reason, when …

This article details a methodology for comparing hardware transcoders considering cost/stream, watt/stream, and output quality. If you’ve ever benchmarked software codecs, you know the quality/throughput tradeoff; simply stated, the higher the quality, the lower the throughput. In contrast, for many first-generation hardware encoders, throughput was prioritized, but the quality was fixed; you got what you got. Finding the Key Quality …

When I first heard that Google Chrome played HEVC, I checked the weather in Hades to determine if it had, in fact, frozen over. Reports were inconclusive. Then I started reaching out to colleagues and contacts whose opinions I value to get their reactions and thoughts. Many spoke on the record, and many didn’t. In this article, I’ll attempt to …

I’m joining NETINT’s marketing team and will continue to write, speak, publish, and maintain and expand the courses at the Streaming Learning Center.  Vancouver, BC – August 8, 2022 – NETINT Technologies today, announced the hiring of Jan Ozer in the role of Senior Director, Video Technology Marketing. In this position, Ozer will lead industry benchmarking, technical validation, content creation, and the development of product …

The course Encoding with the AV1 Codec has been updated with new instructions for SVT-AV1 1.0 and FFmpeg/libaom-AV1.  AV1 is a powerful codec but to optimize quality and performance, you have to choose the optimal preset and thread count and then navigate through obscure commands like auto-alt-ref, row-mt, tile columns/tile rows, and lag-in-frames. The course, Encoding with the AV1 Codec, provides …

Just a quick post to note that I’ve finished my work with Sisvel. It was great meeting and working with the talented folks at Sisvel and learning how patent pools operate from the inside. I greatly appreciate the experience and wish Sisvel and the pool members success as they work to protect and monetize their intellectual property rights. The next …

Choosing the wrong per-title encoding service can boost streaming costs by up to 64% and storage costs by 76%. It can also reduce the average video quality delivered to your viewers by up to 9.28 VMAF points. These reports identify the OPEX and quality leaders and save months of testing.  Overview: Per-Title encoding is the most efficient and effective technology …

This post explores the economic factors to consider when choosing a preset for the SVT-AV1 codec. It’s adapted from a new lesson added to the course, Encoding with the AV1 Codec. While this analysis uses the SVT-AV1 codec, it’s useful for choosing a preset for any codec.  I’ve always considered codec preset selection a cost and quality-driven decision. You see …