Codecs

This post provides an introduction to video codecs. It’s an entry-level article designed to help streaming newbies understand what codecs are, what they do, how to compare them, and why they succeed or fail.  Video codecs are compression technologies that reduce the bitrate of digital video to manageable sizes. Video codecs are not only central to streaming, but they’re also …

Here are some of the most popular codec-related articles that I’ve written lately for this site, Streaming Media Magazine, and some other outlets. General The Streaming Codec Landscape in 2021 – (January 2021)  By any measure, 2020 was a hectic year for video codecs or the compression technologies that drive streaming video. This year saw the launch of two standards-based codecs …

I recently received the following message from a colleague, a respected IP attorney, on LinkedIn. Hi Jan, hope all’s well. What do you make of Google joining HEVC Advance’s pool (now Access Advance)? Talking to some relevant players, I think it’s a prelude to Chrome supporting HEVC. Do you think it has any implications for AV2 or VVC? Thanks, and …

A new Streaming Learning Center Course, Encoding with the AV1 Codec, teaches how to optimize AV1 encoding with four AV1 codecs (aomenc, libaom-av1, SVT-AV1, Aurora1). Available now for $99.95. If you’re looking for a structured AV1 training program to learn how to encode with AV1, this is it. Click here for more information or to purchase the course.  The AV1 …

This video discusses how to choose a codec in 2021 and beyond.  Download the handout here. Here’s the video.  Here’s the Description Codecs like H.264 and AV1 are the key enabling technologies for all entertainment and business-oriented video distribution, whether movies distributed via Netflix or videoconferencing from Zoom and similar services. At a high level, codecs come from two …

Recently I received a shortlist of compression-related questions from a consulting buddy; he’s always been gracious in answering my questions and I wanted to return the favor. Since he’s asking, I thought others might be curious as well; hence this blog post that largely incorporates my responses to his questions, all relating to encoding H.264 files. Here are the questions: …

VVC is one of the three codecs to be launched by MPEG in 2020. I wrote about VVC extensively here (business side) and here (technical side), and wanted to provide some quick updates. By way of background, codecs have two sides, the performance side, and the business side. In this short article, I’ll address both. Fraunhofer’s VVenC Sets New Standards …

I’ve spent the last two months testing four AV1 codecs accessible via command-line arguments and I start testing VVC codecs next week. Trying to fairly and accurately test the capabilities of these codecs turned out to be a pretty grueling and messy task. The key challenge, of course, was creating the optimal video encoding command string for each codec. While …

Jan Ozer here. I spent the last 2 months working with four AV1 codecs, benchmarking them against each other and x264 and x265. I’m presenting my findings in this for-fee 75-minute webinar ($149.99).  There are two parts; the first shares what I learned about the codecs, and the second details what I learned about encoding with them and creating the …