BD-Rate computations are a valuable metric when comparing theoretical codec performance. But just because they prove that HEVC is 40% more efficient than H.264 doesn’t mean that you’ll save 40% of your bandwidth if you switch to HEVC. This 6-minute video lesson explains why and suggests a better alternative for estimating real-world benefits. I include…
Pleased to announce my second report on LCEVC Technology entitled LCEVC x264 Report: Live Sports & eGames, ABR Ladder. The first report assessed VOD performance at 1080p; this report tested live performance using a full encoding ladder and weighted average performance as well as BD-Rate comparisons. Here’s the Table of Contents. Note, in particular, the…
Reducing the reference frame setting from 16 to 1 when using x.264’s veryslow preset decreased encoding time by 46% on ten 2-minute test files while dropping the average VMAF score from 96.06 to 95.97, a decrease of less than .001. If you used the Medium preset, at the default setting of 3 reference frames, changing…
This updated lesson was just added to the course Streaming Media 101: Technical Onboarding for Streaming Media Professionals. It details the evolution of per-title encoding from simple optimization technologies to complex, AI-driven systems. It’s an example of the technical perspective the course provides and our commitment to continually updating course content. Enjoy. Per-title encoding customizes…
These are the most popular encoding-related articles on the Streaming Learning Center over 2019-2020. I hope you find this list of general encoding resources useful. Lesson of the Week: CMAF Proof of Concept – The Common Media Application Format (CMAF) is supposed to be the Holy Grail of streaming; one set of files that you…
I’m teaching two boot camps (virtually) at an upcoming Streaming Media Connect event, one for VOD and the other for live streaming; each costs $199. The courses are designed for newbies who need to get up to speed quickly on these topics. If the courses sound familiar, I taught both courses at Streaming Media West…
Just a quick note to celebrate the first review of my Encoding with the AV1 Codec course ($99.95). By way of background, I designed the course to help familiarize students with the confusing array of AV1 encoding parameters and to offer sample command strings that I have proven over weeks of testing. In other words,…
I’m teaching two boot camps (virtually) at an upcoming Streaming Media University event, one for VOD and the other for live streaming; each costs $199. The courses are designed for newbies who need to get up to speed quickly on these topics. If the courses sound familiar, I did teach the same courses at the…
Recently I received a short list 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. 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.…