Encoding

• 28 November

  How to Choose The Best Cloud-Based Per-Title Provider

  

  This video discusses how to choose the best cloud-based per-title provider. This was a talk I gave to the Streaming Video Alliance in late November 2021. The 23-minute presentation covers the following agenda with extensive examples. You’ll find the talk useful if you’re comparing per=title encoding features, particularly cloud-based, but …

October, 2021

• 23 October

  Choosing an x265 Preset: an ROI Analysis

  

  This post presents a return on investment view of choosing an x265 preset that delivers the optimal blend of encoding cost and storage and bandwidth savings. The first chart, x265 Encoding Time/Quality Tradeoff, is from a lesson in my course Streaming Media 101: Technical Onboarding for Streaming Media Professionals.  Given …
• 19 October

  Buyers Guide: Choosing a Streaming Encoder for VOD

  

  This beginner-level article describes what an encoder is and how to choose one. This article focuses on choosing a streaming encoder for VOD, not live. It was derived from a lesson in my Live Streaming Bootcamp course, which teaches you the skills and techniques that optimize the quality of your webinars …
• 16 October

  Choosing the Resolution for Lower Rungs on Your Encoding Ladder

  

  Your encoding ladder should include lower resolution rungs even if higher resolution rungs deliver better quality. This blog explains why.  Several lessons in the online course Streaming Media 101: Technical Onboarding for Streaming Media Professionals focus on creating and configuring encoding ladders, including the Convex Hull technique discussed below. With …
• 13 October

  Seeking Input: Which Low-Res Rungs are Essential to an Encoding Ladder

  

  Note: I received some very useful responses to this blog that are summarized in a post entitled, Choosing the Resolution for Lower Rungs on Your Encoding Ladder.  I could use some input from practitioners out there about which lower resolution rungs are essential to an encoding ladder. By way of …
• 13 October

  Crunch Video Optimization Now Available on Oracle Cloud Marketplace

  

  I’ve been a fan of video optimization technologies for a while now, and consider optimization simpler, cheaper, and potentially just as effective as adding a new codec like HEVC or VP9. I’m pleased to see that the Crunch Mediaworks Video Enhancement Solutions App is now available on the Oracle Cloud …
• 1 October

  Cloud Encoding Pricing Comparison Reveals Dramatic Cost Differences – Are You Overpaying?

  

  This whitepaper, sponsored by Dolby/Hybrik, tracks cloud encoding pricing for H.264 and HEVC output and reveals dramatic price differences among popular services. I’ve just completed a whitepaper sponsored by Dolby/Hybrik to compare pricing for multiples of one hour of H.264 and HEVC encoding using the recommended encoding ladders in the …

September, 2021

• 26 September

  Which Codec Does YouTube Use, Part III

  

  This article analyzes the codecs used by YouTube for 4K videos with millions of views, and the savings that AV1 and VP9 deliver over YouTube’s full encoding ladder.  This is the third in a series of articles written about which codecs YouTube uses. The first covers which codecs YouTube uses …
• 21 September

  Formulate the Optimal Encoding Ladder with VMAF

  This post describes how to formulate the optimal encoding ladder with VMAF. This analysis is excerpted from a lesson in the online course Streaming Media 101: Technical Onboarding for Streaming Media Professionals.  I received the following question from a reader; it’s got such general applicability that I thought I would …

August, 2021

• 26 August

  Which Codecs Does YouTube Use?

  

  This article reviews which codecs YouTube uses for the unrelenting torrent of videos that it ingests and encodes. The data suggest that AV1 is only worthwhile for videos with view counts in the mid-to-high millions, but VP9 is worth considering for view counts in excess of a few thousand.  As …